The Life You Save May Be Your Own Short Story Analysis

Flannery O’Connor uses a number of literary devices throughout her writings. Digging deeper into the context of the story helps readers develop meaningful connections. Symbolism is a reoccurring device used by O’Connor to make her stories have a deeper meaning. When Tom T. Shiftlet, one of the main characters is introduced, he is described as a figure forming a crooked cross against the sky, representing that Shiftlet is not a godly man, he is a bit ‘crooked’ and is not a spiritual man (Hendin, 1970). Later in the story Shiftlet asks

In Pinckney Benedict’s 2008 short story “Mercy,” the narrator and his father both take pride in their family’s ranch. The narrator works hard for his father each day, taking breaks only to sneak treats to the miniature horses being kept on the neighbor’s ranch nearby. The narrator’s father; however, does not show the same compassion for the animals as his son. He is adamant about keeping the horses off of his land and warns his son that he will shoot to first to intrude. The narrator views his father in a very austere manner.

What brings you true joy? Is it family and friends, a religion, or some material item? In the short story, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” Flannery O’Connor gives examples of what can bring Tom Shiftlet joy, but what he chooses instead. A tramp, Shiftlet, wonders to the Crater house in search of a job. Mrs. Crater knows she needs her farm fixed up, so she allows Shiftlet to sleep in the car and will feed him if he fixes things at the house. Mrs. Crater tries to pawn her daughter, Lucynell, off on Shiftlet. Shiftlet is offered the car he fixed, a place to live, and $17.50 just to marry Lucynell. Shiftlet finally agrees and accepts the bribe. On their honeymoon, Shiftlet leaves Lucynell at a diner and moves

“The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, is a story which reflects on each and every one of us. The main themes expressed in this story are corruption, the lost innocence, and how we become aware of our errors yet seldom do much to correct ourselves. This final theme is best shown through Mr. Shifflets actions. Mrs. Crater is a great example of the first theme mentioned. Even though she had just met a stranger, after listening to him and his beliefs for a short while, she let him into her home, but for what reasons? Was it an act of kindness? No, it was clearly an act of selfishness. She used Mr. Shifflets skills as a carpenter to fix her home, and the car, and used her own daughter to pull him in. Those actions are the epitome of greed and corruption. Mrs. Carters daughter, Lucynell, is the savior, the “angle of Gawd”, as referred to in the story, and is a great symbol used by the author, Flannery O’Connor, to express the purity and innocence we have in ourselves, which tends to be lost through the corruption.

O’Connor uses many examples of symbolism in this story. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent something in a story. The crooked cross symbolizes Mr. Shiftlet’s flaws and immoral ways. This also symbolizes how evil Mr. Shiftlet is throughout the story. Another symbol is the turnip cloud, which symbolizes the vengeance God has on evil. This shows how God will get revenge on Mr. Shiftlet for all of the horrible things he did to Lucynell, the mother, and her daughter. The white wedding dress worn by Lucynell, the daughter, symbolizes her purity and innocence. The hitchhiker that Mr. Shiftlet picks up is a symbol to Mr. Shiftlet’s past. This hitchhiker makes Mr. Shiftlet realize all of the horrible things he has done in his past. The car Mr. Shiftlet takes from Lucynell, the

Deceitful,dishonest, disloyal: these words describe the shady characters presented in “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” by Flannery O’ Connor. In this short story, Shiftlet tries to con an old lady in order to obtain her automobile. By this , the man drives away from his salvation due to his selfishness and hypocritical personality. O'Connor master uses of dark humor reveals to the reader the truth that lays underneath the words of Shiftlet. The beautiful use of color blends with the dark sense of humor by foreshadowing the tragic events that in consequence happens when having a sinful personality. With the punchline at the end, the reader soon sees O’Connor message behind the rain clouds by deciphering the man actions in relation with the stormy weather. O'Connor warns what happens when we try to escape redemption by the use of color that represents every aspect of the story, the representation of symbols to reveal the personality of Shiftlet, and the dark humor that drives the story.

