--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can do one thing or you can do…" description: "\"“You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you're going to forget what it was you done..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png" --- # You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or… ![“You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you're going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png) > ““You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you're going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.”” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Actions, whether violent or mundane, eventually lead to consequences that are forgotten yet still punish the actor. **In simple terms:** All actions have consequences. Key Takeaway Remember that deeds have lasting effects. Themes morality consequences memory Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal decisions - legal judgments - social behavior Key Concepts karma ethical responsibility psychology of guilt Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile forgotten deeds with their outcomes? - Can trivial actions be as morally weighty as violent ones? A Different Perspective Punishment may not be directly linked to the original act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Just Punished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-punished-6007154/) [Kill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill/) [Kill Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-man/) [Punished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punished/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Thing Kill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-kill-596888/) ## Related quotes > [It must be a hard thing to kill a man you don't know and don't hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/it-must-be-a-hard-thing-to-kill-a-man-you-don-t-know-and-don-t-hate/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I am the one thing you can never kill. I am Hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-am-the-one-thing-you-can-never-kill-i-am-hope/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/kill-one-man-and-you-are-a-murderer-kill-millions-of-men-and-you-are/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/to-kill-a-man-is-not-to-defend-a-doctrine-but-to-kill-a-man/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Ask any soldier. To kill a man is to merit a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/ask-any-soldier-to-kill-a-man-is-to-merit-a-woman/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-know-you-are-here-to-kill-me-shoot-coward-you-are-only-going-to/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [“Listen!” said Roosta urgently. “You can kill a man, destroy his body, break his spirit, but only the Total Perspective Vortex can annihilate a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/listen-said-roosta-urgently-you-can-kill-a-man-destroy-his-body-break/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You'd better not kill me, man, I've got shit to do tomorrow!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-wayans/you-d-better-not-kill-me-man-i-ve-got-shit-to-do-tomorrow/) [Damon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-wayans/) > [Just one more thing. I kill Snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/just-one-more-thing-i-kill-snow/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“Hope is a difficult thing to kill, just a spark of it can start a fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-garber/hope-is-a-difficult-thing-to-kill-just-a-spark-of-it-can-start-a-fire/) [Stephanie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-garber/) > [There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-s-only-one-thing-that-can-kill-the-movies-and-that-s-education/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The body is a damn hard thing to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-body-is-a-damn-hard-thing-to-kill/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Sharp thing's kill human it's true but, the fact is that sharp attitude protect from it...!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destrol/sharp-thing-s-kill-human-it-s-true-but-the-fact-is-that-sharp/) [Destrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destrol/) > [“Anyone can kill a planet from orbit,” Holden replied. “You don’t even need bombs. Just push anvils out the airlock. That thing out there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/anyone-can-kill-a-planet-from-orbit-holden-replied-you-don-t-even/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [And the real thing can kill you whether you believe in it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-salvatore-2/and-the-real-thing-can-kill-you-whether-you-believe-in-it-or-not/) [R. A. Salvatore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-salvatore-2/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-felt-his-hunger-no-longer-as-a-pain-but-as-a-tide-he-felt-it/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/where-you-come-from-is-gone-where-you-thought-you-were-going-to-never/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“There are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-but-behind-all-of-them-there-is-only-one/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Mrs. May winced. She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. Their father had gone to a one-room schoolhouse through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-had-observed-that-the-more-education-they-got-the-less-they-could/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [One of the awful things about writing when you are a Christian is that for you the ultimate reality is the Incarnation, the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/one-of-the-awful-things-about-writing-when-you-are-a-christian-is/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Hazel Motes sat at a forward angel on the green plush train seat, looking one minute at the window as if he might want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/hazel-motes-sat-at-a-forward-angel-on-the-green-plush-train-seat/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) [Explore all 432 Flannery O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## More Kill quotes > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“If you’ve bullshitted me, angel, I’m going to kill you.” The other male rolled his eyes. “I’m already dead, idiot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/if-you-ve-bullshitted-me-angel-i-m-going-to-kill-you-the-other-male/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [What doesnt kill you makes you stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbly/what-doesnt-kill-you-makes-you-stronger/) [Bubbly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubbly/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [Don't smoke. Don't kill yourselves. Don't maim yourselves. Tell your friends. Please don't smoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-eszterhas/don-t-smoke-don-t-kill-yourselves-don-t-maim-yourselves-tell-your/) [Joe Eszterhas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-eszterhas/) > [“The only ones who kill are those prepared to be killed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lelouch-vi-britannia/the-only-ones-who-kill-are-those-prepared-to-be-killed/) [Lelouch Vi Britannia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lelouch-vi-britannia/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I’m going to kill Mr. Mysterious for this. Kill that crazy motherfucker. Why does he have to live on the edge all the time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-huss/i-m-going-to-kill-mr-mysterious-for-this-kill-that-crazy-motherfucker/) [J.A. Huss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-huss/) > [“Be that as it may, we do need you in particular to complete this assignment. (Syd) What is it with you government assholes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/be-that-as-it-may-we-do-need-you-in-particular-to-complete-this/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“I'm only one kill away from Command Assassin. Be a damn shame for that kill to be you" (Darion)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-m-only-one-kill-away-from-command-assassin-be-a-damn-shame-for-that/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“Well, let's say you heard a fight in the boys' bathroom, and you broke it up. What would you do naturally if you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/well-let-s-say-you-heard-a-fight-in-the-boys-bathroom-and-you-broke/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [Nothing will kill what you've been called to do more than comparing yourself to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/nothing-will-kill-what-you-ve-been-called-to-do-more-than-comparing/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I imagine that in a closed, hermetic society like the mob, where everybody knows each other, it must be really, really unpleasant to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dominik/i-imagine-that-in-a-closed-hermetic-society-like-the-mob-where/) [Andrew Dominik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dominik/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Fuck, Princess. You kill me. Every damn time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarina-bowen/fuck-princess-you-kill-me-every-damn-time/) [Sarina Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarina-bowen/) [Browse all 3,038 Kill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later you're going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Flannery O'Connor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-another-kill-a-man-or-take-a-tire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kill" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-another-kill-a-man-or-take-a-tire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/flannery-o-connor-639_kill_you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-anoth_3212394.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can do one thing or you can do another, kill a man or take a tire off his car, because sooner or later…” — Flannery O'Connor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Flannery O'Connor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You can do one thing or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-another-kill-a-man-or-take-a-tire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/you-can-do-one-thing-or-you-can-do-another-kill-a-man-or-take-a-tire/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```