Every day Quote by Flannery O'Connor
““The park was the heart of the city. He had come to the city – and with a knowing in his blood – he had established himself at the heart of it. Everyday he looked at the heart of it; every day; he was so stunned and awed and overwhelmed that just to think about it made him sweat. There was something, in the center of the park, that he had discovered. It was a mystery although it was in a glass case for everybody to see and there was a typewritten card over it telling all about it. But there was something the card couldn't say and what it couldn't say was inside him. He could not show the mystery to just anybody; but he had to show it to somebody. Who he had to show it to was a special person. This person could not be from the city but he didn't know why. He knew he would know him when he saw him and that he would have to see him soon or the nerve inside him would grow so big that he would be forced to steal a car or rob a bank or jump out of a dark alley onto a woman.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Unknown (likely a short story), date unknown
A man feels an intense, inexplicable connection to a park's central mystery, compelling him to find a specific, unknown person before his inner tension becomes destructive.
In simple terms: He is obsessed with a secret in the park and must share it with a particular stranger before his anxiety leads to crime.
Key Takeaway
Find the right confidant before inner pressure erupts.
Themes
obsession
search
inner conflict
danger
connection
Mood
anxious
intense
urgent
Type
literary
psychological
dramatic
When to use this quote
- urban exploration
- personal crisis
- creative inspiration
- preventing violent impulses
Key Concepts
mystery
psychology
destiny
self‑control
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the park symbolize for him?
- How might he identify the “special person”?
A Different Perspective
The narrative may be overly dramatic, lacking concrete resolution or context.
![“This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day [as a Fairfax Justice of the Peace] since I have been at Home. I wish I knew where to get a good one myself; for I find cold Sheets extreamly disagreeable.” quote by George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b92/george-mason-8435_bedfellows_this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young_3953.jpg)
