"'My old woman is a flea bag and yours is a stinking pole cat!' and with that he flung the door open and jumped out with his suitcase into the ditch." (O Connor 62).
It's amazing how much in one direction Flannery O' Connor will go to really drive a point home. She uses reverse psychology to make the reader learn a lesson, and the way the people deserve to be treated. Mr. Shiftlet is really a respectable character, and it left me somewhat confused to understand why the hitch-hiker he picked up would behave in such a devious manner. He is really just one ungrateful, depressed individual. What impressed me more than anything else, was how Mr. Shiftlet reacted to the entire situation. He just kept driving on, wondering what would make someone act in such a manner, and prayed to keep himself at bay, and just still be the positive individual that he was in the beginning of the story. It really makes you consider how patient and positive we can be, and I truly think that's what Flannery O Connor was trying to teach the reader.
Posted by The Gentle Giant at March 15, 2006 11:34 PMI have to disagree. I think Mr. Shiftlet was a shifty character who ultimately proved to be a despicable character. He did abandon his wife, after all.
It's rather interesting that right after he prays for God to "Break forth and wash the slime from this earth," God responds by chasing him to Mobile with a rainstorm. A rather powerful indicator of his moral character, methinks.
Posted by: ChrisU at March 16, 2006 01:08 AMi wuold disagree with this, shiftlet was an untrustworthy character not a respectable one. He had just left a retarded girl in a diner, i wouild say he got off pretty well for doing such a thing
Posted by: alkdj at May 10, 2006 08:13 AM