The Life You Save May Be Your Own By Mary O Connor Analysis
1350 Words6 Pages
Often as one drives down the road, they encounter many signs in regards to driving safely and wearing one’s seatbelt. Some of the signs may say things such as ‘Buckle up, it’s state law’, which is very blatantly stated and understood. Another sign that one may often see is ‘the life you save may be your own’, which can often be interpret many different ways depending on the person. An often interpretation of this sign is that you might not only save someone else’s life, but possibly your own as well. This sign is meant to be motivation for drivers to take proper precautions and follow the driving laws in order to save lives and prevent what could possibly be major damage. This has been a huge deal for many years, especially with the increase of drivers as students are able to more easily obtain vehicles. In fact, these signs…show more content… One author to incorporate this tory was Flannery O’Connor. O’Connor knew early on in her life that she was doomed to die young, and this idea often was presented in many of her stories directly or indirectly. In “The Life You Save May be Your Own”, O’Connor indirectly incorporates the ideas of death, but directly discusses the effects one could have on another. Through the twisted plot of “The Life You Save May be Your Own”, Lucynell, Mrs. Crater, and Mr. Shiftlet are have fates that are affected by the quote of the title. Lucynell, the mentally challenged daughter, has essentially a predetermined fate and is most negatively affected by the quote within the title, “The Life You Save May be Your Own”. As previously mentioned, Lucynell is a mentally challenged child who must rely heavily on her mother, Mrs. Crater, for assistance in everyday activities. Unfortunately, Lucynell is