In this story by Flannery O’Connor, a self-righteous widow who runs a large farm with an iron hand is visited by three teenage boys. One of them is the son of an ex-employee, ostensibly seeking a horse ride. She refuses the request, but allows them to camp overnight. The next morning, angered by her condescending attitude, the boys do not leave and spend the next two days committing petty acts of vandalism around the farm. A threat to call the sheriff results in her greatest fear: fire. Themes include authoritarianism, pride, fear, false piety, ignorance, resentment, defiance, powerlessness.
The title and final sentence are allusions to a biblical tale in the Old Testament book of Daniel. A king decrees that any of his subjects who refuse to worship a golden idol are to be burned alive in a huge furnace. Three devout Jews refuse and, although the soldiers who throw them into the fire (the teenagers?) die, the three walk around a circle inside the fire unharmed.
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