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The Life You Save May Be Your Own Summary

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The story, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” takes place in the south. On a large plot of land with an old house and small shack where a decipating car lies. I inferred the setting of the essay to be in the 1960’s based on the text on where Mr. Shiftlet said, “He judged the car to be about a 1928 or ’29 Ford.” (O’Connor, 1955, p.1014). I was able to make an educated guess by the old woman saying, “That car ain’t run in fifteen years,” (O’Connor, 1955, p. 1014) and I speculated that the car worked before it stopped running for ten to fifteen years and guessed that it is in the 1960’s. Based on the time frame of this story I believe southern hospitality was still in act. This is why I believe the old women let Mr. Shiftlet stay on her property. …show more content…

He thinks that she must be hungry so he took her to a diner called, “Hot Spot” Mr. Shiftlet orders her some “ham and grits.“ (O’Connor, 1955, p.1021). By this point Lucynell laid her head on the counter and falls asleep. Mr. Shiftlet then pays for the meal and slips out the door saying, “She is a hitchhiker”. (O’Connor, 1955, p.1021). Mr. Shiftlet continues on the road saying he has to get to, “Mobile” before nightfall only to hit a bump on the road tragically dying instantly. By this deviance he instantly got his karma.
By the elements of mystery, southern pride, and deceivance, it made the plot thicken with an underlying personality of Mr. Shiftlet that he perceives to the outer world. I can now understand what the author was thinking when they wrote the title of this fiction story, “The Life You Are Saving May Be Your Own”, because if Lucynell did not fall asleep in the diner she too, would have been dead along with Mr. Shiftlet. Life has a funny way of putting you in the right spot in the right moment. The lesson in this book is to be cautious of who you let in your house, who you let marry your daughter, and to always be

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