I agree with Canadianspankee and mj2001, it was severe for a 10-11 year old boy, and if it were my son, I'd fire that woman in a big hurry. Now a consenting adult would be something else entirely, or even an older teen, if their offense was serious enough. I realize it is a story, but for most part people will like it if it at least has a semblance of reality.
I know I've been taken to task in comments for severe punishments I've had my characters receive, but I ask the reader to remember, these stories are set 40-50 years in the past, and the crime the teen committed would have been considered a major crime in the rural areas depicted.
What I'm saying is, the entire context has to be taken into account, age of the person being punished, the time period it is set in, ie,. was it customary at that time, and seriousness of the crime committed. |