Everyone makes the mistake of judging items by their appearance or reputation and not taking the time to look beneath the surface. In “The Safe” by Tim Gautreaux, the traditional image of the dirty junkyard is contradicted by the magic of the special sewing machine. In the junkyard there is a sewing machine made with a very artistic hand which inspires Snyder to change his profession. It helps to bring out hidden characteristics that the workers of the junkyard, including Snyder possess. The attractiveness of the sewing machine forces Alva, the junkyard owner, to realize that he is surrounded by a beautiful family and his work. The complex design in something simple like the sewing machine causes Alva to add more elements to his businesses …show more content…
Snyder decides to change his profession from a junkyard worker to a preacher. The sewing machine fascinated everyone when they first saw it, “The main body was gold plated, indeed rising like a tree trunk and then leaning into an arch that ended in the machine’s head, a flattened mass of bunched metal leaves”(Gautreaux 86). It takes a very creative mind to think of turning a sewing machine into a tree. It also takes a very artistic hand to make the sewing machine look like a tree full of detail. This is what inspires Snyder. After being in the presence of the sewing machine for several months, “Snyder began meeting his old congregation members in the low neighborhood behind the sawmill, and during August he....reopened his church..”(Gautreaux 87). Snyder left his old job of destroying objects with a hammer to become a preacher. These are two completely different occupations. He changed his occupation because the artfulness of the sewing machine brought out a hidden characteristic in him. Snyder realised that just like the sewing machine, he had a more delicate and elegant side to him which once exposed, he liked better. When Snyder discovered the handsome sewing machine he realized that he wasn’t happy with his junkyard profession so he changed his to a more thoughtful