Mr. Shiftlet's The Life You Save May Be Your Own

In the short story “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, a common theme shown by the author is selfishness. This Selfishness is conveyed through why Mr. Shiftlet moves onto the farm, how the Old Woman pawns Lucynell off on Shiftlet, and how Shiftlet tries to teach a young man a lesson. Through their perpetration of each other, they both end up harming Lucynell in the end.
From very early on in the story, we recognize Mr. Shiftlet’s obsession with automobiles. Through his “sharp glance” towards the barn, the reader immediately understand that he wants the Old Woman’s car. Most of the initial conversation actually revolves around the vintage ford automobile. Quickly into the conversation, the Old Woman offers Shiftlet a job and he gladly accepts; although, there is no pay. Within a week he had repaired a roof, patched up a stairwell, restored a fence, and even bonded with Lucynell. After showing his fake compassion for these people, the Old Woman offers to buy a fan belt which will make the car run. Mr. Shiftlet’s kind demeanor and selfless acts were all part of his plan to acquire his desired automobile.

Due to the fact that Mr. Shiftlet is disabled and is looking for a job, he initially comes off as vulnerable. Seeing this, the Old Woman thinks she will be able to pawn off Lucynell on this new stranger. Since she is so “ravenous” for a son-in-law and has a deaf daughter, she evidently tries to set both of them up because she no longer wants to care for Lucynell. Eventually, the two of them get married and the Old Woman thinks she has won. The Old Woman was too drawn into the non-existent vulnerability of Mr. Shiftlet that she was oblivious to the fact that he was more selfish than herself. Therefore, she lent money she could not afford and lost a car to a person who eventually abandoned her