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There was a short story I read by one of the great Russian authors (name escapes me atm). A young man made a bet with a banker that he would spend 10 years in solitary confinement and be provided with any reading material he asked for. If he could endure it the whole 10 years, the banker would reward him with a handsome amount of money.

Fantastic story, thought about it pretty regularly throughout college.

If this rings any bells, I'd love to be reminded of the name!

Edit: Nvm, I found it! The Bet by Anton Chekhov

An occurrence at owl creek bridge - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/375

And then “The Cold Equations” https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-cold-equations/

Both are downers and have stuck with me for 35 years

I remember reading The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty sometime in late middle school, I wanna say.

teacher let us know after that it was about the Irish civil war, and that things similar to the story had actually happened.

I still often think about "Flowers for Algernon."

For me that is 'The Dreams in the Witch House', but that was 100% self inflicted.

Same answer i had on tumblr.

The Jaunt

Earliest short story I can remember is Monsters are Due on Maple Street in middle school. Didn't quite get the historical context at the time. But the theme of rampant senseless paranoia stuck with me.

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

It wasn't in English class but I will never forget a book we read in another class I can't remember the subject of that class for some reason. The book was "A Child Called It" that just describes horrid child abuse.

I liked The Yellow Wallpaper

The short story that sticks with me from junior high, that I have not been able to track down in the last 40 years or so, was if I remember right another lottery style tale. I think it was just the husband and the one chosen was eaten by the rest of the community - the twist was that the eatee got to choose the method of preparation, and in the story, he chose to be served raw. Anyone recall this story? I'd love to track it down.

A separate peace was a book we got in highschool where a kid possibly has homosexual feelings for another and throws him out of a tree which shatters his leg and eventually kills him.

Touching Spirit Bear

I vividly remember passage describing in great detail of the main character nearly and slowly dying on the island. he was covered with mosquitos and the book dives headfirst into describing in great detail of this guy chewing into a live mouse/rat and then swallowing it.

Is no one going to say they don’t have this experience? I can’t remember a single short story I read in any English or literature class ever. I can barely remember any of the books I was forced to read. On the contrary I can remember numerous books I was not forced to read, like Hitchhikers guide.

I was behind in my literature class in like, 7th grade. The books were boring as hell and I couldn't make myself read the chapters at night.

Our teacher gave us a list of bonus titles to catch up for like, 1.5x the points of a normal book, so I jumped on the first one on the list.

I don't remember the title of the book unfortunately, but about one or two chapters or so, the either the main character or their neighbor or something...

Proceeded to put the book down and hand it back into the teacher and ask for a different one. I don't think she was aware of the content of the book

i wasn't assigned it but i would read all the stories in my english book instead of whatever i was supposed to be doing and 'The Red Pony' burned its way into my brain forever. I probably read it in junior high? i dunno. That poor pony.

A Child Called It and The Lost Boy by David Pelzer. That did some heavy desensitization in the future.

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

7th or 8th grade English class.

"And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.’’

The Book of Sand. Not fucked up, just mind-blowing.

"A Country Doctor" by Franz Kafka. The whole thing is just one disturbing nightmare.

There Will Come Soft Rains

Someone already said it, but The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

I don’t remember the name of the short story, but I remember that it was about a town that abused someone they kept in a dungeon, and through their abuse they stayed unified. The teacher said it was a lesson in utilitarianism.