The Life You Save May Be Your Own

by Flannery O’Connor

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What is the irony in Mr. Shiftlet feeling "the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him?"

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The irony of this statement is that Mr. Shiftlet himself is part of that very same rottenness that threatens to engulf the world. He only appears interested in what he can get, and instead of being the one to make a difference, to reject all the selfishness with which the world is infected, he merely adds to it by marrying Lucynell purely for his own personal gain. If the world really is as rotten as Shiftlet says it is, then it's because people like him have made it that way.

Nevertheless, although Shiftlet's abandonment of Lucynell can never be condoned, one could argue that he's inadvertently freed her from a life spent under her mother's thumb. In that sense, what are ostensibly selfish actions could be seen as having a positive effect in the long-term. Though he may be unaware of it yet, Shiftlet has perhaps contributed in his own small way to make the world a little less rotten.

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What is the irony in Mr. Shiftlet's feeling of impending doom in O'Connor's story?

Mr. Shiftlet conceives this sentiment in the penultimate paragraph of the story. He had just given a boy a lift and spoke tearfully about his mother, mentioning that she had been an angel and that God had taken her away from him. His passenger's response shocked him, for he cried out:

"You go to the devil!"... "My old woman is a flea bag and yours is a stinking pole cat!"

The boy then grabbed his suitcase and jumped out of the vehicle into a ditch. 

At this point, Mr. Shiftlet was seemingly overwhelmed by the approaching darkness to his front and behind, caused by the gathering of massive rain clouds which shaded the sun. It was then that he felt what is mentioned in the quote.  

The irony lies in the hypocrisy of what Mr. Shiftlet feels. He, through his lies and deceit, has added to the so-called 'rottenness of the world.' He had deceived Mrs. Lucynell Crater and her simple-minded daughter, also named Lucynell, into trusting him by offering his services to the family. He inveigled himself into their lives and later married the younger Lucynell after he had fixed their car and received seventeen dollars and fifty cents for a weekend honeymoon.  

The wedded couple drove off and about one hundred miles into their journey, Mr. Shiftlet dumped his bride at a diner called The Hot Spot, stating that she was a hitchhiker. She was asleep at one of the tables and he said that he could not wait for her. He then drove off.

Mr. Shiftlet is obviously just as rotten as the world he feels he would be overwhelmed by, which makes his view so fundamentally ironic.

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What is the irony in Mr. Shiftlet's feeling of impending doom in O'Connor's story?

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 help.  This is the same man who married a simple woman, so he could steal her mother's car, and has abandoned this woman, his wife, in a diner and driven away.

The irony that Mr. Shiftlet would pray for help, and ask the Lord to cleanse the earth of slime, the true irony is that he is part of the SLIME THAT HE WANTS CLEANSED.


 

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