“The thing is, you don't even have to do anything that great. You just have to not be an asshole.”
— A man reflects on the world and human interaction.
Archivist's Choice
Tenth of December
George Saunders (2013)
Genre
Literary Fiction
Reading Time
272 min
Key Themes
See below
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In a world of backyard pole decorations and unsettling drug trials, George Saunders illuminates the struggles of ordinary people lost within their own minds and a subtly crumbling America.
Synopsis
George Saunders's "Tenth of December" is a collection of ten short stories that explore the lives of ordinary people in unusual or absurd situations. It covers themes of empathy, morality, the American dream, and the internal thoughts that shape us. In "Victory Lap," neighbors stop a kidnapping. "Sticks" follows a father's seasonal decorations and their effect on his family. "Escape from Spiderhead" features a man in drug trials that change his emotions, making him question the ethics of his participation. "The Semplica-Girl Diaries" is a father's journal about money worries and the disturbing trend of 'Semplica Girls' – living lawn ornaments. The title story, "Tenth of December," is about a boy who tries to save a man from a frozen pond, leading to a moment of connection. Throughout the collection, Saunders uses dark humor, satire, and humanism to show the complexities of the human heart, the fight for dignity, and unexpected moments of grace that come from the ordinary and the strange.
Reading time
272 min
Difficulty
Medium
Pacing
Variable
Mood
Satirical, Thought-provoking, Darkly Humorous, Empathetic, Absurdist
✓ Read this if...
You enjoy thought-provoking literary fiction with a unique voice, dark humor, and a focus on the inner lives of characters; you appreciate short stories that blend satire with deep emotional resonance.
✗ Skip this if...
You prefer straightforward narratives, dislike experimental or fragmented writing, or are put off by stories that can be unsettling or deal with difficult themes.
Plot Summary
Victory Lap
Alison Pope, a detailed and imaginative teenager, practices baton twirling in her front yard when a man, Mr. Boomershine, kidnaps her. Kyle Amberson, a neighbor boy with a strict upbringing, sees the event from his house. Another neighbor, Lou Fenchel, a boy focused on small details and avoiding conflict, also watches. Kyle, overcoming his hesitation and fear of breaking his parents' rules, acts bravely, rushing to save Alison. Lou, at first unsure, eventually joins the rescue, though his actions are less direct. Together, they distract Boomershine, allowing Alison to escape. The story highlights the children's internal struggles and eventual bravery in a crisis.
Sticks
This story is a brief, moving look at a father and his yard decoration: a simple metal pole. The pole, initially just a stick, becomes an elaborate, changing artistic expression. The father dresses it for every holiday, season, and even specific life events—a graduation, a funeral, a divorce. Each new adornment on the pole reflects his inner world, his joys, sorrows, and frustrations, often to his family's confusion and occasional embarrassment. The pole acts as a silent, public diary of his emotions, a unique way he processes life, ending with his death and the pole's eventual disuse.
Puppy
Marie, a privileged mother, drives with her children to a distant yard sale to buy a puppy. She is careful about her children's safety but also somewhat detached. At the yard sale, she meets Callie, the puppy's owner, a struggling mother living in poverty. Callie's son, Bo, is kept in a dog cage for discipline and safety, a fact Marie finds horrifying but tries to explain away. Their interaction is full of unspoken judgments and misunderstandings. Marie decides not to buy the puppy, unable to reconcile Callie's life with her own comfortable existence. The meeting leaves both women thinking about their lives and choices, showing class differences and different views on parenting.
Escape from Spiderhead
Jeff, an inmate at a research facility called Spiderhead, is given experimental drugs that change his emotions and thoughts. Under Dr. Abnesti's supervision, Jeff experiences intense love, lust, and despair, often directed at other inmates, as part of studies on human behavior. He connects with another inmate, Lizzy. As experiments increase, Jeff must choose between causing severe pain to Lizzy or another inmate, Heather, by giving a 'Darkenfloxx' drug, or a 'Luvactin' that causes love. He understands the moral problems of his compliance and Abnesti's true manipulation. Jeff makes a desperate, self-sacrificing choice to expose the unethical experiments, leading to a tragic end for himself but a moment of control.
Exhortation
The story is a series of memos or addresses from a supervisor to his employees. The supervisor's messages are meant to be motivational, urging workers to do their tasks, improve efficiency, and stay positive. However, the language quickly becomes bizarre, circular, and almost philosophical. He uses strange metaphors, contradictory advice, and abstract ideas, making it clear that the 'exhortation' is less about real guidance and more about keeping up a front of corporate control and a peculiar, self-serving ideology. The workers' reactions are not directly shown, but the tone suggests a sense of resigned confusion at the supervisor's increasingly detached and meaningless words.
Al Roosten
Al Roosten attends a charity auction, trying to appear successful and popular. His inner thoughts, which make up most of the story, are a constant stream of self-doubt, paranoia, and desperate attempts to impress others. He carefully plans his actions, from how he bids to how he smiles, all while convinced everyone is judging him or secretly laughing. He imagines winning an award and giving a heroic speech, which contrasts sharply with his awkward interactions. The story ends with a small, embarrassing incident where he is outbid on an item he wanted, further increasing his anxieties. Despite his outward cheerfulness, Al remains stuck in a cycle of self-consciousness and imagined insults.
The Semplica-Girl Diaries
The story is presented as diary entries from a middle-aged father, detailing his family's money problems and his wish to provide a better life for his wife and three daughters. He feels great pressure to keep up with wealthier neighbors and give his daughters the social status he believes they deserve. To do this, he eventually buys 'Semplica Girls' (SGs), poor young women from developing countries who are hung by wires in people's yards as living lawn ornaments, a strange symbol of status. His daughters, especially Eva, are bothered by this. The story explores consumerism, class anxiety, and the dehumanization of others, as the father deals with the moral implications of his choice, which ultimately leads to an unexpected action by Eva.
