In this Flannery O’Connor story a cynical, manipulative, one-armed drifter is given a chance at redemption (settling down to a “better” life) by an equally manipulative mother desperate to secure a future for her mentally handicapped daughter. Rather than the daughter, the man only has eyes for the family’s “barn-find” automobile. Immediately after their wedding, he leaves the girl to an uncertain future at a roadside diner and drives on alone. Perhaps out of guilt, he unsuccessfully tries to absolve himself from the moral consequences of his actions by doing a good deed. Themes: disability, devotion, desperation, deception, redemption, independence.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (4,800 words)
Video Version
This 1957 episode from the Schlitz Playhouse TV series is a light, reasonably accurate re-telling of the story up until the end where Shiftlet (Triplett in the film) returns to the diner. Watch and enjoy!