The Rain Symbol Analysis

At the end of the story, after Shiftlet abandons Lucynell, a huge rainstorm gathers in the sky. The cleansing rain symbolizes God’s grace, and when Shiftlet steps on the gas to outrun the storm, it shows that he has rejected that grace and chosen sin. Earlier that afternoon, when Shiftlet initially set out with Lucynell, the sky was blue and clear, which gave a sense that God was smiling on them—Shiftlet was doing what he was supposed to do by caring for Lucynell and driving her to their honeymoon. But as soon as he abandons her in the diner, the air becomes “hot and sultry” as a huge storm starts to form. This gathering storm seems to suggest God’s imminent judgment of Shiftlet’s behavior, which perhaps contributes to his suddenly remembering his “responsibility to others.” Then, after Shiftlet inadvertently scares off a hitchhiker, he nearly has a moment of reckoning. He cries out to God to “Break forth and wash the slime from this earth!” In saying this, Shiftlet himself frames rain as a cleansing religious symbol, like the flood God sent to wash away wickedness in the Old Testament or the Christian ritual of baptism. For a moment, it seems that the rainstorm might help Shiftlet to mend his ways, perhaps by pushing him to return to Lucynell. (His car, after all, has slowed almost to a stop, suggesting that he’s having second thoughts.) However, at the end of the story, Shiftlet chooses to step on the gas and “[race] the galloping shower into Mobile,” trying to outrun the rain rather than staying to receive the grace he has asked for.