These are some of the typical elements of Southern Gothic Literature - Please review them and reflect on our story. How does Flannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' relate to these elements? YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES.
1. Settings most often include large, drafty old houses that have "been in the family for years." Since castles in the American landscape were practically unheard of, early Gothic fiction writers began substituting the family estate for the traditional castle.
2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense that is enhanced by a plot which seeks to discover the secrets lying within the supernaturally charged environment.
3. A ghostly legend, an unexplainable occurrence, or a story about a horrible death or murder that took place at the family estate in question.
4. Omens, foreshadowing, and dreams usually play a large role in the mysterious air that is created within the story.
5. Tales include highly charged emotional states like: terror, a feeling that one is on the brink of insanity, anger, agitation, an exaggerated feeling of some impending doom, and obsessive love.
6. Supernatural events: ghosts, doors that open themselves, unexplained sounds, etc. Okay, so Mockingbird isn’t exactly supernatural, but narrated through the eyes of a terrified six-year old, it might as well be.
7. Damsels in distress are frequent. Women who are frightened and confused, wandering around lost, or dying due to a slow and unexplainable ailment.
7. Damsels in distress are frequent. Women who are frightened and confused, wandering around lost, or dying due to a slow and unexplainable ailment.
8. Words designed to evoke images of gloom and doom: dark, foreboding, forbidding, ghostly, etc.
9. Romantic themes often involve the death of a man or woman in the throes of some great passion, the obsessive nature of a man or woman in love, or excessive grief one feels upon the loss of a loved one.
10. Injustice. Almost every character in Mockingbird is at least somewhat racist, including our lovable narrator from time to time.
11. The grotesque. Atrocities. Monsters. Torturers. Circus-like curiosities. Characters that fit the mold can run the gamut. Mrs. Dubose is a great example of a grotesque character; she’s a humorless old bigot with an unnecessarily possessive attitude toward her camellias. Southern writer Carson McCullers used grotesque characters to illuminate universal truths about the human condition. She said, “Love, and especially love of a person who is incapable of returning or receiving it, is at the heart of my selection of grotesque figures to write about—people whose physical incapacity is a symbol of their spiritual incapacity to love or receive love— their spiritual isolation.”
11. The grotesque. Atrocities. Monsters. Torturers. Circus-like curiosities. Characters that fit the mold can run the gamut. Mrs. Dubose is a great example of a grotesque character; she’s a humorless old bigot with an unnecessarily possessive attitude toward her camellias. Southern writer Carson McCullers used grotesque characters to illuminate universal truths about the human condition. She said, “Love, and especially love of a person who is incapable of returning or receiving it, is at the heart of my selection of grotesque figures to write about—people whose physical incapacity is a symbol of their spiritual incapacity to love or receive love— their spiritual isolation.”
12. One of the defining features of southern gothic is the cast of off-kilter characters, many of whom are "not right in the head." The genre is riddled with many broken bodies, and even more broken souls. When southern gothic authors examine the human condition, they see the potential to do harm. Morality is in question for many characters. A major theme for southern gothic writers hinges on innocence, and the innocent's place in the world—where they are often asked to act as redeemer.
The Life You Save May Be Your Own has a gloomy setting. It takes place in an old farm, that is mostly abandoned but an old women and a down-syndrome girl. Another aspect that is gloomy in the ending, when the boy kills himself in a pit, which was an act of insanity. The story itself is stranger than any other story. It is a lot different than any other story, and is creepy at some points. Another Gothic aspect in the woman in the story. She is in a way disabled, and cannot speak or listen to her own husband. In conclusion, The Life You Save May Be Your Own is a Gothic piece of writing, and is very strange for sure.
