Doing_What_It_Takes

Doing What It Takes Doing What it Takes “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” the story of a drifting man who meets an old woman and her daughter, is a very interesting piece by Flannery O’Connor. 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 O’Connor’s 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, O’Connor provides us with a window that helps us see more clearly, the intentions on both Mrs., Crater’s and Mr. Shiftlet’s parts. O’Connor 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, O’Connor uses symbolism to sneak mr, shiftlet, lucynell, o’connor, very, daughter, something, car, intentions, symbolism, show, good, through, story, shows, shiftlet’s, out, normal, mother, crater, better, actions, vulnerable, two, trust, true, took, things, o’connor’s, looking, know, just, isn’t, hopper, fact