Slog - Comments on "A stone hit her on the side of the head."

Comment by michael strangeways

michael strangeways — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:38:40 -0800

not as brilliant and terrifying as Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", but a close second.

Comment by whatevernevermind

whatevernevermind — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:42:00 -0800

I was in the one-act adaptation of this in high school and loved it, too.

Any sane director would have had us just mime the stoning, but ours chose to litter the otherwise bare stage with pebbles wrapped in papier mache -- so that, as projectiles, they would actually fly through the air because of the weight. That's what we used to stone our leading lady. Dozens of padded pebbles that we actually threw at and hit her with. Can you imagine that happening today?

But, yes, fantastic story on so many levels.

Comment by McGarvie

McGarvie — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:51:42 -0800

So what's the story about?

Comment by djgirth

djgirth — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:56:22 -0800

@3 Read it here

Comment by Jubilation T. Cornball

Jubilation T. Cornball — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:59:53 -0800

@2 -- If you promise to cast Mr. Poe as your Tessie Hutchinson and dispense with the papier mache padding, I'll personally bankroll your production.

Comment by bobo

bobo — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:01:28 -0800

I must confess I was also in a high school one act of the Lottery. We also had paper mache rocks that flew threw the air (i was accidently pelted in the head during a performance and it hurt). However, the director allowed us to use red corn syrup blood during the pelting scene, and in the end, we were drenched in red, like a scene out of Dead/Alive. It was glorious.

Comment by Non

Non — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:02:27 -0800

If Christians wanted to be real Christians, they would continue to stone.

Comment by Non

Non — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:03:57 -0800

Nevermind; what I found interesting about this stroy was how well it conveyed how the public actually really gets a rise out of a group killing....enjoying it even. It made me think of hangings and the gang mentality.

Comment by DaiBando

DaiBando — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:05:32 -0800

Don't know if I could actually watch a live stage version of the short story, althouth it's one of my all-time favorites. But then, I managed to survive puppets fucking in Avenue Q, so I guess it's not such a great leap to endure papier mache rocks and red corn syrup.

Comment by DaiBando

DaiBando — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:06:14 -0800

"although" Shit.

Comment by rose

rose — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:32:46 -0800

I happened to stumble across the 1996 t.v. movie version starring a pre-Felicty Keri Russell. The only saving grace was the fabulous Veronica Cartwright, crazy character actress extraordinaire. I love me some Veronica Cartwright.

Comment by whatevernevermind

whatevernevermind — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:59:31 -0800

@5 -- Best laugh o' the day!

@8 -- Part of what I like is Jackson's comment on religion, that learned superstition is learned superstition. When is it good and when is it bad? Does the Lottery really make the corn grow or do the villagers only think it does? And is it justified either way?

She packed in a ton of stuff in such a short story.

And I'm so jealous now that we didn't have a corn syrup bloodbath in our show, too.

Comment by David

David — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:04:04 -0800

@11:
The scene where the hero (MTV's Dan Cortese!) is in the graveyard the night before the lottery and and suddenly realizes that ALL THE TOMBSTONES HAVE THE SAME DATES (cue scary music) is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Shirley Jackson kicked ass.

Comment by M.A.

M.A. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:13:15 -0800

I loved making my arm hairs stand up from the current running through that metal bar on those desks. Sometimes a shock could be a real doozy.

Yeah... that story scared the shit out of me.

Comment by Lupus took the life of Flannery O'Connor

Lupus took the life of Flannery O'Connor — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:15:14 -0800

@1 - Agreed. My favorite line from "A Good Man": "She would have been a good woman," the Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."

Comment by David

David — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:49:21 -0800

@15,
I wonder if a lupus awareness group has ever run an ad campaign, "Get Tested for Lupus now! The life you save may be your own!"?

Comment by Balt-O-Matt

Balt-O-Matt — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:23:27 -0800

Gah. I still remember reading this story and being flabbergasted. i should pick it up again. . .

Comment by I'm Not Lisa

I'm Not Lisa — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:06 -0800

@16 Ha! It's a song by Killdozer, probably the most literate of all bands signed to Touch & Go in the '80s. Go to You Tube and give 'er a listen - they're great.

Comment by johnnie

johnnie — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:40:07 -0800

'The Lottery' may be high on the banned list, but it's also *the* most widely taught short story in American schools.

Comment by COMTE

COMTE — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:29:50 -0800

@11:

I've never seen the version you mention, but Larry Yust's 1969 film version was a staple of junior & senior h.s. English and Social Studies classes during the mid/late '70's.

Comment by Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:33:26 -0800

@19: I don't know about that. "The Lady or the Tiger" and "The Most Dangerous Game" come up with astounding regularity.

Comment by Gurldoggie

Gurldoggie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:24:39 -0800

Jackson is the most famous alum from my high school, back in upstate New York. It's a very twisted local rite of passage when every student is told that the story they are about to read is the product of a local girl done good. That glow of pride almost inevitably turns to fear and revulsion, as kids are lead from the classroom in stunned horror. Everyone who grew up in my town has the same memory.

Comment by Katie D.

Katie D. — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:05:01 -0800

"The bar, for some reason, was always chilly"??? This sentence ruined the post for me. Yuck.

Comment by schnoodle

schnoodle — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:23:34 -0800

They're still reading this one in Seattle Public Schools...I was reminded of this story earlier this school year by a teen who'd read it in class. She came home saying, "today we read a story called 'The Lottery...it was horrible!'"

Comment by jon c

jon c — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:47:01 -0800

now that the supreme court has struck down the gun ban, i will be keeping a handgun at work in case my coworkers get a hankerin' for a stoning.