Stolpestad by William Lychack

Last Updated: 23 Mar 2023

Pages: 1 Views: 151

Lychack, published in 2008, is about a policeman who gets called out at the end of his shift, to help a 9 year old boy with his suffering dog. Stolpestad is the main character in the story and the protagonist. He is not at all captivated by the task at hand, which I believe to be the antagonist of the story, but follows his orders and heads out to accomplish this odd task and shoots the dog.

In the end he is confronted by the young boy and his father for not actually killing the dog. We are first greeted with a very explicit description of the day itself. "Sun never breaking through the clouds, clouds never breaking into rain - the odometer like a clock ticking all these bored little pent-up streets and mills and tenants away. " (Page 1, line 2-4) This description suggests that it is always like this, the town never changing, never moving on, constant and a duplicate of the day before, Just as the life of Stolpestad.

Every street, every shop and home the same as they were in his childhood memories. He has always lived here, but his portrayal of he town bares little enthusiasm or fondness, almost suggesting a negative outlook on his life. The ambience of the setting continues on the same dull note, when the area in which the dog is located is presented. ".. the grass and scrub weeds, the sumac, the old tires, empty bottles, paint cans, rusted car axel, refrigerator door.

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