May 26- The Life You Save & A Stroke of Good Fortune > Likes and Comments
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The Life You Save May be Your Own 4*A con man and a user in a chess match. Is Shiftlet a villain or merely super annoying in the way he dances around the topic, constantly talking, using meaningless ideas, but never revealing anything? The daughter is clearly the pawn in this game. Will she survive it?
His name means shiftless, yet he does work while he is there. But the work is only for himself; he wants to steal the car.
A Stroke of Good Fortune 3*I can see what FO was trying to say. It was just not as effective for me as her other tales.
Pregnancy denial has and will always be real.
I’m afraid I have to drop out of this read—too bleak for me. The cruelty of Mr. Shiftlet did me in.
"In the darkness, Mr. Shiftlet’s smile stretched like a weary snake waking up by a fire."The old woman sees Mr. Shiftlet as a saviour. There are many hints that he is from the other side. Her need is great.
"She was ravenous for a son-in-law."
It seems that the old woman is managing quite well without a man around. She wants his labour in exchange for her daughter, although it is likely she has money. Who is the villain here?
My kindle edition has "illustrations"--pictures that the publishers have pulled from open sources. But this one sort of works.
Jan wrote: "A Stroke of Good Fortune 3*I can see what FO was trying to say. It was just not as effective for me as her other tales.
Pregnancy denial has and will always be real."
O'Connor was Catholic. If she believed in her religion (as apparently she did), then Ruby insisting that her husband take steps to prevent pregnancy would be a sin. Ruby is terrified because of what she saw her mother go through.
“Noooo,” she said and leaned her round red face between the two nearest poles. She looked down into the stairwell and gave a long hollow wail that widened and echoed as it went down.Pretty powerful feelings.
The Life You Save Maybe Your Own - 4*,This is the first short story I read by Flannery O’Connor, it was the title that struck me first, I think this is referring to Mr Shiftlet, where the old woman understood him better than he did himself.
Anisha Inkspill wrote: "The Life You Save Maybe Your Own - 4*,This is the first short story I read by Flannery O’Connor, it was the title that struck me first, I think this is referring to Mr Shiftlet, where the old wom..."
He sees the signs as he drives away. Are they warning him to keep his promises, or run away from them?
Ginny wrote: "He sees the signs as he drives away. Are they warning him to keep his promises, or run away from them?"To me, as he was driving away, I think those signs were more his conscience speaking to him rather than being a warning to not keep his promise.
Please realize that if you haven't read both stories, there may be spoilers.