Aimee Bender’s “Ironhead” and “The Leading Man” are similar in that they both demonstrate a struggling child attempting to fit in. Both the ironhead boy and the boy with the keys made of fingers have an abnormal characteristic that individualizes them from those that surround them. However, there is a difference in these stories that I would like to highlight.
The ironhead boy embodies all who mentally or physically disabled around the world. He demonstrates the difficulties they go through in acquiring friendship, understanding, and acceptance in school and family life. Contrarily, the boy with the key fingers represents those with a special talent or skill, that if used in the right way, will do benefit those around them as well as their own wellbeing. Although it is evident that both characters struggled to utilize their uniqueness, I feel that the boy with the key fingers differs from the ironhead boy in that he used his extraordinary ability to help others. When he saved the trapped boy with his last finger, it showed that he chose to use his talent in a heroic way, opposite of the mundane purpose of his other keys.
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