57 pages 1 hour read

Flannery O'Connor

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1953

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Story Analysis

Analysis: “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”

On the surface, this story is about two people using one another for their own ends: Mr. Shiftlet wants a car, and Mrs. Crater wants a son-in-law to help maintain her farm. However, the story is also about The Possibility of Salvation and how self-deception, deception of others, and selfish desire lead people to reject that redemption.

The story opens with religious imagery. As Mr. Shiftlet arrives at the farm, he stretches, and his arms form a “crooked cross” (Paragraph 5); his missing hand/lower arm suggests that, like Jesus, he is suffering through physical torment. He is also a carpenter, as Jesus was, making the allusion to Christianity that much clearer. Mr. Shiftlet consistently presents himself as a good man, saying he has a kind of “moral intelligence” and that he wouldn’t want to marry a girl who wasn’t “innocent.”

Mrs. Crater observes the benefits of having Mr. Shiftlet around, and she can see that her daughter likes him. He teaches Lucynell how to say “bird,” which she does enthusiastically, and he brings the farm back to life. In a way, Mrs. Crater is looking for Mr.

Related Titles

By Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

A Late Encounter with the Enemy

Flannery O'Connor

A Late Encounter with the Enemy

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

Plot Summary

logo

The Displaced Person

Flannery O'Connor

The Displaced Person

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

The Violent Bear It Away

Flannery O'Connor

The Violent Bear It Away

Flannery O'Connor

Study Guide

logo

Wise Blood

Flannery O'Connor

Wise Blood

Flannery O'Connor