In "The Leading Man," the protagonist's life seems to be predestined. Because he was born with 9 key fingers, it seemed to me that he was destined to find the doors to which his fingers opened. Whether he wanted to or not, his life journey would lead him to all the doors he could open. After finding that his finger opens the door to his childhood house, his mother wonders what would have happened if she had decided to buy another house. This example also conveys the prescense of fate in the characters' lives. Although the mother considered buying a different house, it was her fate to buy that house. It was her destiny to buy that house; she was always going to buy that house, regardless of her indecisiveness at the time. It was predestined that she would buy that house. Similarly, the protagonists life was predestined for him. It was his fate to find all the doors to which his fingers opened, and to find them at the time he did.
Cailee J-9
Good observations on the issues of destiny and fate in "The Leading Man." These ideas certainly help to give the story its fairy tale feel. Why do you think the idea of fate is significant to the larger meaning of the story? What might Bender be trying to suggest about the lives of those who are "different"?
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