In the following excerpt, Ragen provides an overview of O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," and examines the character of Shiftlet, particularly with regard to the themes of freedom and responsibility.

O'Connor makes her fullest use of the automobile and all that is associated with it in Wise Blood, but the car and the traditions linked with it are also prominent in some of the short stories. In "Parker's Back," O. E. Parker plays the role of the evermoving American. He escapes from his mother and from the God preached in the revival tent, and then travels the world without any goal, first on board ship, like Ishmael, then wandering through the country in a beat-up truck. He has not meant to "get himself tied up legally" with a woman. But Parker has the good fortune to have his wanderings ended by Sarah Ruth...