The Life You Save May Be Your Own Group at eNotes

How is the story "The Life You Save May be your own" related to Marxism...

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:55:21 PST

How is the story "The Life You Save May be your own" related to Marxism (Marxist Theory)? good thesis?

What was the significance of the pictures in the short story The Life...

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 07:22:38 PST

What was the significance of the pictures in the short story The Life You Save May Be Your Own?

Like many of Flannery O'Connor's stories, this reflects her ideas about...

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:05:40 PST

Like many of Flannery O'Connor's stories, this reflects her ideas about salvation and redemption. The title can apply equally to Shiftlet or Mrs. Crater, and can be seen as a warning or reminder to seek a change in their lives before they become morally bankrupt. Throughout the story, Shiftlet is searching for something. He believes he finds it in material possessions, such as the automobile and wedding gift revealing a world in which money...

What is the meaning of the title in the short story "The Life You Save...

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:27:46 PST

What is the meaning of the title in the short story "The Life You Save May Be Your Own?"

What is the setting, climax, rising action, exposition and conflict in...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:07:54 PST

What is the setting, climax, rising action, exposition and conflict in the short story called "The life you save may be your own"

How does Mr.Shiftlet present himself to Mrs.Crater?

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 00:48:08 PST

How does Mr.Shiftlet present himself to Mrs.Crater?

Post #2 sums up the answer to the post very succinctly. It was true that...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:02:21 PST

Post #2 sums up the answer to the post very succinctly. It was true that he was "the slime of the earth."

Of course Shiftlet is himself an example of "the rottenness of the...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:31:34 PST

Of course Shiftlet is himself an example of "the rottenness of the world," but two lines later when he prays; "Break forth and wash the slime from this earth!," the depth of his self-deception is revealed. The dramatic irony is increased since the reader knows what Shiftlet apparently does not--that he is in fact the "slime of the earth."

There are many conflicts in this story: A money-hungry family looking...

Tue, 12 May 2009 07:36:34 PST

There are many conflicts in this story: A money-hungry family looking for material gains versus their inability to see what they already have. The expression of fulfilment versus the constant want and need for material possessions. The need versus the want, and the emptiness that it all leads to. A thorough analysis of these very themes are available in the link provided.

What are the conflicts presented in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"?

Tue, 12 May 2009 07:12:03 PST

What are the conflicts presented in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"?

Which parts of the story foreshadow the end?

Mon, 4 May 2009 14:08:24 PST

Which parts of the story foreshadow the end?

O'Connor's description of Shiftlet's shape as a "crooked cross" connects...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:23:48 PST

O'Connor's description of Shiftlet's shape as a "crooked cross" connects him with Jesus, also a carpenter, and Mrs. Crater sees Shiftlet as a kind of savior for Lucynell. The "crooked" aspect of the shape, however, is a clue to Shiftlet's true character. In many of O'Connor's stories, characters are depicted as lacking some physical attribute (in this story, his arm; in "Good Country People," Joy has a wooden leg) that symbolizes a spiritual...

How does the narrator's description of Shiftlet's shape that looked like...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:20:28 PST

How does the narrator's description of Shiftlet's shape that looked like a "crooked cross" contribute to his charcterizaton?

The irony is in the fact that Mr. Shiftlet, himself is a perfect...

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:43:43 PST

The irony is in the fact that Mr. Shiftlet, himself is a perfect example of the rottenness of the world. He is saying that he is afraid of people like himself. And the significance of this statement at the end of the story, because he is so shocked by the comments made by the boy, who is angry at him, because Shiftlet said his mother was an angel. The boy has had a difficult life. Shiftlet's response is very ironic, he prays for...

irony

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:00:22 PST

What was the irony when Mr.Shiftlet "felt that the rottennes of the world was about to engulf him?"

What is the irony when Mr. Shiftlet "felt that rottenness of the...

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:57:20 PST

What is the irony when Mr. Shiftlet "felt that rottenness of the world was about to engulf him"?

the theme of the story 'the life you save may be your own' is that...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:39:19 PST

the theme of the story 'the life you save may be your own' is that mr.shiftlet has abandon his wife in times of troubles when he needs his wife the most. but he dint care he left her and took the car with him. he never learnd the meaning of life. he was searching the meaning of life but never found it. the old lady thought he could fix many broken things in the house so she made him stay and gave her only child to him to merry.

it helps us understand the story better with pictures. sometimes people...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:31:31 PST

it helps us understand the story better with pictures. sometimes people need alittle motivation for them to read. The human nature withc include free will and being aware of knowing right frowm wrong is easy to understan.

i dont understand the story the "The Life You Save May Be Your...

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:26:35 PST

i dont understand the story the "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" by Flennery O'connor. This story is realy interesting and all but i dont understand the irony and the forshadowing in the story. And especialy the Theme. All i know is that this guy comes up to a farm with an old lady and her dauther and asks the old ladys if he could merry her dauther. He realy doesn't care about her he just wants to get the car thats sitting in the...

what do the natural images add to the story's presentation of human...

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:25:30 PST

what do the natural images add to the story's presentation of human nature, which include free will and being aware of knowing right from wrong