Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.” He held the pose for almost fifty seconds and then he picked up his box and came on to the porch and dropped down on the bottom step. “Lady,” he said in a firm nasal voice, “I’d give a fortune to live where I could see me a sun do that every evening.” Keeping in mind the ending of the story, which best describes the irony of Mr. Shiftlet’s statement?
Answer
A
According to Mrs. Crater, the sun sets like this every evening, and if he stays at the plantation, Mr. Shiftlet will see this regularly.
B
Instead of staying at the plantation, where he can see sunsets like these for the rest of his life, he runs away with Mrs. Crater’s car and money.
C
Mr. Shiftlet does not need a fortune, as he places no value on financial wealth or the security of having a permanent home.
D
No amount of money can ensure that an individual will witness a sunset to equal this one and will see it every single day.
Explanation
Mr. Shiftlet says he would give a fortune to live somewhere with a sunset like this every evening. Mrs. Crater offers him a place to stay and a chance to join her family, but by the story’s end he has taken her car and money and left. The irony is that he gives up the life and home he claimed to desire in order to get away with money and a car.
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