Kevin Wilson Grand Stand In Analysis

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The absurd is that which is not true, however, truth can be intermingled with the absurd. In his stories “Grand Stand-In” and “Worst-Case Scenario”, Kevin Wilson uses absurdity to show the raw truth of dissatisfaction and distressed loneliness in his characters’ lives. Through this, the characters define themselves and, as people naturally do, justify their own thoughts. In these specific cases, absurdism is the central cause for their isolation from their own mentality of their daily life. As referenced by Mark Doherty, absurdity is "the subjective truths that can be revealed only when we suspend our disbelief and imagine ourselves as someone completely different" (Doherty 57). By alluding to the audience through the absurd scenarios, the …show more content…

The job position that is held by the narrator in the “Grand Stand-in” is for the Grand Stand-In Company, and her job consists of her producing a false love connection with a grandchild while being paid to pose as a model grandmother by the parents. There are many rules to which she must adhere to, and with this, Wilson shows that “a strict adherence to the rules is what defines absurdity” (Koepping 191). Wilson developed it as a bizarre but deceptive occupation which forces the narrator to connect with the families on a beyond personal level then disconnect when her shift is over. The narrator displays her feeling developement by stating that “I love them (her clients), but I know what kind of love it is. Disconnecting may seem cold, but it is required. And I am, as I have been told so many times, so damn good at it” (Wilson 5). Her ability to disconnect so easily leaves her feeling isolated from her emotions. Likewise, in “Worst-Case Scenario”, Wilson establishes the narrator’s job to consist of imagining and calculating the worst possible outcomes that could happen in a given situation. He then must deliver the horrifying scenarios to the customer which accounts for the characters anxiety-ridden mind. The narrator states that he “hates this part of the job, making people understand that the world is just one giant possibility” (Wilson 197).This occupation not only fills his thoughts with the potential for catastrophe, thus isolating himself from reality with constant

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