A Death (spoilers)

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
No...although the storyline is like that. This movie was more recent...within the last 20 years or so. As I recall, I was fooled throughout the movie, right up to the denouement by the man judged not guilty. He tells...his attorney as I recall...that he is guilty, that he did it. I don't recall any 'famous' actors male or female...the 'bad guy' had shorter, possibly wavy or slightly curly hair, lighter in color, not a big man...I think that was part of his 'charm' his size...he'd committed a horrendous murder...or, he was accused...and the attorney got him off, won the case...only to be told he'd done it at the end. The 'bad guy' looked a tad like Andy Rooney, though not as thick through the face...had an almost whiny, Southern-accent voice...or played it that way in the movie.
Is it Primal Fear? Nevermind. Saw the next post after I posted this!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Walter Oobleck

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I liked the story. It still has me guessing if the right man was hanged. I didn't want it to be Trusdale. Really did think he was innocent. I think King could have written a last line like this to give it the ol' punch-in-the-gut twist ending:
After Sherriff Barclay left the funeral parlor, Hines went over to where Trusdale lay and looked down into his face and smiled. Hines pulled up his sleeves, exposing the cuts and gashes that little girl had left on his forearms and said 'Now, let's get to work.'
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I liked the story. It still has me guessing if the right man was hanged. I didn't want it to be Trusdale. Really did think he was innocent. I think King could have written a last line like this to give it the ol' punch-in-the-gut twist ending:
After Sherriff Barclay left the funeral parlor, Hines went over to where Trusdale lay and looked down into his face and smiled. Hines pulled up his sleeves, exposing the cuts and gashes that little girl had left on his forearms and said 'Now, let's get to work.'
Nice :) This is a Colorado Kid ending, though: you just don't know. The more I read it (and I have read it several times now), the better I like it.
 

mummydoc

New Member
Nov 10, 2015
4
12
48
Just came late to the party as i didn't read A Death until Bazaar of Bad Dreams
I agree that ending seems ambiguous. Not sure if what we come away with is a sort of Rorschach test. I reread the story several times and couldn't come away with a sense of Trusdale being evil. As previously stated, he gained nothing from a deception as even the Sheriff's doubts could not save him. Neither did he ever make any inappropriate remarks or perform any action(s) to imply that he enjoyed killing or gloated over having gotten away with something. He never implicated any other individual, just steadfastly denied guilt. I am not sure I if I am supposed to read the explanation at the end as if it is actually plausible, because I assure you it it not plausible someone could even once, let alone repeatedly swallow a coin of that size without repercussions. Similar incidents in real life resulted in injury, death, surgery--would not have gone unnoticed. So I am unable to accept the explanation except as a rationalization by Barclay. I do believe there are many hints to Hines being involved, from the symbolism of Trusdale riding into town in the Hines Mortuary hearse, to Hines being the only person repeatedly told by Barclay that the hat is not evidence enough for him to feel convinced of Trusdale's guilt. I can't say Hines did it--no character is fleshed out enough to explain why they would murder a little girl. If Trusdale was dumb enough to think of murdering a little girl for a silver dollar but then considered cunning enough to conceal it (although to no advantage) after having committed the fatal offense of leaving his hat at the scene seems incongruous. In any case I could see Hines planting the coin just to bring Sheriff Barclay in line with everyone else's thinking. Just so it would be over. The statements about the last meal don't make sense to me in terms of him passing the coin, which would better serve his purpose "in or out" when no purpose is being served anyway? Would he have cared to have Barclay believe he was innocent after death if his belief wouldn't help save his life? I also think the importance of the missing coin is not stressed to Trusdale, but in Barclay's thoughts and conversation with Hines. In their final conversation, Barclay is trying to get Trusdale to remember his hat, not explain the coin. It is hard to read the first part other than straight, and the twist at the end wasn't deserved if the point was to make Trusdale evil. The easiest explanation for the coin in the feces is that it was placed there, rather than an elaborate game of hide the coin over the course of the story.
Of course I could be missing the point...
 

Dr V

Active Member
Nov 1, 2015
43
148
56
Squamish, BC Canada
I'm very late to this party, but I do hope we can re-ignite this intriguing discussion. I have just finished reading the story.

5- This one is a long shot, but... Hines is reluctant to give back the silver dollar to the girl's parents. Barclay thinks that it's because there's no need, since they 'knew' Trusdale was the killer. But what if Hines knew that that wasn't the original silver dollar and the parents would somehow know the difference?[/spoiler]
It may have been a long shot, but it makes the most sense. In fact, I was surprised that Barclay would assume this was the same coin the girl had been carrying: surely he'd realize there's more than one silver dollar kicking around town at any given time. I too thought Hines had planted the coin, because like you I couldn't accept that Trusdale was guilty.

This may be the most logical explanation, but I don't think this is the realization Barclay makes. On the contrary, he realizes that "...the Clines knew all along. Everyone in town knew all along. He was the only one who hadn’t known. Fool that he was." What I took this to mean is that he's been conned into believing in Trusdale's guilt, overcome by the collective "wisdom" of the crowd (essentially a lynch mob). What this town and many others have known all along may be very far from what is true. The final sentence describes them singing the Doxology, a hymn of praise, probably feeling very pleased with themselves for having done justice which was in fact very far from justice. The story may be set in the West, but these last lines put me in mind of the Salem witch trials on Mr King's home turf of New England.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

mummydoc

New Member
Nov 10, 2015
4
12
48
I really like your interpretation of the last few paragraphs. Similarly I perceived a parallel to Winston's professing love for Big Brother at the conclusion of 1984...ultimately it was easier to accept the prevailing view rather than think independently. I was affected by this story more than I would have anticipated, and I believe a miscarriage of justice lends more to bad dreams than to accept the town's determination of events.
 

