Southern Gothic Answers

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”The old woman and her daughter were sitting on their porch when Mr. Shiftlet came up their road for the first time. The old woman slid to the edge of her chair and leaned forward, shading her eyes from the piercing sunset with her hand.The characters in the excerpt are an example of

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”The boy bent over her and stared at the long pink-gold hair and the half-shut sleeping eyes. Then he looked up and stared at Mr. Shiftlet. “She looks like an angel of Gawd,” he murmured.“Hitch-hiker,” Mr. Shiftlet explained. “I can’t wait. I got to make Tuscaloosa.” The boy bent over again and very carefully touched his finger to a strand of the golden hair and Mr. Shiftlet left.Which statement most accurately represents the excerpt’s larger idea?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”“My only,” the old woman said, “and she’s the sweetest girl in the world. I wouldn’t give her up for nothing on earth. She’s smart too. She can sweep the floor, cook, wash, feed the chickens, and hoe. I wouldn’t give her up for a casket of jewels.”Which best describes the irony of the excerpt?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”He was more depressed than ever as he drove on by himself. The late afternoon had grown hot and sultry and the country had flattened out. Deep in the sky a storm was preparing very slowly and without thunder as if it meant to drain every drop of air from the earth before it broke. There were times when Mr. Shiftlet preferred not to be alone. He felt too that a man with a car had a responsibility to others and he kept his eye out for a hitch-hiker. Occasionally he saw a sign that warned: “Drive carefully. The life you save may be your own.”Which statement most accurately represents the excerpt’s larger idea?

Read the excerpt from Flannery O’Connor’s “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”He was more depressed than ever as he drove on by himself. The late afternoon had grown hot and sultry and the country had flattened out.Which best describes the irony in the excerpt?