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ReplyDeleteThe story "The Life You Save Might Be Your Own" uses many of the shown elements in typical southern gothic literature. It takes place mostly in a big, dark looking house, where only two people live. From the start of the story, you are slowly learning more about the characters and plot of the story. It becomes darker and darker, especially because of the way the writer tells the story. The atmosphere of this story is definitely very mysterious. You don't know who Shiftlet is, and in the beginning he seems very dangerous and scary. An image can be made from the story due to the author's choice of words. You can imagine what is happening to these people, what they are doing. The deaf daughter adds a sense of sympathy and also confusion. I can tell the time period adds to the plot of the story and the feelings you might experience throughout reading it. Shiftlet is eerie and grotesque, like how he has one half of one arm and the way he looks. Also, its very weird how after marrying the deaf girl, he leaves her helpless and alone in a diner. None of the characters in this story are normal, which sort of makes it more interesting. All in all, these are some of the gothic elements used in this story.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways in which Flannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' relate to these elements. One element that stuck out to me was the element where there is an an atmosphere of mystery and suspense that is enhanced by a plot. The part when the man is leaning on the car asking random questions to the lady was very mysterious to me because I had no idea what was going to happen next, and I would have never of guessed that the daughter and the man get married in the end. In this story there are also words designed to evoke images of gloom and doom. When the author started to describe e place that the old lady and the daughter were saying, there were a lot of words that evoked images in my head of a very dark spirited town. These characteristics of the story ‘The Life You Save May Be Your Own’ are what make it a very gothic short story.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' has several elements inside of it that shows why it is a piece of Gothic literature. The setting is one element. It is an old lady's home that has been falling apart through the generations. Old houses, or 'estates', are always present in Gothic literature. Another element used is the atmosphere of mystery that this story shows. Right from the beginning, the author sets the scene with an eerie, mysterious atmosphere. Added onto the strange atmosphere is the words that are used to create it in the first place. They all seem dark and foreboding which sets the Gothic scene even better. Finally, the characters in the story show how Gothic this is. Mr. Shiftlet is a one-armed man who has had many jobs and has gone to many places. He doesn't seem right in the head, and this is shown through the first conversation the we witnessed by him. It was a very different way top meet somebody for the first time.
ReplyDelete~Joshua Tyler
Flannery O’Conner’s story, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, demonstrates many of the characteristics of an American gothic story. First of all, all three of the main characters are somewhat mentally disturbed. Mr. Shiftlet is a conman whose only goal is to take the Lucynell Crater senior’s car, which shows a criminal steak in his nature, old Mrs. Crater’s main goal is to get herself a son in law by sticking Mr. Shiftlet with her disabled daughter, which paints her as a manipulative and tricky old hag, and finally, Lucynell Crater junior is deaf and mute, which not her fault in anyway and does not reflect on her at all, but still shows mental instability nonetheless. A damsel in distress theme is also somewhat evident, as Lucynell junior is completely helpless, and it first appears that Mr. Shiftlet is trying to help her, at least until he dumps her off in a diner. Finally, the charged psyche of Mr. Shiftlet changes frequently, from the senile paranoid mumbling of a beggar, to the sly cunning of a thief, and finally the sheer terror experienced by him when the lone boy in the car exacts his hateful rant on Mr. Shiftlet. By no means is this story ordinary, but it does depict some of the key qualities of an American gothic story.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' relates to these elements of gothic literature in many ways. For instance the setting is a an old and lonely house somewhere in the south. As well the story contains a damsel in ditress, the hitch hiker who Mr. Shiflet picks up. Also the story contains a few odd characters like the old lady in the story and Mr. Shiftlet. Mr. Shiflet merely appears to be a bit strange and "not right in the head", while the old lady seems slightly grotesque and wier with her possesiveness of her daughter and her lack of teeth. Another relations to the elements of a gothic story include are when mystery behind who is Mr. Shiftlet and why is he there as well as what was his past like. The last element that the story seems to posses is a ghostly legend. This can be seen when the old lady explains the the car stoppped working when her husband died.
