Stolpestad by William Lychack

Stolpestad by William Lychack

Stolpestad is a short story written by William 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 the 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.” (Page 1, line 24-25) The setting reflects somewhat on the mood of the character, including the cloudy summer day, this hints towards the characters despondency, both towards the situation and possibly his life. Because the setting is sketched in quite a vivid manor, we are led to assume it has great importance to both the story and the main character. Stolpestad obviously sees little to no excitement in his life, which is portrayed in the setting and hints towards the two coinciding with each other.
“as if you’ve seen or imagined or been through all of this or will be through it all again, over and over” (Page 3, line 103-104) This line also portrays the theme of him living the same life day in and day out, not moving on with your life, or even not developing on life’s aspect. This I see as a possible main demeanour of the story.
Throughout the story Stolpestad may be perceived as a round, yet static character remaining somewhat untouched by the on going events, this however changes at the very end of the story, when the boy and his father leaves and Stolpestad seems to diminish and become one with his surroundings. This is suggested in the line: “away until you’re gone at the edge of the woods, a piece of dark within the dark, Sheila arriving to that front door, eventually, this woman calling for something to come in out of the night.” (Page 5, line 162-164)
The author doesn’t convey the characters by telling, but rather allowing the characters to show their personalities, thus giving the reader room to interoperate their own views on the characters.
The story is told using first person, limited omniscient narration, this making the story subjective, we live out the story as if we are Stolpestad, creating a sense of irony. I also believe there is a form of interior monologue, due to the lack of punctuation, the sentences, especially during a description, seems to continue, with no displayed end to the sentence. The disjointed nature of interior monologue doesn’t give a direct interpretation, which allows the reader to play with their own feelings.
There is an implied theme to this story, which is hidden in the action, characters, setting and language of the story. In a symbolic sense, the task at hand, killing the suffering dog, could be interoperated as Stolpestads life in this town, he is suffering in his dismal, tediously boring life. He failed to shoot the dog properly, because he didn’t wish to cause the boy any more despair than necessary, this possibly meaning he wants to find a subtle way of letting his family know he is displeased with his current life. The fact that he fails to do so, shows that he hasn’t the strength to fulfil the task at hand, and therefore failing to accomplish the feeling of fulfilment in his life.