I. Introduction to Flannery O’Connor
A. Quote 1 – “O’Connor was born in 1925 to a prominent Georgia family of devout Roman Catholics—an anomaly in the largely Protestant South.” “She finally succumbed to lupus in August 1964 at age 39.”
B. Quote 2 – “She moved back to Georgia to live with her mother on a dairy farm and continued to write, publishing Wise Blood in 1952, the story collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find in 1955, and a second novel, The Violent Bear It Away, in 1960. Her most famous stories…..She received numerous awards, grants, and citations for her work.”
C. Quote 3 – “O’Connor also enjoyed painting and raising exotic birds, motifs that are evident in her writing.”
D. Quote 4 – “She spent her final years being cared for by her mother and hired helpers, who likely resembled many of the impoverished characters that appear regularly in her fiction.” II. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor
A. Summary of entire story: Mrs.Crater has a daughter, Lucynell, who is mute. Mrs. Crater offers Mr.Shiftlet shelter in exchange for work. Mrs.Crater sees a opportunity to give her daughters hand in marriage to Mr.Shiftlet and does. In exchange, she gives him a car and some money for them. Later, they both go away, Mr.Shiftlet abandons Lucynell and realize he has no chance of being a good man or of being saved.
B. “When Shiftlet approaches the Crater’s farm, it is not clear what type of person he is. What is apparent is that he is searching for something. By marrying Lucynell and then abandoning her, he has missed an opportunity to experience redemption” (Milne 126.)
C. Thesis Statement: In “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” Flannery O’Connor uses characterization and symbols to emphasize Mr.Shiftlets crave for money assenting that money is more important than spiritual peace.
III. Topic Sentence – Throughout the story by Flannery O’Connor, Mr.Shiftlet uses characterization to