ReplyDeleteThere are many examples of gothic literature in The Life You Save May Be Your Own. One would is that there is an atmosphere of mystery and suspense throughout the story. An example of this would be is when the man is randomly asking questions to the lady, this came off a bit mysterious to me. Also, this was suspensful, as I couldn't predict what was going to happen and I was intrigued. The story also has a sort of dark, gloomy setting, which is an old farm. This story is a very creepy, dark story, which adds to its gothic nature.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor's, The Life you Save May Be Your Own, is a Gothic piece of writing that uses many elements that are used to help the story better. A few elements are setting, atmosphere, and romantic elements. These elements and some others are used to make the story better in a way because when they are used the right way it could make the story more detailed and easier to comprehend. the setting and the atmosphere are probably the most important things that are needed. The setting is where the story takes place and the atmosphere is almost added effect on the setting. These key elements are very important for this reason.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor's, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, is a gothic tale for a number of reasons. One way that the story can be considered gothic is because they are dark feature or gloomy surroundings. I believe that it is actually kind of creepy the way that the author decided to present each character is suspicious and creepy in a way. Supernatural events occurred in this story, which also made the story seem gothic, so to speak. Mr. Shiftlet taught Lucynell Crater, the daughter, how to say certain words even though she is deaf. I personally think it is a supernatural event because usually deaf people can't talk and never learn how to speak. Flannery O’Connor’s, The Life You Save Maybe Your Own, may not seem like a gothic tale, however it definitely had its aspects.
ReplyDeleteThe Life You Save May Be Your Own has a lot of traits in common with gothic literature, which leads me to believe that it is. First, the setting is much like the settings in gothic literature. The Crater's house had been theirs for year and it is very beat down. Next, there is a dark atmosphere where you feel that there is much more being hidden from you. An example of this is when Mr. Shiftlet keeps talking about humans will do anything and that you don't know what someone is like just by looking at them. There was also a tale told by Mr. Shiflet that a doctor cut out a human's heart and held it in his hand, however the doctor will never know what the person was like just by the heart no matter what you do to it. There also is a confused women that we know nothing about, which is the daughter Lucynell Crater. She jumps up and down, claps her hands,makes odd noises for no apparent reasons, and sometimes doesn't even know where she is. One can only assume that she is mentally ill. This adds even more to the dark atmosphere, for the mother Lucynell pushed Mr. Shiftlet to mary her, and the daughter Lucynell may not even know what is going on. Mr. Shiftlet also dierly wanted to live by his own morals and by what his mother taught him, however Mrs. Lucynell Crater forced her to marry her daughter. There are also off-kilter characters, like the boy who gets in Mr. Shiftlet's car.
ReplyDeleteThe Life You Save May Be Your Own relates to many parts of gothic literature. This story posses many gothic words, and puts them in the story to help the reader better understand the situation at times. For example one of the sentences says that "he had a man's gray hat pulled down low over her head." This is put in the story to bring out the creepyness or how the lady is different. Another example would be "He seemed to be a young man but he had a look of composed dissatisfaction as if he understood life thoroughly." These are two examples of how this story posses certain words that help the reader understand the people involved in this story.
ReplyDeleteJason Hopkins
ReplyDelete"The Life You Save May Be Your Own" is a very peculiar story. It has many Gothic elements in it. To start off, when we first see Lucynell Crater, the daughter, she is presented as odd. In the beginning of the story we don't know what is wrong with her. Every character comes into the story in an odd way. Mr. Shiftlet,in particular, creeped me out. I thought the man was going to attack the old lady, not marry her. The tone of the story had no emotion whatsoever. It felt really dark and out of place. You have this disabled kid who the mother says she would never give away, but she also doesn't mind her daughter's disabilities. It was very interesting to see Lucynell react to the environment. When the boy killed himself, it actually scared me and made me think about the situation more. Mr. Shiftlet was a very odd character, in my opinion. The story was very odd but interesting.
