In the opening scene, Shiftlet looks up at the setting sun with his arm and stump raised; the narrator describes the image as "his figure formed a crooked cross." This is an example of visual irony, a technique not typically found in prose. It is ironic because of Shiftlet's lack of morality. It is also ironic because he presents himself as a savior to Mrs. Crater and Lucynell when he will actually bring them pain and loss.

There is verbal irony in an early exchange between Shiftlet and Mrs. Crater. Regarding her handicapped daughter, Lucynell, Mrs. Crater tells Shiftlet that she "wouldn't give her up for nothing on earth" or "a casket of jewels." In actual fact, she trades her for the cost of a few car parts that Shiftlet later wants. In another example of verbal irony, Shiflet calls the broken-down and impoverished farm a "plantation." It is grandiose praise that he uses more than once to try to inveigle Mrs. Shiflet into giving him the car and money.

Shiftlet describes himself as having "a moral intelligence!" when he is actually out for what he can acquire from the Craters: a car, something he has always wanted. This is verbal irony because he leaves the farm with the car and money and cruelly abandons Lucynell in a roadside diner with no way to communicate or get help for herself.

The visual and verbal ironies contribute to the overall situational irony of the story's plot. Mrs. Crater expects to be able to manipulate Shiftlet into doing what she wants because he is a handicapped drifter, but in the end, it is he who manipulates her.

The story is rich in situational irony.

Situational irony can be broadly defined as situations where the outcomes are incongruous to what is expected, or situations which involve contrasts and/or clear contradictions.

The first example of this is when, on his arrival, Mrs Lucynell Carter deems Tom T. Shiftlet as a tramp and "no one to be afraid of". Mr Shiftlet proves to be just the opposite later in the story when he steals their car and abandons the younger Lucynell in a diner. Tom's statement that:

"I'd give a fortune to live where I could see me a sun do that every evening".

is also deeply ironic, for he later deserts his wife and travels to Mobile in the stolen car.

A further example of situational irony would be the fact that Tom has only one fully usable arm. The expectation would be that this would hamper him in the performance of his tasks, but he expertly and efficiently completes a number of tasks around the plantation and the house, including repairing the Carter's broken car.

Tom also declares that he is looking for an honest woman, but after marrying Lucynell junior, who is wholly innocent and pure, he dumps her at a diner. He had the opportunity to start a new life with an untainted woman, but abandons that ideal.

It is also ironic that Tom later alludes to his purity and honesty by comparing himself to monks, when he is told that he should sleep in the car. He mentions that the monks of old slept in their coffins. However, he later steals from his hosts.

A great many of the examples of irony are contained in what the characters say and what they actually do. There is a distinct contrast between the two. Mr Shiftler tells Mrs Carter that although he is not a "whole" man, he has "moral intelligence", a statement that is devoid of any truth if one considers his actions later. Mrs Carter, on the other hand, states that she would never give up her daughter "for a casket of jewels" but literally sells her off to Tom Shiftler for seventeen dollars fifty.

The greatest irony lies in the act that Tom Shiftler is presented as a redemptive figure when he stretches out his arms to represent a crooked cross - alluding to sacrifice. He is, however, anything but. He abuses and exploits the kindness extended to him when he eventually makes off with some of the Carter's money and their car. He had been given the opportunity to find stability in his aimless and meaningless life, yet he chose to discard it and continue his shiftless, mundane existence.

The form of irony used in this story is situational irony.  "Situational Irony occurs in literature and in drama when persons and events come together in improbable situations, creating a tension between expected and real results."

Shiftlet meeting Lucynell and her mother, as well as Mrs. Crater marrying her daughter off to this odd drifter, set up a tension for the reader.  We don't trust Mr. Shiftlet, and the reader is uncomfortable with Mrs. Crater's actions.  The end of the story is ironic because Mr. Shiftlet has found salvation from his meaningless life in his relationship with Lucynell.

Mr. Shiftlet, who finds himself in the situation with Lucynell and her mother, which actually could have provided him with a decent sort of life,instead of accepting this chance at a meaningful life, he abandons his salvation, Lucynell in a diner.

The irony is that other characters recognize Lucynell as an "Angel of Gawd" but Shiftlet does not see it.  He abandons Lucynell, and a life saved, to resume his wandering and aimless life.

Is there irony in, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"?

 According to the dictionary, "irony is defined as incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the story".

The character of Mr. Shiftlet, the drifter who comes upon Mrs. Crater and Lucynell, is wandering around looking for a place to find meaning in his life.  He is alone, empty, devoid of any relationships.  When he meets the old woman and her daughter, he gets very close to being a part of something, a family.

Mr. Shiftlet seems to be finding a place to fit in, with Mrs. Crater and her daughter, he also gives the old woman and her daughter the opportunity to have more meaning in their lives, all three are made better because of their relationship.  They are "saved" from a life of loneliness and emptiness.  However, ironically, Mr. Shiftlet abandons Lucynell when she passes out at the diner.  The other people in the diner, and the reader, recognize Lucynell as Mr. Shiftlet's salvation, identifying her as an angel.  However, he does not see it.  He runs away from her and leaves his saved life behind. 

Mr. Shiftlet starts at the beginning again when he gets into the  car and picks up the hitchhiker, he is once again trying to find meaning in life.  Ironically, he abandoned just that when he walked away from his wife and his life with Mrs. Crater.   

What is ironic about the characters in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"?

The ironic thing about the characters is that Mr. Shiftlet is not at all interested in money or marriage until he stays with Mrs. Crawford for some time.

Irony is when something happens that is not what is expected.  In this case, you would expect Mr. Shiftlet to reform Mrs. Crawford, not for Mrs. Crawford to corrupt Mr. Shiftlet.

Even though Mr. Shiftlet is a tramp with one arm, Mrs. Crawford apparently decides that he is the best her mute daughter is going to get.  At first, Mr. Shiftlet seems like a great guest.  He doesn’t want money to work on the farm, he fixes the car, and he teaches the daughter to talk.  Yet the longer he stays, the more interested he becomes in money.  Mr. Shiftlet got what he wanted—a life where he could live off the land and not worry about the material, and yet instead of it brining him closer to God he gets farther and farther away.

His interest in the car is an example of this ironic shift.  At first, he just sleeps in it as a place to remain humble.  Yet he soon becomes interested in fixing the car.  Then he seems to become more and more materialistic.

"I can't get married right now," he said. "Everything you want to do takes money and I ain't got any."

By saying this, he convinces her to pay him to marry her daughter, and basically give him the car too.  This is quite a change from the humble man he was to begin with.