An Analysis Of George Saunders's Sea Oak

The Revelation of the New Working Class George Saunders, a writer with a particular inclination in modern America, carefully depicts the newly-emerged working class of America and its poor living condition in his literary works. By blending fact with fiction, Saunders intentionally chooses to expose the working class’s hardship, which greatly caused by poverty and illiteracy, through a satirical approach to criticize realistic contemporary situations. In his short story “Sea Oak,” the narrator Thomas who works at a strip club and his elder aunt Bernie who works at Drugtown for minimum are the only two contributors to their impoverished family. Thus, this family of six, including two babies, is only capable to afford a ragged house at Sea Oak,

The turning point of “Sea Oak” is Aunt Bernie’s resurrection in which the seemly contemporary story has turned into a horror fantasy. Rising from death, Aunt Bernie has not only gained her energy but also her dissatisfaction about her previous living condition. She angrily yells to her family members, ‘“Because I am getting me so many lovers. Maybe you kids don’t know this but I died at freaking virgin. No babies, no lovers. Nothing went in, nothing came out. Ha ha!”’ (9). Using the repetition of “No” and “Nothing”, Saunders depicts Bernie’s life with an absolute emptiness. The change of Bernie’s character from a generous, optimistic lady to a selfish, scary authoritative figure has placed a situational irony for readers. In Jennifer L. Hochschild’s book Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation,” she argues that “Americans are exhorted to ‘go for it’” (Hochschild 21). Carrying the burden of a big family with more than half lazy hands, Bernie never follows this slogan to fight for her own rights, and her ambition to chase her dreams only rises after her death. Though she has worked hard her whole life, she doesn’t die in peace, The good-hearted Bernie who sacrifices her life to support her family but still dies regretfully. This ironic path of Bernie’s life is Saunders’ mockery to awaken diligent working class people as well as his

Relying on her young brother Thomas’ salary for living, Jade still complains to Thomas that “You did high school, You got your frigging diploma.
We don’t. That’s why we have to do this GED shit. If we had our diploma we could just watch
TV and not be all disturbed” (Saunders). The usage of vulgar language along with an illogical reason has intentionally reduces readers’ sympathy for this illiterate single mother. The confidence in her words is also a sign of her foolishness since she falsely believes that having the GED alone will ultimately grants her a better, even after witnessing Thomas’s vulnerable experience at the Joysticks. Although Jade appears to be an inferior woman, the toughness of her speech makes her an inimical figure, comparing to his poor brother who finished high school. By using the contradiction between Thomas and his sister, Saunders implies the importance of education for the poor. Though, it is also arguable whether Thomas is as lucky as Jade argues earlier, since after all Thomas is the one who needs to carry the burden of this troublesome family.
Through use of characterization, irony, and tone, Saunders