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“Nothing is like it used to be, lady,” he said. “The world is almost rotten.”

In his lament, Shiftlet presents a kind of thesis for the story. He seems to be sad about the state of the world, but through his actions, he is an example of the world’s rottenness. He has found himself in a situation that will allow him to get what he wants while convincing the Craters that he is giving them what they want. By the time the old woman understands what has happened, there will be nothing that she can do. Placing this statement in his mouth foreshadows his behavior throughout the rest of the story, situating him as the agent of chaos that ambles up the road into the Craters’ lives.

“I’m only saying a man’s spirit means more to him than anything else. I would have to take my wife off for the week end without no regards at all for cost. I got to follow where my spirit says to go.”

Throughout the story, in his conversations with the old woman, Shiftlet seems not to lie, but instead to actually tell the truth about his intent. However, he does so while couching his words in a context that allows the old woman to hear him agreeing with her. Before Shiftlet speaks, his “smile stretched like a weary snake waking up by a fire.” He knows how to talk to the old woman, giving her just enough space to allow her smugness to sneak up and bite her. She wants to believe that by giving him both access to the car and some spending money, it will be enough of an inducement for him to settle down on the plantation and make something respectable of himself. On the other side, he freely admits to following where his “spirit” insists he should go. She can tell herself it will be in a circle back to the plantation, but he knows that it will be a straight line away from the Craters.

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