Southern Gothic Answers

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”The daughter could not see far in front of her and continued to play with her fingers. Although the old woman lived in this desolate spot with only her daughter and she had never seen Mr. Shiftlet before, she could tell, even from a distance, that he was a tramp and no one to be afraid of. His left coat sleeve was folded up to show there was only half an arm in it and his gaunt figure listed slightly to the side as if the breeze were pushing him. He had on a black town suit and a brown felt hat that was turned up in the front and down in the back and he carried a tin tool box by a handle. He came on, at an amble, up her road, his face turned toward the sun which appeared to be balancing itself on the peak of a small mountain.What technique does O’Connor use in the paragraph to create compelling characters?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”“It’s nothing so sweet,” Mr. Shiftlet continued, “as a boy’s mother. She taught him his first prayers at her knee, she give him love when no other would, she told him what was right and what wasn’t, and she seen that he done the right thing. Son,” he said, “I never rued a day in my life like the one I rued when I left that old mother of mine.”What is ironic about Mr. Shiftlet’s comments?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”Although the old woman lived in this desolate spot with only her daughter and she had never seen Mr. Shiftlet before, she could tell, even from a distance, that he was a tramp and no one to be afraid of. His left coat sleeve was folded up to show there was only half an arm in it and his gaunt figure listed slightly.Which phrase connects these characters to the Southern gothic genre?

Which type of Southern gothic character is represented in O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”Mr. Shiftlet was so shocked that for about a hundred feet he drove along slowly with the door stiff open. A cloud, the exact color of the boy’s hat and shaped like a turnip, had descended over the sun, and another, worse looking, crouched behind the car. Mr. Shiftlet felt that the rottenness of the world was about to engulf him. He raised his arm and let it fall again to his breast. “Oh Lord!” he prayed. “Break forth and wash the slime from this earth!”Which best describes the irony of the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”They drove back to the house to let the old woman off and pick up the lunch. When they were ready to leave, she stood staring in the window of the car, with her fingers clenched around the glass. Tears began to seep sideways out of her eyes and run along the dirty creases in her face. “I ain’t ever been parted with her for two days before,” she said.Which best describes the irony in the excerpt?

Read the sentence from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”She had long pink-gold hair and eyes as blue as a peacock’s neck.How does the simile in the sentence develop Lucynell’s character?

Read the sentence from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”The ugly words settled in Mr. Shiftlet’s head like a group of buzzards in the top of a tree.How does the simile in the sentence develop the Southern gothic character of Mr. Shiftlet?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”“A body and a spirit,” he repeated. “The body, lady, is like a house: it don’t go anywhere; but the spirit, lady, is like a automobile: always on the move, always . . .”How does the figurative language used by Mr. Shiftlet develop his character?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”The ugly words settled in Mr. Shiftlet’s head like a group of buzzards in the top of a tree.The simile in this excerpt compares