Marigolds
This narrator and main character looks back on her rural Maryland childhood during the Great Depression when she was "fourteen-going-on-fifteen."
Who is Lizabeth?
The mural was dedicated to the people of Taliaferro Street in memory of this cousin who died in the Vietnam War.
Who is Jimmy Lyons?
Using gold and her royal power to discover the secret of the doors, the princess motioned toward this direction to guide her lover's choice.
What is to the right?
The author and neurologist George York coined this term for the subconscious neurobiological sequence that distorts our perception of reality during high anxiety or major reward.
What is "brainshift"?
After Norma smashes the wooden box open to reveal it is empty, Mr. Steward asks her this chilling final question over the phone.
"Do you really think you knew your husband?"
The children often target this "queer-headed" man who sits in a rocking chair all day in front of Miss Lottie's house.
Who is John Burke?
The narrator and Lou spent their allowance money at a junky hardware store to buy a can of this type of white paint to ruin the mural.
What is epoxy paint?
The young lover was put on trial in the arena because he committed this crime against the king's rule.
What is loving the king's daughter (or falling in love with the princess)?
In Gregory Berns's 2005 vision study, participants who resisted peer pressure activated this almond-shaped brain structure associated with fear and emotional discomfort.
What is the amygdala?
Following Arthur's tragic death in a subway accident, Norma receives this exact amount from his life insurance policy due to a double-indemnity clause.
What is $25,000 (or $50,000 total with double indemnity)?
Overhearing this adult male figure sob in despair because he could not find work drives Lizabeth to lose her mind and destroy the garden.
Who is her father (or Lizabeth's father)?
At the restaurant, the painter lady angered Mama by making specific dietary requests, including asking if this raw vegetable could be added to her salad.
What are beets?
If an accused prisoner opens the door hiding the lady, this person immediately appears to marry them on the spot.
Who is a priest?
In a 1973 Princeton experiment, only 10% of theology students stopped to help a moaning man when researchers put them in this anxious state.
What is being in a hurry (or running late)?
Norma rationalizes pushing the button by dreaming of taking a trip to Europe and purchasing a cottage on one of these.
What is an island?
Upon destroying the flowers and looking into Miss Lottie's sad eyes, Lizabeth realizes that "one cannot have both" this unseeing acceptance of youth and compassion.
What is innocence?
When Side Pocket walks up to the finished wall with his cue stick, he points out the red, black, and green flags representing this concept.
What are the flags of liberation?
Rather than a court of law, the king administers justice in this large public structure where criminals choose their own fate.
What is an arena?
Behavioral economists use this term to describe our tendency to cling to a decision once made and filter out dissenting information.
What is anchoring (or anchoring bias)?
Mr. Steward promises that pushing the button will result in the death of someone you don't know and a payout of this exact dollar amount.
What is $50,000?
In the famous closing line of the story, the adult narrator reflects on overcoming her own life's dust and poverty by stating, "And I too have..." done this.
What is "planted marigolds"?
This author wrote the 1980 short story "The War of the Wall."
Who is Toni Cade Bambara?
This American author wrote the famous 1882 cliffhanger short story "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
Who is Frank Stockton?
In 1940, US military leaders spent $30 billion on this military tool invented by Carl Norden, despite overwhelming evidence that 90% of its attempts missed their targets.
What is the Norden Bombsight?
This author wrote the 1970 short story "Button, Button," as well as famous works like I Am Legend.
Who is Richard Matheson?