"The Life You Save May Be Your Own"


“The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” is a dramatic short story written by Flannery O’Connor, which captures the element of trick plotting at the slightest bit. The reader is fooled toward the end of the story, when one of the three main characters, Tom T. Shiftlet, completely leaves his wife, Lucynell Crater, and drives off to a city called Tuscaloosa. He earned the trust of Crater’s mother, also going by the name Lucynell Crater, for two things: to gather as much money from them as possible, and to drive off with something he never could afford to have: an automobile. It is an example of clear deception. In addition, the way O’ Connor drops the subtle hints of deception throughout the story, is for the reader to find out toward the end, that Shiftlet is up to no good. However, the theme O’ Connor makes is powerful. No matter how good a person thinks they are, sometimes, it is them who need the most help.
The story begins with the mother and her daughter (both Luc...