In Flannery O'Connor's short story, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, both Tom Shiftlet and Mrs. Crater had a conflict with themselves. Both were selfish and needed to fulfill their needs, but the fulfilling of their physical needs does nothing for their emptiness within. As the title suggests, both Tom Shiftlet and Mrs. Crater had a chance to “Save” their own lives and solve their own conflicts, but neither could let go of their physical needs to fulfill their emotional needs.
Mrs. Crater was very obviously missing something. She was old, with a daughter with special needs. The house and surroundings were shabby, and uncared for as she had absolutely no way to take care of anything. Her desperation for help (and a son-in-law) was clearly …show more content…
He needs a car so badly, that he goes up the random strangers, works for Mrs. Crater, and even marries her daughter. What Shiftlet doesn’t realize til the end, however, is that his real problem is his loneliness. After fixing up the car and driving away with Lucynell, Shiftlet “became quite depressed in spite of the car”. Although he had met his goals of obtaining a car to reach Mobile, Shiftlet still wasn’t satisfied. And after he got rid of Lucynell at the Hot Spot, Shiftlet was “more depressed than ever as he drove on by himself”. Shiftlet was lonely. His main motive may have been to get a car and move along, but he really needed a companion. Shiftlet even picked up a random boy, who wasn’t even hitchhiking, because he was so lonely, and tried to start a conversation with him that ended up reminding him of Lucynell, how the boy at the Hot Spot called her an angel of God. After talking about his mother and saying how she was an angel of God, the boy became infuriated and jumped out of the car, leaving Shiftlet all along again. Shiftlet could have chosen to settle down with the old lady and Lucynell, living a steady life and having people to talk to, but his greed and need for the car wins over his need for friendship and he leaves with the car, heading into a brewing
Mrs. Crater was very obviously missing something. She was old, with a daughter with special needs. The house and surroundings were shabby, and uncared for as she had absolutely no way to take care of anything. Her desperation for help (and a son-in-law) was clearly …show more content…
He needs a car so badly, that he goes up the random strangers, works for Mrs. Crater, and even marries her daughter. What Shiftlet doesn’t realize til the end, however, is that his real problem is his loneliness. After fixing up the car and driving away with Lucynell, Shiftlet “became quite depressed in spite of the car”. Although he had met his goals of obtaining a car to reach Mobile, Shiftlet still wasn’t satisfied. And after he got rid of Lucynell at the Hot Spot, Shiftlet was “more depressed than ever as he drove on by himself”. Shiftlet was lonely. His main motive may have been to get a car and move along, but he really needed a companion. Shiftlet even picked up a random boy, who wasn’t even hitchhiking, because he was so lonely, and tried to start a conversation with him that ended up reminding him of Lucynell, how the boy at the Hot Spot called her an angel of God. After talking about his mother and saying how she was an angel of God, the boy became infuriated and jumped out of the car, leaving Shiftlet all along again. Shiftlet could have chosen to settle down with the old lady and Lucynell, living a steady life and having people to talk to, but his greed and need for the car wins over his need for friendship and he leaves with the car, heading into a brewing