Behind the newspaper Julian was withdrawing into the inner compartment of his mind where he spent most of his time. This was a kind of mental bubble in which he established himself when he could not bear to be a part of what was going on around him. From it he could see out and judge but in it he was safe from any kind of penetration from without. It was the only place where he felt free of the general idiocy of his fellows. His mother had never entered it but from it he could see her with absolute clarity.
Flannery O'ConnorYour beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be what you see and they will not be a substitute for seeing.
Flannery O'ConnorPoorly written novels--no matter how pious and edifying the behavior of the characters--are not good in themselves and are therefore not really edifying.
Flannery O'ConnorNo art is sunk in the self, but rather, in art the self becomes self-forgetful in order to meet the demands of the thing seen and the thing being made.
Flannery O'ConnorThe two worst sins of bad taste in fiction are pornography and sentimentality. One is too much sex and the other too much sentiment.
Flannery O'Connor