Sedona Cota

New Member
Dec 7, 2015
3
1
64
Port Hadlock, WA
Just came late to the party as i didn't read A Death until Bazaar of Bad Dreams
I agree that ending seems ambiguous. Not sure if what we come away with is a sort of Rorschach test. I reread the story several times and couldn't come away with a sense of Trusdale being evil. As previously stated, he gained nothing from a deception as even the Sheriff's doubts could not save him. Neither did he ever make any inappropriate remarks or perform any action(s) to imply that he enjoyed killing or gloated over having gotten away with something. He never implicated any other individual, just steadfastly denied guilt. I am not sure I if I am supposed to read the explanation at the end as if it is actually plausible, because I assure you it it not plausible someone could even once, let alone repeatedly swallow a coin of that size without repercussions. Similar incidents in real life resulted in injury, death, surgery--would not have gone unnoticed. So I am unable to accept the explanation except as a rationalization by Barclay. I do believe there are many hints to Hines being involved, from the symbolism of Trusdale riding into town in the Hines Mortuary hearse, to Hines being the only person repeatedly told by Barclay that the hat is not evidence enough for him to feel convinced of Trusdale's guilt. I can't say Hines did it--no character is fleshed out enough to explain why they would murder a little girl. If Trusdale was dumb enough to think of murdering a little girl for a silver dollar but then considered cunning enough to conceal it (although to no advantage) after having committed the fatal offense of leaving his hat at the scene seems incongruous. In any case I could see Hines planting the coin just to bring Sheriff Barclay in line with everyone else's thinking. Just so it would be over. The statements about the last meal don't make sense to me in terms of him passing the coin, which would better serve his purpose "in or out" when no purpose is being served anyway? Would he have cared to have Barclay believe he was innocent after death if his belief wouldn't help save his life? I also think the importance of the missing coin is not stressed to Trusdale, but in Barclay's thoughts and conversation with Hines. In their final conversation, Barclay is trying to get Trusdale to remember his hat, not explain the coin. It is hard to read the first part other than straight, and the twist at the end wasn't deserved if the point was to make Trusdale evil. The easiest explanation for the coin in the feces is that it was placed there, rather than an elaborate game of hide the coin over the course of the story.
Of course I could be missing the point...
 

Sedona Cota

New Member
Dec 7, 2015
3
1
64
Port Hadlock, WA
Any guesses on why the sheriff looked in the pail of last nights beer, and vomited? Was it because the coin was in there, planted by Hines, who was at the bar drinking wine? And Hines was Rebecca's father, right? so - why would he murder her?
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
There was no message other than the original post quote in your post #47. Did you intend to include one?
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Sorry, Ms. Mod, am on the learning curve here, thanks for your patience! Am enjoying reading others ideas, very much!
No problem. I wanted to give you an opportunity to edit your post if you did have a response, otherwise I'd delete it. I would have to do that now, though, as the time for you to edit your own posts has passed.
 

mummydoc

New Member
Nov 10, 2015
4
12
48
Why I believe Barclay vomited:
He was so upset at what had transpired he sat in Trusdale's cell and vomited in the bucket. Hines was not the murdered girl's father. Coin never shows up till end of story, 8 hours post execution, in Trusdale's underwear (which I guess he was given while incarcerated as it clearly states at his intake he wasn't wearing any).
 

Dr V

Active Member
Nov 1, 2015
43
148
56
Squamish, BC Canada
Yikes, Ms Mod. I realized that my text is sitting out there without any spoiler alert, and I can't edit the message at this point (or can I?)

I only just figured out how to cloak a piece of spoiler text. Still learning.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Moderator

Dr V

Active Member
Nov 1, 2015
43
148
56
Squamish, BC Canada
Why I believe Barclay vomited:
He was so upset at what had transpired he sat in Trusdale's cell and vomited in the bucket. Hines was not the murdered girl's father. Coin never shows up till end of story, 8 hours post execution, in Trusdale's underwear (which I guess he was given while incarcerated as it clearly states at his intake he wasn't wearing any).
It was a puzzle to me why he went to the cell and what he expected from sitting there. Did he expect a realization, or for someone to show up and join him? Did his gut, pardon the pun, realize that the wrong man had been executed?
 
  • Like
Reactions: mummydoc

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Yikes, Ms Mod. I realized that my text is sitting out there without any spoiler alert, which I assume I should arrange myself. Where is this function?
I've put your post in a spoiler because it was too long after for you to do so.
 

twiggymarie

Daughter of One
Mar 17, 2011
332
1,911
Texas, United States
Nice and sad story. To me it was obvious that
the mortuary owner was the real killer - dumb sheriff...


Same here.
The fact that Hines was so very vocal in the courtroom when even the parents weren't struck me as odd. And he almost seemed to be hovering over the Sheriff the whole time. It would be easy for him to slip the dollar into the dead guy's poop post-mortem and create an Aha! type moment to rid himself of his trophy. Just my two cents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GNTLGNT