In 'The Life You Save Maye Be Your Own", there are many examples of these gothic elements. To being, all three characters, the old women, the daughter and Mr. Shiftlet are all kind of strange, disturbed people. In continuation, the house in which the old lady and her daughter live in is 'beaten down' and there is a lot that can be fixed about it. Also, their car hasn't run in 15 years, since the old womens husband died. Those are examples of the setting element. In addition, the supernatural/the twisted natural is somewhat involved in this story Next, this story did have some sense of a mystery in which you were unsure of how the story was going to play out in the end or how all the characters were going to conect to one another which brings in the second element. Further, the third element, which is about the story being a gostly legend or murder doesn't exactly apply to this story. However, towards the end, when Mr. Shiftlet leavs the daughter just at The Hot Spot which wasn't really any special place. To add on, element nine, which talks about romance is somewhat included in this story since Mr. Shiftlet and the daughter get married even though it wasn't real love since the old women wanted them too. Finally, the last element, number twelve, could be somewhat included in this story because the old women isn't exactly right in the head since she wants a strange man, she just met, to marry her daughter even though she said no one was ever going to take her daughter away from her. Also, the daughter is about thirty years old however that is impossible to tell because of her innocence. It states in the begining that she is a large girl wearing 'a short blue organdy dress' even though she is about thirty years old. All in all, I found this story more wierd and jsut plain strange rather than really dark and gothic.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own demonstrates some strong aspects of Gothic literature. First off, the cast of characters are rather strange. Among these are an old woman who dresses like a man, a guy who talks about hearts being amputated and cut up, and a chubby girl with severe mental ailments. Furthermore, the story has a rather gloomy conclusion with a boy killing himself over growing frustration and insanity. This gives the story a creepy atmosphere and creates a rather sad, strange and gloomy ending.
ReplyDeleteIn Flannery O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own", even though it is hard to tell, it is a Gothic story. You can tell it is a Gothic story by looking and interperting the text. One part in the story when the mysterious man was walking up the road, you can tell that it is a Gothic because of the man's mysterious ways. The way Flannery O'Connor describes his features sort of gives an ominous and mysetrious feeling to the story. Another thing is the atmosphere and setting of the story. The atmosphere seems kind of different and the whole concept of the story is all a little too strange. For an example, when the man walks into the yard he just lifted his arms(even though he was missing one of his arms) and just stares out into the sunset. He doesnt reply for a little while when asked a question and I thought that was a little strange. As the story goes on and begins to come to an end O'Connor gives you a little slogan to think about. The slogan is the same name as the title of the story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Mr. Shiflet seems like a nice and caring man who wouldn't do any harm, but as the story progresses you begin to understand that he might have a secret side to him. The part where he left the deaf girl in Hot Spot changed my view of him a lot and you can tell that he is trying to "save himself." These are a few ways you can tell that the story relates to the elements of a Gothic story.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few of these elements that relate to the story, 'the life you save may be your own.' The setting in the story talks about an old house that has a girl and an old lady living in. The author didn't mention if the house was owned by their previous generations of family, but it did say that it was am strange, old house. Second,there was an atmosphere of mystery and suspense in the story. Mr. Shiflet seemed very mysterious throughout the entire story. Also, there were many different tyoes of emotion in this stoey. For example, Mr. Shiflet didn't seem to want to marry the old lady's daughter, but in the end he did. All the characters changed emotion throught the story. You could also say that the old lady's daughter was a damsel in destress, because she seemed to be confused in the story, and didn't ever talk. Injustice could also have taken place in the story. I didn't understand the story so much, but Mr. Shiftlet let the old lady's daughter alone in a resturant. This seems very unfair, because I don't think she knows how to talk, and she probably doesn't know where she is. This story contains many of the elements that are listed here, and they relate very well.
