What Is The Theme Of Grand Stand In By Kevin Wilson

Title In the short story “Grand Stand-In” by Kevin Wilson, there is a small but diverse cast of characters. An author of any story will purposefully make their characters fill a roll or trait needed to progress themes of the story. Generally, no authors will have a useless character. Their goal is always to provide something to propel the story, or to get major themes across. In the article "Inferring character from texts: Attribution theory and foregrounding theory" by Culpeper, the author explains how characters will often fill a stereotype roll in a story, as in they may have a specific trait that defines or sticks out in the reader’s mind. The article goes on to show that an author will introduce characters in ways and make

The author sets Cal up to be a better character from the start. Through his initial setup of both characters, the reader is given a feeling for the ethics of both characters. Cal is introduced as “decorated war hero, retired doctor, and a champion over-sixty marathon runner” (Wilson, 10), with the protagonist showing clear admiration for this. Setting up the difference between Cal and Martha, the author comes right out and states that he “has a very specific idea about the ethics of the business” (Wilson, 10). With this one line, the reader is shown one important factor that differs him and Martha. No matter what his ethical beliefs are, or whether they are clearly right, the author shows that Cal cares and wants to be an ethical person. The second appearance of Cal is in the main character’s bed. The protagonist asks him to go and meet the Beamer’s grandmother, the woman that she is a stand-in for, and Cal says “No…I don’t want to be a party to that” (Wilson, 19). This line shows that its not the matter of him just not wanting to do it, but he finds it ethically and morally wrong. In the same conversation he says, “We should just quit…Get away from all this and be normal” (Wilson, 19). Cal is clearly not okay with the ethics of

The relationships from these character to the main character give off a classic “devil on one shoulder, angel on the other” vibe. With one character having a negative influence and one having a positive influence on the protagonist’s morals, we see that the protagonist falls in a grey middle ground between these two people. It is said in the introductions of the two close friend characters that the main character respects them both greatly. In the introduction of Martha, regardless of the negative description given by the author, the main character seems to find what she does very impressive, with dead giveaways in the descriptions from the narrator’s point of view. Martha’s work is described as “she works the families so well” and “She has been doing this longer than anyone else I know, and she is very good at what she does” (Wilson, 5-6). The protagonist looks up to Martha, and thus would be willing to use her morals for guidance. On the other side of Martha is Cal, who the protagonist also greatly respects. His introduction through the protagonist’s point of view includes such lines as “…one of the best stand-ins” and “He fills a very impressive, high-demand role…” (Wilson, 10). With both characters influencing the protagonist’s life, she clearly falls into a middle ground between the two, with this changing over the course of the story. The