Tenth Of December Lawrence Analysis

Title In his collection, George Saunders connects seemingly disconnected characters through their common search for the meaning of their lives. In Tenth of December, George Saunders utilizes the stories of many individuals to demonstrate how innocence masks the true meaning of life through fantasy. The innocent believe appearances are reality and often become consumed in the fantasies they create to avoid searching for the meaning of life. In “Victory Lap” both Alison and the rapist are consumed in fantasies about being royalty. Alison believes that she is a princess and waits for a prince (4) to rescue her; ironically, the rapist validates his actions through a fantasy of being a “king” , (18) using his fantasy to escape reality. In “Tenth

In “Tenth of December”, Robin brushes off his instincts and uses his fantasy to rationalize that fear was “the exact feeling all heroes had to confront early in life,” his fantasy world putting him at risk (229). After falling in, Robin realizes that “there was no him, no Suzanne, no Mom, just the sound of some kid crying like a terrified baby,” symbolizing his rebirth into the world, the world of reality (236). In “Puppy”, Marie realizes that Bo’s life is constrained in a similar fashion to her childhood, but acts as a bystander instead of being a hero like she wanted to say to her mother ”you idiot, this is your child,” and remains in denial (40). Al Roosten is trying to decide whether to go back and correct his immoral actions when he sees a homeless man in front of Roosten’s failing coffee shop. He fantasizes “leaping from the car, knocking the man to the ground,” somehow not realizing that he is just kicking himself (108). Al Roosten is petrified of failure and tries to act successful like Donfrey. The search for meaning that ensues once one has lost his innocence explains our human nature to explore our surroundings, and many times parents attempt to shield their children from the potential identity