Transcript The Life You Save May Be Your Own”

“The Life You Save
May Be Your Own”
Flannery O’Connor
March 25, 1925 – August 3, 1964
"I am a writer because
writing
is the thing I do best"
- Flannery O' Connor
BIOGRAPHY
Mary Flannery O’Connor was born March 25,
1925, in Savannah, Georgia, to devout Roman
Catholic parents.
O'Connor graduated from Georgia State
College for Women in Milledgeville in 1945.
-While still in graduate school, published
her first short story "Geranium“
In 1951, she was diagnosed with lupus. (a
disease that attacks immune system)
"in a sense, sickness is a place more
instructive than a trip to Europe"
O’Connor died from lupus on August 3, 1964,
at the age of 39.
Writing Style
 wrote two novels and 32
short stories
 wrote based on her personal
beliefs about people and
society
 many of her stories are
about death, but have a
moral message
 believed her works
portrayed the world
accurately.
Characteristics of
Southern Gothic Literature
 Southern Gothic is a subgenre of gothic writing that
combines elements of dark humor , exaggerations,
tragedies, and romance, and are mostly set in the
American South.
 Relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to
explore social issues and reveal the cultural character
of the American South.
 Uses classic Gothic archetypes and portrays them
more realistically and modernly.
 Obsesses with the grotesque and distorted.
 Often includes deeply flawed characters to portray
unpleasant aspects of the South.
Elements of the Grotesque
 O’Connor’s preoccupation with the demonic and violent are
central characteristics of her work.
 Grotesque characters often seen in stories- bizarre or
twisted, usually through some kind of obsession. can be
expressed through characters physical appearance.
 She used elements of the grotesque and the distorted to
convey a message about the need for spiritual renewal.
 She believed man had a powerful destructive element in
his soul that made him behave grotesquely or violently.
 Her work is religious because many of her characters
knowingly face the choice of Jesus or devil, belief or
unbelief, morality or immorality.
 She includes satirical accounts of materialism and
secularism in her writing.
“The Life You Save May Be Your Own”
 Setting: a small farm
 Symbolism- isolation
from the rest of society
 Relation to O'Connorbecause of her disease,
she felt set apart from
other people.
Characters
Mr. Shiftlet
 one armed man
 represents greed and sin.
 "he swung both his whole and his short arm up slowly so that they
indicated an expanse of sky and his figure formed a crooked
cross“ -pg. 984
 symbolic of his role in the story as a twisted savior.
Daughter and Mother
 both named Lucynell Carter.
Young Lucynell - deaf and has mental illness.
 represents innocence
 "the girl was nearly thirty but because of her innocence, it was
impossible to guess.”
Old Lucynell - has no teeth and is large
 represents hope and eagerness
 "the old woman watched from a distance, secretly pleased.
she was ravenous for a son-in law"
Symbolism
 Handicap: Physically and Mentally
 Mr. Shiftlet is physically handicapped (has
only one arm)
 Shiftlet: Shifty- Mr. Shiftlet’s name suggests
he is a shiftless, unreliable person.
 Emotionally handicapped since the day he
left his mother, who, like Lucynell, was an
“Angel of Gawd”
 “crooked cross-” Shiftlet’s role is as a
twisted, distorted savior.
Symbolism
 Mrs. Crater’s physical ailment is her age
(old)
 Mrs. Crater: Crater-Hole, emptiness
 Her emotional handicap is that she is
determined to marry off her innocent
daughter.
 Lucynell is physically handicapped with
mental retardation.
 She is emotionally handicapped by not
being able to talk and communicate and
hold relationships with others.
Symbolism
 Innocence:
 Lucynell is quiet and sheltered.
 She lives happily and simply, much like a
child.
 Lucynell plays a part in this story as an
“angel of Gawd,” which symbolizes her
innocence and goodness.
 Mrs. Crater shows some innocence when
she sees her ability to judge people as a
strength, but it ends up being a
weakness and leads to the loss of
money, her daughter, and a car.
Symbolism
 Blue:
 Associated with Virgin Mary
 Lucynell wears blue (blue dress, blue
eyes)
 Blue is symbolic of innocence and purity.
 Automobile modern day coffin, coffin in which
ancient monks slept in.
Irony - Title
 “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”
 No lives saved, many damaged
 Lucynell: Mrs. Crater got her married, hoping to
give her a happy life, but she is left in Mobile to
care for herself
 Mrs. Crater: She got Lucynell married,
believing that they both would be forever
happy, but now is alone without daughter or
financial security
 Mr. Shiftlet: Lost out on chance for love and
true happiness with Lucynell and the stability of
family
Irony - Situational
 Definition: Contrast between what is
expected to happen and what actually
happens
 In the story Mr. Shiftlet says, “Let the
world’s rottennes slime be washed away”
and then a rain storm chases him
Irony - Dramatic
 Definition: The reader knows more
about a situation than the characters
know
 In the story it is ironic when the
counter boy at the diner does not
know that “angel of Gawd” will be a
major problem when she wakes up
Irony
 Mr. Shiftlet is obsessed with the morality and
cruelty of the world. This is ironic because
Shiftlet is corrupt and evil himself.
 Mrs. Crater thinks Mr. Shiftlet is saving her and
Lucynell from a life of emptiness and
loneliness. Ironically, Shiftlet abandons
Lucynell at a diner far from her home.
 Mr. Shiftlet thinks he has the ability and the
right to “save” someone else when he
needs salvation also.
Religion in Stories
“I don’t think you should write something as long as a novel around anything
that is not of the gravest concern to you and everybody else and for me this is
always the conflict between an attraction for the Holy and the disbelief in it
that we breathe in with the air of the times.” – Flannery O’Connor
 The obsession with material items blinds people to their
responsibilities towards others, makes them selfish and
greedy, and distances them from religious dedication.
 O'Connor's work might be considered an effort to regain the
idea of the Holy in a time in which the meaning and
reality of this idea had been hidden.
 In her stories, she frequently criticizes the greediness and
the spiritual indifference of modern society.
 O’Connor was a Jansenist. Jansenism is the theological
principles of Cornelis Jansen that emphasizes
predestination and says that human nature is corrupt
and incapable of good.
“To the hard of hearing you
shout and for the almost blind
you draw large and startling
figures.” – Flannery O’Connor