The Lottery

I read the boys The Lottery by Shirley Jackson tonight.

They were transfixed. Why didn't she throw a rock back? Tanner (who turns 7 tomorrow) asks. Why would you want to live there? Why wouldn't you just leave? Ben asks. Why indeed.

There will come a time in your life when you will need to stand up against a crowd who believes something different than you do - will you be able to do it? Yes, I could said Ben. But Ben, of all the people I know, craves social acceptance the most - it will be hard to resist group pressure.

But if I find a story that shakes them by the heels and drops them on their heads, I have succeeded.

Next, it's Metamorphosis (Kafka) and The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe). Shaken, not stirred.