Flannery O’Connor reflects many different parts of her life into her stories. One main part is her religion. In “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, Tom T. Shiftlet is clearly a Christ figure. He revives the car, gives Lucynell freedom, is a carpenter, and at the beginning of the story stands like a cross. As Christ did these things Tom T. Shiftlet is obviously a Christ figure. In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, the grandmother keeps telling the Misfit to be with Jesus and she herself was praying to God. Again, the grandmother is showing the connection between Flannery’s religion and her stories. O’Connor’s writings also contain a correlation with her childhood. As the author grew up raising exotic birds, there are many references to birds in
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The old woman has this choice when she is so eager to give her daughter to Shiftlet. When the author says “ I ain’t ever been parted with her for two days before,” (O’Connor 6). The old woman is clearly at that choosing point of whether she wants to do the right thing or the desperate thing. She can choose to not have a son in law or to give her daughter away to a tramp she has known for three days. But when she still gives Lucynell away, the old woman seals her fate. She doesn’t have a chance to redeem herself anymore. However, the old woman is not the only one who has a possibility of redemption. Tom T. Shiftlet is given this choice once the hitchhiker yells at him. Throughout the story it is shown how he could have a better life if he decided to do the right thing. Yet, Tom chooses to leave Lucynell and go through the cloud. In the changing weather, it is clearly presented that his time frame for saving or redemption is slipping away. Once the storm actually starts the sun is blocked out and Shiftlet’s chance is gone. Flannery O’Connor says, “A cloud… had descended over the sun… he raced the galloping shower into Mobile,” (O’Connor 8). This shows that Shiftlet had a choice, but he decided not to take it causing his chance for redemption to be blocked yet again. Through both the characters and the conflicts they face, the theme of the choice for redemption is brought out in the author’s
The old woman has this choice when she is so eager to give her daughter to Shiftlet. When the author says “ I ain’t ever been parted with her for two days before,” (O’Connor 6). The old woman is clearly at that choosing point of whether she wants to do the right thing or the desperate thing. She can choose to not have a son in law or to give her daughter away to a tramp she has known for three days. But when she still gives Lucynell away, the old woman seals her fate. She doesn’t have a chance to redeem herself anymore. However, the old woman is not the only one who has a possibility of redemption. Tom T. Shiftlet is given this choice once the hitchhiker yells at him. Throughout the story it is shown how he could have a better life if he decided to do the right thing. Yet, Tom chooses to leave Lucynell and go through the cloud. In the changing weather, it is clearly presented that his time frame for saving or redemption is slipping away. Once the storm actually starts the sun is blocked out and Shiftlet’s chance is gone. Flannery O’Connor says, “A cloud… had descended over the sun… he raced the galloping shower into Mobile,” (O’Connor 8). This shows that Shiftlet had a choice, but he decided not to take it causing his chance for redemption to be blocked yet again. Through both the characters and the conflicts they face, the theme of the choice for redemption is brought out in the author’s