Puppy

"Puppy" by George Saunders alternates between the perspectives of two women, Marie and Callie. It's a simple story structure. The story's divided into four equal sized portions. Marie and Callie both get two. I guess each of these portions can be called a vignette. Saunders provides one informative scene from each woman's life before allowing the women to interact.

Each scene is told in the third person and feels like its coming from the character's mind. The first scene focuses on Marie, a mother of two children who has some problems but still lives a pretty good life. Her son Josh is prone to violent outburst but has mellowed out since playing a video game called Italian Loaves. This game simulates the life of a baker who must prepare his bread while avoiding the onslaught of animals such as wolves with distended stomachs and birds that drop rocks. Josh plays this game nonstop and it has mellowed him out. Marie is in control of her life and appears to be happy. The context of her life is strange but things seem to be going okay for her family. Marie has a fascination with bringing home strange things which is what leads her to contact Callie to purchase her dog.

Like Marie, Callie is a mother of a strange child. Callie's son has a habit of darting between cars on the interstate. Callie fears for her son's safety so she makes his take medication, but it makes him grind his teeth and lose control of his body. Like Marie, Callie has a plethora of problems but she is tough and appears to be relatively happy.

Callie and Marie are similar but have different lifestyles. Marie loves bringing home new animals to surprise her husband while Callie has too many animals.

Consequently, Callie's husband feels a need to kill the various animals because he grew up on a farm and understands the reality that the best way to get rid of animals is to kill them. This is what motivates Callie to post an ad in the paper to sell her dog ergo her husband won't have to kill it. For Callie, a lot depends on whether or not Marie buys her dog. 

So Marie arrives at Callie's house and intends to purchase the dog. Everything is going smoothly until Marie looks out the window and sees Bo, Callie's son, chained to a tree. It's the funniest moment of the story. After seeing this boy chained to a tree, Marie assumes that this is child abuse. She flashbacks to her own painful upbringing and changes her mind about buying the dog. Little does she know that this boy is chained up for his own good. Its possible that this chain is keeping the boy alive but Marie sees it in a different light.

Both women love their children but experience love in a different way. Marie can manipulate her son's behavior by getting him a video game but Callie's situation is more difficult. Bo is a danger to himself when given free roam outdoors but hates being kept indoors. Callie's solution is to chain him to a tree. This is how love exists in Callie's world. Loving those around you for who they are and trying to make them realize their full potential. I believe this is the ultimate message of Saunders' "Puppy". 

Random boy chained to a tree.

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"The Barber"

"It is trying on liberals in Dilton".

So begins Flannery O'Connor's story "The Barber". O'Conner lived in the South during the first half of the twentieth century. A time when African Americans were denied many basic rights. This story focuses on why a college professor named Rayber decides to change barbers. Rayber, being an educated man, believes in racial equality and supports a progressive political candidate by the name of Darmon. Rayber's barber supports a candidate named Hawkson who never changes his speeches that appeal to the prejudices of lower class Whites.

In the beginning Rayber is caught off guard when his barber asks him the brutally honest question: "You a nigger-lover?". Racial equality is a black and white issue for the barber. In his mind you're either with him or against him. There's no room for in-betweens or any other perspectives. Rayber on the other hand sees a more complex issue. He identifies as neither a Negro- no a white-lover and assures the barber that he would readily accept both blacks and white in his classroom.


In this story the reader gets some interiority but not enough to make definitive conclusions about the characters. While the barber and his friend seem simple-minded, it's possible that they are more attuned to the political climate than they let on. It's easy for me to understand Rayber's dilemma. He's a teacher and he wants to enlighten people although he has no idea how to do this. Instead of speaking his mind directly and confidently, Rayber suppresses what he wants to say because he this that his audience won't understand. Rayber makes assumptions about how his audience will react when he really has no idea. So rayber writes a paper that he thinks will convert the barber once read aloud in the barber's shop.

Irony arises when Rayber enters the shop the next day and the barber wants to talk about hunting. To Rayber this situation is a symbolic of a larger societal problem. If he can convince one ignorant barber to vote for Darmon, maybe not all is lost for the South. When Rayber finishes reading his paper in the barbershop, his audience laughs and no one is inclined to change their mind. Not even the colored boy George who understands the social dynamic better than anyone in the shop. In the end Rayber punches the barber out of frustration and storms out of the shop with lather still on his face and an apron billowing behind him like a cape. A comical image of someone who has let things go way too far.

"The Barber" is my favorite O'Conner story so far. Its a simple story in terms of plot but O'Conner makes it rich and compelling with her use of language. It's a pleasure to read O'Conner's writing because it demonstrates a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of human psychology. More posts about O'Conner's stories on the way.

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