At first I was pretty wary of Mr. Shiftlet's character- it was the attitude he has, something so know-it-allish in the way he was so philosophical about everything around him that made me sigh. However, after I read the entire story, I have convinced myself that I am exactly the same way, just quieter about it, you know, just in case I am wrong-and most of what Shiftlet says is true. Coming up with a reason or a theory for everything is just human nature, and O'Connor is simply expounding upon this through Shiflet.
However, what I still want to know more about is despite Shiftlet seeming to be able to understand (or at least come up with an answer) about everything around him, he is still painfully unaware of what the old Lucynell has planned, at least not emotionally aware, until he is actually married to her daughter--which leads to end when it is so totally revealed that Mr. Shiftlet is also painfully unsure of what he wants as he reminisces about his mother to the teenage hitchhiker. This insecurity most very well could have been the reason for his coming to the farm in the first place--as a wanderer, a drifter, trying to find his place in the world at nearly thirty-years-old. All of this drifting and shifting really brings the obvious of Mr. Shiftlet's name. He has, after all, shifted from one place to another, still trying to find that niche.