Religion and nature are both believed to give beauty to life. Religion gives some a purpose in life while for others, nature provides a natural escape from the problems of modern life. However, author Flannery O'Connor uses both of these elements in her short story The Life You Save May Be Your Own for a different purpose. Religion and Nature give the reader insight into the main character, Tom Shiflet, a troubled drifter with one arm who enters the lives of the women of Crater and abruptly leaves them. While the weather represents the changing circumstances of the main character, Tom Shiflet, the many Christian symbols surrounding the characters serve to emphasize his moral corruption. The sunset and clear blue sky represent the opportunity for a new life for Tom Shiflet's character. The story begins with Mr. Shiflet appearing before Crater's two women as the sun is setting. The women see him approaching while sitting on their porch but they are blinded by the light as Shiflet can't help but notice his beauty. Shiflet “came walking along his path, his face turned towards the sun which seemed to be balanced on the summit of a small mountain” (Connor 437). After this, Shiflet remarks, “I would give a fortune to live where I could see a sun doing that every night” (438). The magnificence of the sunset matches the beautiful sky present on Tom Shiflet's wedding day to Lucynell. As Lucynell and Tom leave for their honeymoon, the afternoon sky is described as "clear and open and surrounded by a pale blue sky" (Connor 443). It was a perfect day to celebrate the sacrament of marriage. Yet these descriptions not only provide details to the reader, but they also open a window into the middle of the paper..., which contrasts with Shiflet's ugliness. He mistreated these two angels by abandoning them. The comparison of women to angels serves to emphasize their virtue and to emphasize that women did not deserve the shameful treatment they received at the hands of Tom Shiflet. While the frequent Christian symbols present in the novel serve to emphasize Tom Shiflet's sinful nature, O'Connor also uses the weather to represent his change in attitude. A quiet life with Lucynell was not meant to be for Tom Shiflet, much to Mrs. Crater's dismay. Although Tom's actions are in no way justified, one cannot ignore the fact that these two women were forcing Tom to transform into something he was not. Tom was never destined to live a quiet married life, he was a wanderer, a backcountry traveler who stopped to watch the sunset and departed under a cloud. worldly