The Life You Save May Be Your Own

“The Life You Save May Be Your Own” was written in 1955 by Flannery O’Connor and published in her collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find. The collection, which she wrote midway through her career, contains many of her most famous works, including the titular short story. Like much of O’Connor’s writing, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” belongs to the Southern Gothic literary tradition.

The story begins when Mr. Shiftlet, a one-handed man, arrives at the farm of Mrs. Lucynell Crater and her daughter, also named Lucynell. Mrs. Crater can tell Mr. Shiftlet is a “tramp and no one to be afraid of” (Paragraph 1). The two speak about the state of the world, agreeing it is rotten and that there are no innocent women anymore. Mr. Shiftlet says the world is full of liars and indicates he could be a liar too, asking, “How do you know my name ain’t Aaron Sparks, lady, and I come from Singleberry, Georgia, or how you know it’s not George Speeds and I come from Lucy, Alabama” (Paragraph 19).

While Mr. Shiftlet and Mrs. Crater talk, the younger Lucynell watches. She is deaf, and her behavior suggests she may have mental challenges. Her mother claims the girl is smart, though, because she can “sweep the floor, cook, wash, feed the chickens, and hoe” (Paragraph 31). Mrs. Crater tells Mr. Shiftlet that he can stay in the broken-down car they own, and she will feed him in exchange for fixing things around the farm. Mr. Shiftlet agrees.

Within a few days, Mr. Shiftlet mends several items and teaches Lucynell, who “had never said a word in her life, to say the word ‘bird’” (Paragraph 38). Mrs. Crater realizes how useful it would be to have him on the farm full time and tells Mr. Shiftlet that he should marry Lucynell. Mr. Shiftlet at first disagrees, saying it “takes money” to marry a woman. Mrs. Crater asks, “[W]hat do you need with money?” (Paragraph 62). Ultimately, Mrs. Crater offers to give him the newly repaired car, to pay for the paint for the car, and to give him $17.50 to take her daughter on a honeymoon if he will marry her. He agrees.

That Saturday the three drive to town, and Shiftlet and Lucynell get married. Mrs. Crater bids farewell to her daughter for the weekend, and Mr. Shiftlet drives them toward Mobile, Alabama. On the way they stop to eat at a place called The Hot Spot. Lucynell falls asleep while waiting for a plate of ham and grits. A waiter notices that she looks like an “angel of Gawd” (Paragraph 86). Mr. Shiftlet lies that she is just a hitchhiker he picked up on the road, pays for the meal, and abandons her as she sleeps.

As he drives away, he feels “more depressed than ever” (Paragraph 89). He notices a boy on the road and picks him up; he then lectures him on how good it is to have a mother and how he regrets the day he left his. The boy shouts at Mr. Shiftlet, “My old woman is a fleabag and your mother is a stinking pole cat!” and jumps out of the car (Paragraph 96). Mr. Shiftlet is stunned and prays for God to “Break forth and wash the slime from this earth!” while he drives faster toward Mobile (Paragraph 97).