Ask The Puma Research Guides: The Life You Save May Be Your Own

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

The short story “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” by Flannery O’ Connor, is set in the American South.  It was first published in the Kenyon Review in the spring of 1953.  This story concerns the interaction between a widow, her daughter, and a drifter.  Morality and religion are important themes  in O’Connor’s fiction.

LINCCWeb online catalog – Search Term

• O’Connor, Flannery (Subject)

Call Number for Browsing the Shelves

• PS3565 .C57

Circulating Books – A Selected List

• Hardy, Donald. Narrating Knowledge in Flannery O’Connor’s Fiction. 2003.
  • Call Number: PS3565 .C57 Z685 2003
• Kirk, Connie Ann. Critical Companion to Flannery O’Connor. 2008.
  • Call Number: PS3565 .C57 Z735 2008
• O’Connor, Flannery. Complete Stories. 1971.
  • Call Number: PS3565 .C57 A17 1971
• Orvell, Miles. Flannery O’Connor: An Introduction. 1991.
  • Call Number: PS3565 .C57 Z82 1991
• Paulson, Suzanne Morrow. Flannery O’Connor: A Study of the Short Fiction. 1988.
  • Call Number: PS3565 .C57 Z83 1988
• Whitt, Margaret Earley. Understanding Flannery O’Connor. 1995.
  • Call Number: PS3565 .C57 Z94 1995

Reference Materials

• Contemporary Literary Criticism. – Call Number: REF PN771 .C59
  • Vol. 1, pg. 257
  • Vol. 21, pgs. 256, 264, 276
  • Vol. 104, pgs. 104, 120, 123, 135
• Critical Survey of Short Fiction. – Call Number: REF PN3321 .C7 2001
  • Vol. 5, pg. 1797
• Masterplots II: Short Story Series (Revised Edition). – Call Number: REF PN3326 .M27 2004
  • Vol. 4, pgs. 2362-2364
• Short Story Criticism. –  Call Number: REF PN3321 .S5
  • Vol. 1,  pgs. 343-344, 348-349, 356, 359-360
  • Vol. 23, pgs.184, 210-211, 227, 237
  • Vol. 61, pgs. 227-231
• Short Stories for Students. – Call Number: REF PN3330 .S386
  • Vol. 7, pgs. 122-143

Electronic Databases  

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• Academic Search Complete
• Literary Reference Center
• Literature Resources from Gale

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Valencia College East Campus Library

Last Revised on November 21, 2021