Dust story
In the Old West, the desperate father of a condemned man buys "magic dust" from a peddler to save his son. Directed by: Douglas Heyes. Story by: Rod Serling.
24 total · 2 choice · 15 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| compassion | choice | The whole story was building up to the townspeople showing compassion on a man condemned to hang for having accidentally killed a young girl while he was riding drunk on his wagon. |
| mercy | choice | The story concluded with a couple declining to have the Sheriff make a second attempt at hanging the man who had accidentally killed their young daughter while drunk on his wagon. |
| capital punishment | major | In the end, the parent's of Gallegos' victim decided against proceeding with his execution: the mother out of compassion and the father possibly to do the will of the Lord. |
| con artistry | major | Sykes sold fake magic dust to a desperate old man. |
| crime and punishment | major | Central to the story was whether Gallegos really deserved to hang for his drunken indiscretion that so tragically result in a girl's death. |
| cruelty | major | Sykes was an abnormally cruel character. At one point the Sheriff chided Sykes for tormenting a condemned man. |
| desperation | major | The father was a pitiful, wreck of a man who spent all his money on "magic" dust in a desperate attempt to save his son from the gallows. |
| drunk driving | major | Gallegos had struck and killed a young girl while drunk on his wagon. |
| facing one's own execution | major | Gallegos faced his date with the hangman with dignity and courage. |
| father and son | major | We saw a desperate father sprinkle a crowd of onlookers at a gallows with what his believed to be magic dust in an attempt to put a stop to his son's imminent hanging. |