Happiness is a person who experience positive emotions, share and received love, someone who is always laughs and has a smile on his face. Not all the people has the pleasure of having those feelings. Can be hard in life finding happiness when people around, are not happy either in life. In the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer deals about Chris McCandless who had a long life to live but, dies in the wild pursuing his happiness. Christopher Johnson McCandless come from a wealthy family and a brilliant man with perfect grades. He had everything in life, but he was not happy at all so, he decides to leave everything behind and start on a journey. Even though he did not went into the right path to reach his happiness, at the end he died for consuming the wrong seeds to survive in the wild. Jon Krakauer identify a lot with Chris McCandless’s life that he decided to write a book about Chris’s life. Joh Krakauer applies into the book the rhetorical situation and rhetorical appeals.

In “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, Joy; a leading lady full of grace and elegance developed into a prideful yet lonely girl who longed for acceptance and love. She hid her desire to be accepted and loved by her immensely large pride. Joy’s pride blinded her from recognizing the vulnerability and victimism she held near with Manly Pointer. She became close to Manly Pointer due to the absence of acceptance of love and acceptance in her home. O’Connor exhibits the internal struggles of women through Joy; showing that one can not find pure joy and acceptance through worldly love but that one needs more. Manly Pointer brings the sense of more through his business of bible marketing, this business begins to show Joy what is needed to fill the void in her life.

Reality television shows have been a craze in America over the last few years. Shows like Survivor, Big Brother, The Bachelor, Fear Factor have been flooding the channels. Survivor is not only flooding the channels, but also stands out in its context and its ability to survive the ratings. Survivor is a reality game show, where sixteen contestants are dropped on an island or a desolate location and have to learn to survive in nature and the elimination votes of their fellow castaways. A show generally consists of one award challenge where the two different teams compete for an award and an immunity challenge where they see which team has to go to tribal council to vote a member off. The challenge these contestants must endure is "how to

Tim O'Brien was right when he said “Stories can save us”. They saved him. Writing stories helped Tim turn into Timmy and also into a solider when he was retired and forty three years old. When O'Brien says “Stories can save us”: he lets us know that his stories helped him through the war, they also helped him stay psychologically relaxed after the war, and helped him create better versions of his memories as Timmy and Tim the soldier.

People, no matter what, get lost in life at one point or another. It is something inevitable, something that happens to everyone, even to the most certain of people who have a determined plan. Some things help people get back on track, such as friends, family, inner change, or time. In Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood, Hazel also faces his own inner struggle, but finds comfort in is his Essex, a car he bargained to buy for forty-four dollars. The description of the car and the manner in which Hazel uses it represents the need for free choice and the desire of identity development.

Relocating to Texas where folks gossip about the opportunities for new people like us, the fantasists. Back then, I didn’t care much about the dedication we risked, unintentionally hope lit up an aspiration deeply somewhere in my roughly desperate mind. I’ve hoped my family could settle down, I’ve hoped we could have a better life, and I’ve hoped that God would lead us to the right path. Weeks later my parents finally have had a job, they have worked arduously which I barely see their appearance during the day. Spending time with them became so luxurious to me, they never give their soul a minute to rest perhaps because they lost in their own definition of stability. As the result, I became aware of the fake happiness given by those spurious interpretation I created to console myself. And the more time goes by, the more I understand the quote from Clare

One may not see the importance of change and growth, but throughout life, people must constantly develop themselves into a better person. These changes in life are made by a meaningful realization, which causes one to reevaluate his or her ways. In “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket” by Jack Finney, Tom Benecke is torn between his wife Clare and his career. At first, he is tunnel visioned and only focuses on his career, but then has a near-death experience that helps him understand that life can end abruptly and he must rethink his values. This sudden awareness causes Tom to truly begin his life that includes Clare, happiness, and love, rather than living a life preoccupied with by work.

In the short story “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor, the character Mr. Shiflet overcomes the burdens of his life by helping another overcome theirs. Flannery uses symbolic references and vivid imagery to develop the story and Shiflet himself through a pinnacle point in his life.

Short stories can share themes, motifs, symbols, consequences, and plot lines, even if there is never any intention to share a common element between the stories. The stories can be written close together or in different decades and still be linked to the one another. They can also be worlds apart with different meanings in the end, but that does not stop them from having similar ideas expressed within them. The following three stories, “Lagoon” by Joseph Conrad, “The Rocking Horse Winner” by DH Lawrence, and “The Lady in the Looking Glass” by Virginia Woolf, are three totally different stories that share common threads that make them the stories that they are.