In Flannery O' Connor's story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," the character Mr. Tom T. Shiftlet is a man who is influenced by materialism, specifically an automobile. In an effort to obtain this object of his desire, he deceitfully gains the trust and respect of Mrs. Lucynell Crater.
             Mr. Shiftlet is a slender man, dressed in a black suit, who appears to have trouble carrying his own weight "as if the breeze were pushing his" (216). His black hair lies close to his sharp facial features. He is missing half of one of his arms. He appears to be a tramp, and "no one to be afraid of" (216). He approaches Mrs. Crater and her afflicted daughter, Lucynell, carrying a tool box.
             At first, he does not speak. He stands staring at the setting sun. He then tells Mrs. Crater how much he would love to have a place where he could see the sun do that every evening. In the meantime, he is looking around the property, and notices an automobile. He does not say much about it at first, but instead goes into a speech about how "the world is almost rotten" (217). The car is still on his mind, trying to determine the year and make.
             Mr. Shiftlet tells Mrs. Crater he is a carpenter. When she tells him that she cannot pay him for his work, he tells her that some things mean more than money. He informs her that most people are only interested in money, not about what they do; but he "hadn't
             been raised thataway" (218). He speaks again about how much he would love to live in a place just like hers just so he could see the sun set " like God made it to do" (218). He notices the automobile again and tells Mrs. Crater, with excitement, that he could fix anything on her plantation that was broken.
             Within a week Mr. Shiftlet makes many repairs. He tells Mrs. Crater that he has "taken a personal interest" in her place. He informs Mrs. Crater that he even wants "t...