Doing What It Takes essays

Doing What It Takes essays The Life You Save Mat Be Your Own, the story of a drifting man who meets an old woman and her daughter, is a very interesting piece by Flannery OConnor. The old woman, Lucynell Crater and her daughter, also Lucynell Crater, live by themselves, and one day Mr. Shiftlet, the drifter, appears on their front porch. This story tells about how their relationship grows all together and very effectively uses symbolism to explain the characters intentions. Through OConnors symbolism we see what all the characters have in mind and it is shown through their thoughts and actions. Although Lucynell Crater, the mother, and Mr. Shiftlet seem to be very polite and generous, OConnor provides us with a window that helps us see more clearly, the intentions on both Mrs., Craters and Mr. Shiftlets parts. OConnor describes Mr. Shiftlet to be a very nice and generous man, looking for a place to stay in return for his work. His actions, for the most part, show us his good intentions and lead us to believe that he is a good person. Yet, while his actions mostly portray good aspects, OConnor uses symbolism to sneak in the true meaning behind Mr. Shiftlet. His left coat sleeve was folded up to show there was only half an arm in it and his gaunt figure listed slightly to the side as if the breeze were pushing him. (OConnor 47) OConnor uses his disability to show us that he isnt normal. Normal people have two arms and Mr. Shiftlet did not, so something is wrong with him. He isnt normal. ...there aint a broken thing on this plantation that I couldnt fix for you, one-arm jackleg or not. Im a man, he said with a sullen dignity, even if I aint a whole one. (OConnor 53) We see here that Mr. Shiftlet is capable of doing normal things so this leads me to ...