In Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” a drifter claims to be a man of “moral intelligence” (O’Connor 1016). This ‘drifter’ is named Tom T. Shiftlet, and he is later revealed as amoral. He meets a not-so-motherly mother, Mrs. Lucynell Crater, with her deaf and mute daughter, whom she also named Lucynell Crater. These two characters both have bitter traits, but I believe that Shiftlet is the worst of the two. Something about Shiftlet that makes him a bad person is that he is constantly moving, leeching off of people, and then drifting to find someone else to borrow from. He shows this by suggesting that he could do some housework for Mrs. Crater, and in return, Shiftlet earns a place to sleep. In reality, though, all he wanted was their car – a …show more content…
Mrs. Crater also lies about Daughter Lucynell’s age to make her seem more appealing to Shiftlet, saying that she was “fifteen, sixteen” (O’Connor 1018) but in truth, she was nearly thirty years old. Overall, Mrs. Crater has done bad things that help to shape her character as a not-so-motherly mother, but it is still unclear if she does certain things for her own benefit or for her daughter’s benefit. The two characters can also be compared. Mrs. Crater was selfish in some aspects, but she was truly only trying to find Daughter Lucynell a good, caring husband who would be able to duly provide for her in life. She genuinely cared for Lucynell and after trying to help her marry, she was betrayed in return. Shiftlet, however, stole everything from Mrs. Crater, including her daughter, all of her money, and her car, among other things. He took Daughter Lucynell and completely disposed of her miles away from her home, and then, ironically, proceeded to talk to a hitchhiker about respecting mothers. Although their actions can be compared, it is clear that Shiftlet’s actions are