Sea Oak Essay

“Sea Oak” is a thoughtful and unusual short story. The author creates a compelling setting as the neighbourhood in which his characters live. Through both place and characterisation, Saunders creates both an interesting narrative which provides an interesting take on the social class structure.
“Sea Oak” is a satiric story that scrutinises the structure of social class by justifying the circumstances of those living in poverty. Saunders provides suggestions for how a person can raise their position in the structure, but also cautions that it might involve selling their body. Saunders’ comment on poverty all through “Sea Oak” appears reliable via his convincing characters, causing the contrast of the pretend features even more insightful and absurd, in spite of the gravity of the circumstances. Straight away readers witness the hardship of the speaker when Thomas says, “(Margie) hands me an Instamatic and offers me ten bucks for a close-up of Thomas’s tush. Do I do it? Yes I do. It could be worse.”
This section demonstrates that the narrator doesn’t have over riding principles, but that he has an positive perspective, in spite of his grim situation. His longing is not to be wealthy, or even to automatically give up his job as a stripped; he simply wishes his family to have safety: “If I had my way I’d move everybody up to Canada.”
Nevertheless, Thomas is not self-assured or strong enough to create such a shift in their lives. He is made realistic by his concern over his family’s safety, which is an element that the majority of readers are likely to relate to. Regrettably, Min and Jade are rather dissimilar. They seem to fit with the stereotype of the deprived; they are idle, illiterate, apathetic, and unschooled. They are also both notably single parents. However, it is made clear that they saved their children from poor quality day care and decided to stay at home and care for them.
It seems that Saunders does not wish readers to empathise with Min and Jade, as they embody a class who take a life of being poor over the possibility of working for a living. The two women also balance the characters of Bernie and Thomas, as Bernie and Thomas both earn a living to pay towards the running of the home. This turns out to be more philosophical when it becomes noticeable that they allow family members to care for their children, and still do not work to provide for them.
The financial situation of the family is even more highlighted by the community of Sea Oak, which is swarming with child gangs calling themselves titles such as “Big Scary Dawgz.” The author points out, in depth, the bleakness of their position and later reveals to readers that Thomas is ashamed of his financial situation when an ex-girlfriend turns up at his workplace: “No way am I hanging around here so Angela can see me in my flight jacket and T-backs and wonder to herself how I went so wrong etc. etc.”
“Sea Oak” provides an interesting and unique take on the subject of economic and social class. Against the backdrop of a rough neighbourhood, believable and three dimensional characters demonstrate the meaning of poverty in a gripping and memorable narrative.