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Newt Critic

Mr. Morissette

ARCC Short Stories

15 May 2017

“Lost Keys”: Locked Up Memories

Imagine living out the days in a heavy fog. At first, some people distinctly remember their

independence, history, and family members. However, as the fog gathers, the possessions which

are normally easy to locate become as immaterial in the mist as the Holy Grail. Locations

frequently fade into the backdrop of the white void. Friends are obfuscated into unrecognizable

shapes and forgotten. This is the strife that results from the onset of memory loss. In Paul

Milenski’s “Lost Keys,” a simple fishing trip reveals the fading of an elderly man’s

independence at the hand of age-related memory loss. The fisherman, called the old dziad, comes

to believe that he had lost his keys while wading through the river, only to realize he’d been

sitting on them and forgotten, revealing to him the unavoidable loss of his independence. However,

the inevitability of aging is not the final message of the story. Through his use of setting,

symbolism, and characterization, Milenski establishes that reliance on others is nothing to

be ashamed of, as loss of total independence does not need to entail loss of personalpride.

In a narrative driven by the creeping fog of memory loss, setting the story in a faded, hazy

environment aids in the delivery of the theme. As the narrator, Ron, fishes, he notes that “The

last time out, it rained. A cold rain, hard and steady. I caught lot of browns, orange-bellied, hook-

jawed” (173). Even in the obscuring environment, Ron is able to work through the rain to yield a

fair bounty of fish. This serves to prove his competence as a member of the family, on whom the
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old dziad should be able to openly depend. In the context of the theme, Ron’s ability supports the

conclusion that the old dziad’s reluctance to depend on others comes from within, not from the

inability of the people around him. Further, the same difficult environment in which Ron is able

to openly prosper has recently begun to challenge the old dziad, evidenced when Ron contemplates

that “he turned his ankle terribly when he dropped himself from a high bank to the stream bed”

(173). Considering that he is a veteran fisherman of the area, the old dziad’s inadvertent mistakes

suggest that his independence is being lost over time. This combination of factors sets the stage

for the old dziad to put aside his stoic self-image and accept the help he needs, and, by extension,

the theme that reliance on others is ultimately not shameful.

Driving the theme onward from its premise is use of symbolism to represent key concepts

throughout the story. At one point, the old dziad reflects on his apparent loss of the car keys,

muttering that there were “No keys. ‘I swear I’m losing everything lately’” (173). Given that the

loss of the keys are proof to the old dziad that his memory is failing, they contain a deeper symbolic

meaning; they represent the access to his memories that he has lost, in effect locking him out of

his independent identity. This serves as a catalyst for him to reflect on the feasibility of his formerly

stoic, independent lifestyle in the future, setting the stage for a crucial thematic epiphany; reliance

on others is necessary, but not shameful.

To arrive at this realization, characterization provides insight as to his changing nature.

One such instance occurs as the three fishermen drive to the fishing spot, wherein the unnamed

brother quips,“‘Maybe that’s why you never took to trout fishing, Ron, the old dziadz does not

like to keep company. Isn’t that right, dziadz?’” To which the old dziadz responds, “‘Together,

you just scare fish on a stream. You need distance, you know that’” (172). The old dziadz

immediately makes his preference of solitude apparent when faced with the opportunity to fish
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with his family. While he claims that he does this to avoid scaring fish, it also strikes a deeper level

of his character; the old dziadz strongly believes that he can only accomplish his goals alone, as

‘together, you just scare fish,’ and so he actively seeks distance from others. This can be extended

to the initial premise of the theme; fear of reliance on others is a self-imposed restriction predicated

on maintaining pride, wherein the old dziadz gains his sense of pride from his stoicism in fishing

alone. However, later in the day, the old dziad is struck by the sudden realization that his keys had

disappeared without any notice. Ron observes him in a conflict of character, describing the old

diziad,“He made a face that I’d never seen him make before; there was so much pain in it. His lips

were twisted, his eyes almost pressed closed by the compression of his skin” (173). Through

simple body language, it is clearly shown that the old dziad is experiencing a shattering of his stoic

mask due to the mounting evidence that his memory is failing, and, with it, his apparent source of

pride.

This loss of stoic independence further aligns with the theme, as it allows the old dziad

to realize that this mask was not ultimately the crux of his pride: After considering the situation,

Ron observes the old dziad, who “dropped his head as though it were a burden, spent a lot of time

on this our last trip together standing in the rain, continuing to look at the ground, not wanting to

be the first to be the first to take his pole apart, not wanting to leave” (173). That the old dziad

pontificates on his fishing pole in the rain shows his drastic rethinking of the nature of his pride.

This closing scene necessitates the old dziad’s setting aside of his mask of stoicism, in favor of

standing with Ron and the support he offers. The dramatic result of his transition of character is

the departure from caretaker to cared for.

Through these three elements of focus; setting, symbolism, and characterization, Milenski

captures a simple idea that, ironically, grows elusive with age: Reliance on others is nothing to be
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ashamed of. Even without independence, anyone may maintain their personal pride through virtue.

As one journeys into the fog of old age, they may not be able to see the implications of receiving

their loved ones’ assistance; loss of independence does not entail the loss of personal pride, but,

instead, the ability to walk onward, with family-supporting every step.

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Works Cited

Milenski, Paul. “Lost Keys.” Sudden Fiction International: 60 Short-Short Stories, edited by

Robert Shapard and James Thomas, Paladin (HarperCollins), 1991, pp. 172–175.