Edward Keyhands

Several of the stories that we have read dealt with some sort of theme revolving around loneliness. However, "The Leading Man" seemed to shift in another direction and instead focused on more of discovery. The boy in the story was born with fingers shaped like keys that would open nine doors, of which were unbeknownst to him. He soon finds out that one of his fingers opens the front door of his house, while the other eight opened anything from a closet in france to a metal door. His fingers seemed to open miscellaneous objects that at first seemed like they would be important, but really didn't connect to each other. It was odd, but it made sence, because not everything in this world has a specific meaning, sometimes things just happen for no particular reason. The boy opened the doors not because he had to, but rather because he could. He had a choice each time to open the door and each time he chose to do so. It was like he was searching for something only to find nothing. It wasn't until the end that his strange gift was able to save a live, which then gave purpose to his key fingers.

The boy's father in the story did not really make sense at first. His father complained frequently about the sunlight or anything bright for that matter, and seemed kind of out of it throughout the story. It said that he was off fighting a war that no one seemed to know about, which did not make any sense. However, he could have been fighting a war but not physically, but instead fighting a mental war. The father could have been institutionalized in an insane asylum where he could have been placed in a padded room with white walls. This idea is rather farfetched, but it could make sense why he was so adamant about not seeing anything white or bright in fear that his head might explode. He could have had tests performed on him where this would leave him confused and forgetful. Still, his father did not really seem to have a dramatic impact in the story, because it focused mostly on the boy and his unique ability to open doors with his fingers. Although, his father refused to tell the boy about the war he fought, which could have further expanded the boy's sense of discovery.
(David Roberts, Post 14)