Thursday, June 16, 2022

Jack in the Pot - Dorothy West - 152 / 365 of reading one short story every day.


Jack in the Pot is about a woman whose lottery winnings create more problems than they solve.


Theme of the story is the effect of money on humans - greed, fear, selfishness.


In the story, Mrs Edmunds wins fifty-five dollars on a Bingo game. 
After it’s possession, she becomes one with it and cannot be away from it. Along with a feeling of happiness after winning such a huge sum, she also begins to fear that it may be stolen or that tax authorities may come and take some part of it. Soon a terrible fear overtakes her, as she and her husband are awaiting a visit from the welfare investigator.

 She is terrified of being sanctioned. Meanwhile, a neighbor suffers a terrible tragedy – and knowing his need for the exact sum of money she has hidden away, Mrs. Edmunds is horribly conflicted. She cannot decide if her greed is more weighty than her neighbor's need.




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