Critique of "Sea Oak"

"Sea Oak" by George Saunders is a darkly humorous story about a male stripper and his family, which consists of his sister and cousin, who are young mothers, their absent mother, and their adopted mother, aunt Bernie.

A central theme throughout this entire story is poverty. It is very clear that the central characters in this story have always experienced poverty. The only thing keeping them afloat is sticking together. When Aunt Bernie dies, the balance in the family is thrown and things are in danger of becoming even more bleak.

The protagonist's mother's boyfriend gives the three kids a speech about the American Dream, and pulling themselves up by their bootstraps at Bernie's funeral dinner. This is the only thing he offers the children of his wife. A comparison of the girls' lack of education and this speech about picking themselves up by their bootstraps coveys a message that this group of people were never given a chance because nobody ever gave them the tools that they needed to to achieve this obscure dream.

It must be commented upon that toward the end of this story, aunt Bernie comes back to life. She is kind of a zombie, considering the fact that she is alive and talking, but falling apart and rotting at the same time. She is suddenly aggressive and crude, a stark contrast to her behavior in life-- which was always incredibly positive. She takes this opportunity to give her kids a proverbial kick in the ass, telling them that they need to improve their lives. The story ends after Bernie has died for the second time and the protagonist begins having sex for money. Despite the fact that no great change has been accomplished, and the protagonist has sunk to being a prostitute, the reader gets the sense that this is a happy ending.