The Life You Save May Be Your Own Sparknotes

When Shiftlet first notices the car on the Craters’ property, it is presented as a potential path to salvation: helping a family in need by fixing up their old car. However, Shiftlet takes the path of deviance and plots to steal the car from the family. The car represents a fork in the road between two life paths: That of righteousness and that of deceit. As Shiftlet is driving off alone with the car that he conned his way into attaining when “a cloud… [descends] over the sun… with a guffawing peal of thunder from behind and fantastic raindrops” (O’Connor 538). The storm that ensues represents the divine reaction to the deplorable actions of Shiftlet and his choice of running from it represents his decision to pursue a life filled with sin.

Magical thinking is the anthropological idea that if one performs the right actions, or hopes enough for something, their desired outcome will happen. The concept of “magical thinking” is one of the central ideas discussed in Joan Didion’s memoir The Year of Magical Thinking. This memoir explores the grief experienced by the author after losing her husband of nearly forty years. In no way does Didion try to approach death poetically, but rather honestly and practically. She bravely discusses the universal, yet rarely talked about, aspects of death, such as self pity, regret, isolation, secretly going crazy, and the phenomenon she describes as “magical thinking.”

Steinbeck portrays those with cognitive disabilities to his audience in a way that makes them seem uncivilized often comparing them to animals. He demonstrates that despite good intentions, those with cognitive disabilities often make mistakes and are forced to live with the consequences. Lennie Small plays a major role in propelling the plot forward. Described as large man with extremely limited cognitive capabilities, he often makes mistakes which from which he has consequences. George, his friend, is always the person he relies on to bail him out of trouble.

Meredith Hall is mother is faced with divorce in “Killing Chickens”. Isolated by the betrayal of her husband’s adultery with her best friend, she tackles the chores he left behind while celebrating her 38th birthday with her two sons. Throughout the story she allows herself to feel hurt, angry, and lost; crying frequently but putting on a happy face in front of the children, but overall Hall comes off as strong. By the end of a nightmare of a day she’s adjusted into what you might call survival mode, getting everything done that needs done and preparing to face the hardships that her tomorrow will bring.

The story "Marigolds" by Eugenia W. Collier is a short story that goes through the journey of Lizabeth. Lizabeth is a young girl that goes through an event that transitions her from a child to a woman. She shows many different sides to herself. She is wild, immature, and conflictual. Throughout the story, she comes to show that with maturity comes compassion.

In the memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette manages to overcome her obstacles by realizing her independence. She is impacted by her parents’ incapabilities because she realizes that she has to do things differently than other children. Her father was a stubborn alcoholic who believed that: “[they] were all getting too soft, too dependent on creature comforts, and that [they] were losing touch with the natural order of the world”(Walls 106). He believes that every human should be independent and fend for themselves. By using the term “creature comforts”, her father is trying to separate himself from what he calls the civilians.

Jeannette Walls depicted an epoch of misfortune and adversity in her memoir, The Glass Castle. Jeannette and her 3 other siblings were all in a constant struggle to survive. Rex and Mary, the parents of Jeannette and her 3 siblings, were often in a constant dichotomy between submitting to self-interest and supporting the family. Having misfit parents, Jeannette and her 3 siblings were often independent and left to fend for themselves and for the family as a whole. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls evolved the theme of ideal versus reality throughout her memoir though her countless anecdotes of her father and his unattainable plans to find gold and to build a home, named The Glass Castle, for his family and her mother’s dream to become a professional and well redound artist.

10.) Jaycee uses a lot of figurative language throughout the novel especially, when she is describing her abduction and having sex with Philip. “I hear the crackling sound and I feel paralyzed” (Dugard 9). She uses onomatopoeia to mimic the sound of the stun gun to enrich her text. The effect of her using figurative language is the reader better understands what is happening.

Artis Griffin Mrs. Horn English 11 26 January 2015 Human Morality in the Eyes of Flannery O’Connor Do humans have questionable morals? Flannery O’Connor proves that sometimes humans do in her short story, “The Life You Save May Be You Own”. This short story is about how a stranger named Mr. Shiftlet meets an old woman named Mrs. Crater and her only daughter Lucynell. Both Mrs. Crater and Mr. Shiftlet are somewhat corrupt human beings, but Lucynell is pure and innocent.

A personal belief that many people have is that puppies are one of the most adorable creatures in the world. The young, energetic, playfulness of one can bring joy and love to people who are a fan of dogs. The story by George Saunders titled “puppy” brings to light the youthful nature of children and how they are like puppies needing understanding and guidance. On the adult side of the spectrum, adults may not always make the best decisions just like puppies when it comes to making choices about the people they love and having clear judgment. The story is set in the belief that we prioritize the people we love based on the conditions and choices that come with that person.

Besar Limani Essay #2 “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” The story “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” is written by the writer and essayist Flannery O’Connor, who is an important figure for the American literature. The origin of the author is from the Southern States of USA and most of the time she uses the so called Southern Gothic style. Very often she depicts grotesque characters, just like Mr. Shiftlet in this story, which is typical for the Southern Gothic style.

The character Lucy is described as the most innocent character in “Dracula” which is why she is loved by both the characters in the novel as well as the reader. Lucy is thought to be a more traditional woman, in the sense that she is chaste and pure, making her more desirable. She has three different men proposing to her and has the ability to choose the one that she likes the best. Lucy’s purity is sought after because this is how a traditional Victorian woman should act in the eyes of society.

Louise Mallard in a story of The Story of an Hour is a beautiful character. She has made a just choice by asking her husband to take her to the outside world instead of staying in her house forever because of her heart condition. Her action is very wise when she is keep asking her husband to take her to the outside world because she wants to get out there to live a life she always wanted, and go to her favorite places. She is keep asking her husband over and over again, but the answer is always a no. Brently, who is Louise husband, gets to go around the world and take picture to bring it back home to show it to Louise.

In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, Mr. Wright 's murder never gets solved. That is because Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters unite against the county attorney, Mr. Hale and the sheriff. Trifles is about the county attorney, Mr. Hale and the sheriff trying to uncover evidence to show Mrs. Wright 's motive for killing her husband. As the play progresses, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover crucial evidence that proves the men 's theory: Mrs. Wright killed Mr. Wright. But they decide to hide the evidence to prove their ideas should be valued and are not something to be trifled, with the irony in the play which comes from the title.

Henry Roth is a veterinarian who is afraid of commitment. He meets Lucy Whitmore at the Hukilau café one morning and Henry though that he finally found the girl of his dreams, until he discovered that she has amnesia and forgets him the very next day. Sue, the café waitress explained to Henry that Lucy has “Goldfield Syndrome” caused by a car accident several months ago. Lucy wakes up every day believing it’s her father’s birthday, October 13, 2002. Every morning after that day, she wakes up, doing the same things over again and every night while she sleeps, “her slate is wiped clean”.