Rusty Eric once stated “As long as greed is stronger than compassion, there will always be suffering.” This is relevant in our society because we are taught that having money is equivalent to having power; therefore, people crush the innocent in order to obtain what they perceive to be power. In Flannery O'Connor's The Life You Save May Be Your Own she demonstrates how money has driven a man to take advantage of a disabled girl and her poor mother. The desire for money is the motif that through steps brings to light the purity of one’s character. The underlying goal to con and steal someone’s hard earned money begins by earning his/her trust. Mr. Shiftlet’s eagerness for money has caused him to become a greedy, heartless con man who moves from town to town scamming innocent families. One family that he targets is a poor mother and her deaf daughter. In his aspiration for money Mr. Shiftlet has been …show more content…
Mr. Shiftlet’s desire for money results in him disregarding the safety and feelings of Lucynell when he ditches her at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Unlike the others, Lucynell is pure; the desire for money has brought out negative sides in her mother and Mr. Shiftlet, but has proven her innocence. She believed that by Mr. Shiftlet teaching her to speak and agreeing to marry her that she would be lucky enough to experience the happily ever after that most girls dream about. Her inability to truly see her mother as the pompous overbearing woman she is, and the con man as the dreg of society that he is proves that her character is pure and innocent. Mr. Shiftlet could sense her innocence and while on their honeymoon defines his character as malicious when he leaves her asleep at a restaurant claiming she is a “‘hitch-hiker’” that he was nice enough to pick up along the way. Virtuous, wholesome Lucynell has been left to ponder where she went wrong and how she will return