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In "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," what does the word "milk" mean in the following quote: "That's all I got so it isn't any use you trying to...

The quote refers to the bargaining which goes on between Mrs. Crater and Mr. Shiftlet. In order to agree to marry Mrs. Crater's daughter Lucynell, Mr. Shiftlet wants the use of the car and money to take Lucynell to a hotel and buy her a nice dinner, sort of like a honeymoon. Mrs. Crater attempts to talk Mr. Shiftlet out of the whole thing, but eventually offers fifteen dollars, which Mr. Shiftlet says is not enough. When she offers $17.50, she indicates that's all she has and that Mr. Shiftlet won't "milk" anymore out of her. The term "milk" is simply a figure of speech. Just as in milking a cow, if there isn't anything left then there's no use trying to get more. The episode suggests the stinginess of Mrs. Crater and also an emphasis on money by Shiftlet, despite his claim that spiritual things were more important.


The fact that he is referred to as "Mister" shows a more formalized world than we live in today where terms such as Mr., Mrs., and Miss would have been used instead of first names. Shiftlet also suggests that maybe it isn't actually his real name. He tells Mrs. Crater:



"How you know my name ain't Aaron Sparks, lady, and I come from Singleberry, Georgia, or how you know I ain't Thompson Bright from Toolafalls, Mississippi?"



Regardless, Mr. Shiftlet is aptly named. He is shifty and, while he insists that he doesn't really care about money, is eager to get as much of Mrs. Crater's money as possible. He is also shifty in his treatment of Lucynell. At first he is nice to her and even teaches her how to say the word "Bird," but later dumps her at a roadside diner.


After abandoning Lucynell, Mr. Shiftlet is depressed. The weather seems to signal this depression as a storm gathers in the distance. Because of his remorse, he feels he needs company and picks up a hitchhiker. When he begins preaching to the passenger about his mother, the boy leaps from the moving car, insulting both Shiftlet's mother as well as his own. All the while, clouds continue to gather as Shiftlet dwells on the "rottenness of the world" and shouts out how God needs to wash the "slime" from the world, possibly referring to himself. Ironically, he is racing the storm to Mobile in the story's final line.  

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