The Life You Save May Be Your Own Analysis
An Analysis of “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor
The author, Flannery O’Connor, wrote a short story in entitled “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, which took place in Britain during the late 1700s. In the story, the main character, Tom T. Shiftlet, a drifter, meets Mrs. Crater, an old toothless woman, and her mute daughter Lucynell. The use of irony helps to show the true identity of Mr. Shiftlet while the theme shows the struggle humans face in redeeming themselves. Mr. Shiftlet is in need of redemption from the beginning and is given that opportunity by helping out Mrs. Crater. Mr. Shiftlet seems like a trustworthy man to Mrs. Crater but in reality, he has bad intentions. He could care less about Lucynell, he cares …show more content…
Crater jumped at the opportunity to give her daughter a husband. It was a hard thing to find a guy to be with her because of her disability. She thought Mr. Shiftlet was the perfect guy but, little did she know he had problems of his own. The use of irony in his name gives a hint to the reader that the nice guy who is helping out Lucynell is not so nice. He is definitely shifty in how he used the Crater family for his own personal gain. He tells Mrs. Crater that “the world is almost rotten”(1014), but he contributes to a big part of that. It is also ironic in the fact that Mr. Shiftlet is seen as a savior in the eyes of Mrs. Crater when in reality he is the one who needs saving. It is ironic for him to be saving Lucynell when she is the one who is referred to as an “angel of Gawd”(1021).
This specific proof shows the irony in Mr. Shiftlet helping out the Crater family as well as the recurring theme of inner struggle in changing his behavior. Mr. Shiftlet was given the opportunity to redeem himself through Lucynell and he failed. His shifty personality had the chance to be impacted by Lucynell’s innocence but in the end, it was not enough. After reading this short story I realize how often were are given the chance to make up for our mistakes and become a better person but we wait until it is too
The author, Flannery O’Connor, wrote a short story in entitled “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, which took place in Britain during the late 1700s. In the story, the main character, Tom T. Shiftlet, a drifter, meets Mrs. Crater, an old toothless woman, and her mute daughter Lucynell. The use of irony helps to show the true identity of Mr. Shiftlet while the theme shows the struggle humans face in redeeming themselves. Mr. Shiftlet is in need of redemption from the beginning and is given that opportunity by helping out Mrs. Crater. Mr. Shiftlet seems like a trustworthy man to Mrs. Crater but in reality, he has bad intentions. He could care less about Lucynell, he cares …show more content…
Crater jumped at the opportunity to give her daughter a husband. It was a hard thing to find a guy to be with her because of her disability. She thought Mr. Shiftlet was the perfect guy but, little did she know he had problems of his own. The use of irony in his name gives a hint to the reader that the nice guy who is helping out Lucynell is not so nice. He is definitely shifty in how he used the Crater family for his own personal gain. He tells Mrs. Crater that “the world is almost rotten”(1014), but he contributes to a big part of that. It is also ironic in the fact that Mr. Shiftlet is seen as a savior in the eyes of Mrs. Crater when in reality he is the one who needs saving. It is ironic for him to be saving Lucynell when she is the one who is referred to as an “angel of Gawd”(1021).
This specific proof shows the irony in Mr. Shiftlet helping out the Crater family as well as the recurring theme of inner struggle in changing his behavior. Mr. Shiftlet was given the opportunity to redeem himself through Lucynell and he failed. His shifty personality had the chance to be impacted by Lucynell’s innocence but in the end, it was not enough. After reading this short story I realize how often were are given the chance to make up for our mistakes and become a better person but we wait until it is too