The Big Read IV: The Lottery and Other Stories -- Shirley Jackson "Afternoon in Linen"

"Afternoon in Linen":  In which Harriet "don't know any".

• This made me fall in love with Harriet:

"Recite one of your poems for Mrs. Kator, Harriet."

The little girl looked at her grandmother, at the sweet smile, and at Mrs. Kator, leaning forward, and at Howard, sitting with his mouth open and a great delight growing in his eyes.  "Don't know any," she said.

Of course, I thought that Howard was happy because Harriet was rebelling, but no.  He was happy because he would be able to torment Harriet about writing poetry.

• This was another story that showed a rift between children and adults -- both in that the adults were using the children as performing monkeys and in that the adults had no clue about what was really going on.  This one may have been my favorite so far.  I loved Harriet's thought about Alice Through the Looking-Glass:  "I'm a gentleman all dressed in pink paper".

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Other reader/bloggers:

Patricia at A Girl Diverged
Heidi at Adventures in Multiplicity

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Previously:

"After You, Dear Alphonse" and "Charles"
"The Witch" and "The Renegade"
"My Life with R.H. Macy"
"The Villager"
"Like Mother Used to Make" and "Trial By Combat"
"The Intoxicated" and "The Daemon Lover"
The Schedule

Comments

[Heidi]

I felt sorry for her grandmother, mostly because I was thinking of my own grandma, whom I miss.

I can see the thing about performing monkeys, so now I don't feel so sorry.

I also felt sad for Harriet because she had to do this renunciation thing to survive on the playground.

[Impotence causes]

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