Iconic Moments in Stories

I can't help wondering if novels which are considered favourites by many readers have a simple, not so secret ingredient. I've read many books throughout the years, and although I have fairly good recall, some eventually get added to a general sort of story sludge in my mind. But the special ones keep bobbing to the surface because they have specific scenes that stick to the sides of my memory. It's a good sort of stickiness like toffee apples floating at the top of a tub. It stops them from sinking into that hazy, nether-world of books we've read but forgotten. When we remember one or two stand-out incidents, often with clear picture quality, it's far easier for the rest of the plot to slide back into our minds too, because that's how the memory works. So I'd encourage authors to make their books unforgettable by giving us sticky spots. As soon as readers can say, 'Oh yeah, that's the one where (fill in the blank),' that book has more of a chance of being widely recommended, well loved, and maybe even being a classic.

No way is this list exhaustive, but here are some of mine. Just for the fun of the proof, I'll see how many may be recognised without alluding to them directly. Most of them are books I've reviewed on this site. There are a couple of obscure ones for red herrings which you probably won't get.

Example 1
A small, freckled girl with long, red plaits sits eagerly waiting at a lonely train station, clutching the frayed handles of an old carpet bag. Way later in a fit of anger, that same girl smashes her school slate over the head of a brown-haired boy who calls her Carrots. The author of this book surely knew all about the power of sticky incidents, because I can think of many more too.

Example 2
A huge storm lashes a lighthouse with sea spray, and a huge half giant with a bushy brown beard introduces himself to a small bespectacled boy with a jagged scar on his forehead. The big man is the first person to drop the news, 'Don't you know yer a wizard?' This defining moment has become iconic for all of us Muggles who wish the same thing had happened to us.

Example 3
A ragged, exhausted young orphan approaches a stern elderly lady who's doing a bit of gardening. He shocks her almost speechless when he announces that he's the great-nephew she'd disowned at his birth, when he turned out to be a boy and not a girl. She even drops her pruning shears.

Example 4
A young landowner decides to help mow the grass on his vast property, just because he loves the challenge and the pure enjoyment. He doesn't really need to do it. In fact, he knows the peasants are laughing at his clumsy methods, and his fellow gentry think he's plain weird. But he's decided not to care what people think, as long as he's having fun and hurting nobody.

Example 5
A young girl and her tiny dog step out of their house, which has just landed after being caught up in a cyclone. To her horror, a knobbly pair of feet poke out from beneath the foundation. Her house has accidentally killed someone!

Example 6
The young hero has an unusual dad whose favourite hobby is collecting jokers from decks of cards. It appeals to him because they represent himself, and the way he perceives his role in the world.

Example 7
The fuming, jealous school teacher has been after the smug young lawyer for a long time, and at last he manages to catch him totally off-guard and thrash him within an inch of his life! Now the lowly heroine has the chance to step up and really show her true colours.

Example 8
The haughty young heroine is made to feel heartily ashamed of herself. The man she's always admired more than anybody else has called her up for giving a well-meaning old spinster a saucy put-down comment. 'That was very badly done,' he says. And she even sheds tears of shame.

Example 9
An elderly pastor is driving home along a windy road at night, when a shadowy, long-haired figure darts out in front of him. He slams on his brakes, but can't help colliding with the Gothic looking young man.

Example 10
A frazzled young mother, worn out from her cleaning job, doesn't hesitate when a paedophile is makes a lecherous move on her terrified young daughter. She grabs the family gun, takes aim at the creep's crown jewels, and has good reason to believe she strikes her mark. That one is a very shocking and sticky incident indeed. Later on, the same mother shocks her children in another way when she decides to send her son to school, denying her daughter the opportunity. They're both furious, because he hates studying and she dearly loves to learn.

The answers, in scrambled order.
Emma, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Anna Karenina, David Copperfield, Anne of Green Gables, The Solitaire Mystery, Our Mutual Friend. (For the tenth and final, I've slipped in one of my own because it's title is Best Forgotten, a name which ironically suits this challenge, because I hope the incident I chose is a sticky one which won't be forgotten.) See how you go matching them up. And if you feel like joining the fun, you might like to suggest a mystery iconic incident in the comments, and see if we can figure out where it comes from.