ReplyDeleteZaynah Kalaoun
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor has not really dark elements in her short story "The Life you Save May be your Own" it's mostly supernatural elements and aspects to it. She demonstrates supernatural through out the whole story. An example the way Flannery describes the environment and how the characters look and act. For example on page 2 paragraph 21 she described the moon and how it appeared in the branches of the fig tree. This would be supernatural because even in movies and other stories there would be a scene of the full moon at night behind an old tree. Another supernatural element that I notice was the way Flannery describe the weather and how the clouds were gray and in odd shapes like a turnip. The weather on the last page quoted "After a few minutes there was a guffawing peal of thunder from behind and fantastic raindrops". The story even had mystery because for one you wanted to know why Lucynell was acting weird when she spotted Mr.Shiftlet. That scene was a mystery because as the reader you want to know everything you can about the character until later you dicover that Lucynell is deaf. Also Flannery made Lucynell a damsel in distress because Lucynell was deaf and in a way helpless because she could not hear or speak to anyone.
There are several instances in which Flannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' relates to the elements of a gothic story. For example, when Mr. Shifflet is first introduced the setting of the story is strange. The old lady lives in an old house with just her daughter. The langueage used my the author gives the reader the idea of a creepy broken down house. Additionally, the woman is a widow. This brings up the element of death. This can make a reader feel the woman is helpless. She has no husband and a daughter who is deaf. Also, the daughters state of mental health is also adding to the story. Her first incounter of Mr. Shifflet was fright. Futhermore, Tom's arrival was unexpected. That instantly brings his character into question. Mr. Shifflet himself said "How do you know I am not lying?" The old woman and her daughter have no clue what this mans intentions are. This creates an atomosphere of fear and anxiety. Lastly, when Tom is driving away and ne see the sign that says " The life you save may be your own." The sign holds significence to the action that just accorded in the story. Tom just saved himself from a life of misery and frustration.
ReplyDelete-Isabella Landry
In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" three of the key components make this story Gothic Literature. For example, 7 and 10, because Lucynell being the damsel in distress and the kid Mr. Shiftlet picks up after he ditches Lucynell in a cafe, and the injustice in the end of the story when the Mr. Shiftlet marries Lucynell to get the car and some money. The one part of the story that is left mysterious is who Mr. Shiftlet actually is, and what he is after. Obviously, at the end of the story, we find out he's after the car.
ReplyDeleteFlannery O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" relates to most of these elements. It relates to element one due to the fact that it takes place at an old family estate. It also relates to element two, five and seven. When the story begins the setting or atmosphere is gloomy. When Mr. Shiftlet comes to the old woman's house the sky is different than its usual form and the family seems cross. Near the end of the story the boy and Mr. Shiftlet have an argument about the boy leaving his mother. There is much tension and the boy ends up getting kicked out of the car. Lynell seems to be like the dansell in distress. She wanders around not quite knowing what is going on because she is deaf. The narrative applies to element nine too. Lynell and Mr. Shiftlet become fond each other and end up getting married.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few ways that Flannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' relate to the elements. First, the setting is at an old house near the mountains in the middle of nowhere. It is definitely drafty because it is old and has a lot of areas that need to be fixed. This story also has an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. This is because a one-armed stranger shows up at the house of an old woman and a mentally ill girl. You are wondering why he is there and what exactly wrong with the girl. You are also curious as to why the old woman is a widow. Where is her husband? I think it is also strange how Mr. Shifflet said how he could be lying about his identity. Of course he was right, there was a big possibility he was lying. But there was no way for the old woman to make sure he was who he said he was. I think this almost foreshadows that there is something odd about him. The daughter is almost like a grotesque character. She seems to be mentally ill, but you don't know the details. She doesn't speak much and acts like a small child. Innocence is definitely a theme in this story. The daughter is innocent, simply because she is "not right in the head." She hasn't hurt anyone, but the one-armed stranger leaves her alone after getting married. This shows that his morality is in question. This story is related to the elements because of the setting, atmosphere, the grotesque, and the off-kilter characters.
ReplyDeleteAllie Fish