This story is about dreams and imagination, two figments of our brain crucial to us as children. Perhaps, this is why Saunders chooses a child as our main protagonist. At the same time, Saunders also shows us that imagination can still be rich in adults as well, hence why he includes a 53-year-old man named Don Eber. The point of imagination and dreams is that it is supposed to feel like a part of us and of our reality. To prove that, Saunders makes sure there is a seamless transition between reality and dream – thus forcing us readers to realize too late that the transition has happened. The transition also gives the story its fantastical genre, because of how down-to-earth it is as if the imaginations are part of the real world. “Tenth of December” is told from the point of view of Robin, and we get certain sentences that indicate his own particular voice in the story. One example on page 221 reads “like an Auschwitz dude or sad confused grandpa” when Robin is describing Don. This is a good portrayal of a child, as children are typically ignorant to tragic events like this. The lack of quotations can be seen as something that adds more fuel to the dream-like quality in the story. Saunders makes the dialogues look less significant than what is being done by the characters. At the same time, it could simply be a mere superficial choice. But, the story is written in the past tense so it will make the dialogue look insignificant if they are told in the past rather than in the present. The writing itself seems erratic and strange, but certainly not rare for a Saunders story. This further emphasizes the strangeness of the story and to remind us that the events are not all facts.
“Tenth of December” by George Saunders
Apr 18th, 2017 by pang17