Dec 22, 2009

Trick or Treat | Introduction

“Trick or Treat,” a short story by Padgett Powell, originally appeared in Harper’s magazine in November 1993 and later was included in the author’s collection of short stories, Aliens of Affection (1998). “Trick or Treat” is a brief glimpse into the life of a frustrated and lonely housewife, Mrs. Hollingsworth, who allows herself to be seduced by a smart-mouthed twelve-year-old boy named Jimmy Teeth. Mrs. Hollingsworth is not only at odds with her life, but she also has a love/hate relationship with the South, where she lives. “Trick or Treat” won a 1995 O. Henry Award and was anthologized in the award publication, The O. Henry Prize Stories 1995.

Powell is a renowned southern writer, having lived most of his life in Florida. Some would argue that Florida is not southern the way Georgia or Alabama are, but one reading of Powell’s fiction may change their minds. He imbues his characters and settings with a distinctly southern tang which is not overdone but at the same time is impossible to ignore. Powell’s work is both funny and emotionally evocative. Many critics have described his use of language as lush. His characters are just fantastical enough to entertain without being entirely unbelievable or unsympathetic.

Trick or Treat Summary

“Trick or Treat” takes place in the southern United States. It begins with Mrs. Hollingsworth walking to the grocery store dressed in lizard-skin cowboy boots and other unspecified strange clothes that she calls her “costumes.” She has attracted the attention of a twelve-year-old boy, who has been watching her walk by for weeks from his yard. He is attracted to her and wants to make a pass at her. He finally takes the risk of talking to her. Mrs. Hollingsworth philosophizes about her relationship with the South, and the boy asks her if she is crazy. Offended, Mrs. Hollingsworth stalks off, and the boy is dismayed at having upset her and possibly ruined his chances at having sex with her.

The boy turns up at her house with a lawn mower at a later date. Mrs. Hollingsworth opens the door and looks him over in his tee-shirt and cut-off, frayed shorts which makes the boy self-conscious and defensive. He asks her if she wants him to cut her lawn. Meanwhile he is thinking of the lascivious things he would rather say to her. Mrs. Hollingsworth says, “No . . . But you can cut it anyway,” and she shuts the door, testing him for worthiness by seeing whether he will cut her lawn without discussing terms. The boy whips across the front lawn, cutting the grass quickly. Mrs. Hollingsworth lets him into the backyard and recognizes his determination as a “sexual mission.”

She is intrigued. While he finishes the backyard, she makes the lemonade” and brings it to the backyard where she expects him to make his first true advance, setting “the lunacy of his early need and her late fatigue in motion.” The sound of a police radio nearby sends the boy over her six-foot privacy fence before she realizes he is gone. The policeman, Sergeant Garcia, asks Mrs. Hollingsworth about the lawn mower, which turns out to have been stolen... » Complete Trick or Treat Summary