Home
Mike, a soldier, returns home from deployment, likely from a war zone, and struggles to reconnect with his family and old life. His combat experiences have left him deeply scarred, and he finds it hard to talk about his trauma or relate to his relatives' everyday concerns. He feels a deep sense of alienation from the people he loves. Flashbacks and inner thoughts show the horrors he saw and the moral compromises he had to make. His family, while supportive, does not fully understand his suffering, leading to a quiet but clear tension. Mike tries to find comfort and understanding, but the war's psychological hold remains strong, making a true 'homecoming' difficult.
My Chivalric Fiasco
In a medieval-themed amusement park, a worker named Sir Andrew has increasingly vivid hallucinations, believing he is a true knight. He works with Sir Kelly, a younger, more cynical colleague. Andrew becomes convinced that Kelly is doing 'unknightly' things and injustices, especially against the park's female employees, called 'wenches.' Andrew's delusions lead him to interfere in situations that are normal interactions, seeing them as abuses needing his chivalric help. The story is a dark comedy about a mind falling apart under the pressure of a boring, soul-crushing job, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy as Andrew tries to enforce a distorted moral code based on his historical delusions.
Tenth of December
Robin, a young boy with a strong imagination, explores a snowy, wooded area near his home, dressed in his father's old army coat and pretending to be a hero. Meanwhile, Don Eber, a man with a serious illness thinking about suicide, walks into the same woods, planning to freeze to death. Don removes his coat and prepares for the end. Robin, seeing Don's discarded coat and thinking it means trouble, investigates. He then sees Don, who has fallen into an icy creek. Despite his fear and the cold, Robin, driven by his heroic fantasies and genuine concern, tries to rescue Don. Their paths cross in a moment of crisis, leading to Don's unexpected rescue and a deep, unspoken connection between them.
Principal Figures
Alison Pope
The Protagonist
Alison is thrust from her innocent, imaginative world into a terrifying reality, demonstrating innate bravery and resourcefulness in the face of extreme danger.
Kyle Amberson
The Protagonist
Kyle transcends his strict, fear-based upbringing to embrace true heroism, demonstrating that courage can override learned inhibitions.
Jeff
The Protagonist
Jeff moves from reluctant compliance to a desperate act of self-sacrifice, reclaiming his moral agency in a dehumanizing environment.
Dr. Abnesti
The Antagonist
Abnesti's character remains static in his amoral pursuit of scientific data, serving as a chilling representation of unchecked power and ethical decay.
Marie
The Protagonist
Marie's comfortable worldview is shattered by an encounter with extreme poverty, leading to a profound, unsettling introspection about her own privilege and values.
Callie
The Supporting
Callie's character remains largely static, serving as a stark portrayal of the enduring challenges of poverty as observed by an outsider.
Al Roosten
The Protagonist
Al's character is trapped in a cycle of insecurity and self-deception, unable to break free from his internal monologue of social anxiety.
The Father (Semplica-Girl Diaries)
The Protagonist
The father's journey reveals the corrupting influence of consumerism and social pressure, leading him to compromise his morals until his daughter's actions force a reckoning.
Eva
The Supporting
Eva's inherent moral clarity and empathy drive her to challenge the dehumanizing practices of her society and family, acting as a catalyst for change.
Don Eber
The Protagonist
Don moves from a state of determined despair and suicidal intent to an unexpected will to live, sparked by a chance encounter with a heroic child.
Robin
The Protagonist
Robin's imaginative play transforms into real-life heroism, affirming his inherent goodness and capacity for bravery.
Themes & Insights
The Nature of Empathy and Compassion
Many stories explore the presence or absence of empathy, and how it drives or hinders human connection. In 'Puppy,' Marie struggles to truly empathize with Callie's poverty, eventually backing away from the discomfort. In contrast, in 'Tenth of December,' young Robin's natural compassion and heroic imagination lead him to save Don Eber, a stranger. 'Escape from Spiderhead' directly manipulates empathy and love through drugs, forcing Jeff to confront the true meaning of these emotions when they are artificially induced. The collection suggests that real empathy often means overcoming personal discomfort or societal conditioning.
“And it was like he was seeing for the first time that the world was not a place of all good or all bad, but a place of good and bad, and that sometimes the good was so good it made your heart ache, and sometimes the bad was so bad it made your heart want to stop.”
The Illusion of Control and Free Will
Several stories look at characters' attempts to control their lives or others' lives, and how often these efforts fail. In 'Escape from Spiderhead,' Dr. Abnesti believes he can perfectly control human emotion with drugs, but Jeff's defiance challenges this. In 'Al Roosten,' Al's frantic internal attempts to control how others see him show his deep insecurity and the futility of such efforts. Even the father in 'The Semplica-Girl Diaries' tries to control his family's social standing through consumerism, only to have his daughter disrupt his plans. The collection questions how much control individuals truly have against external pressures, societal expectations, or even their own minds.
“You could only control your own actions, right? And even then, sometimes not so much.”
Social Class and Economic Disparity
The clear differences in social class and the worries about money are prominent. 'Puppy' directly contrasts Marie's comfortable, privileged life with Callie's extreme poverty, highlighting the vast gap between them and the judgments that arise. In 'The Semplica-Girl Diaries,' the father's intense financial anxiety and desire to keep up with others drive him to make morally wrong choices, showing how economic pressure can distort ethical boundaries. The Semplica Girls themselves are a harsh symbol of global economic exploitation. Saunders uses these situations to criticize consumerism and the societal pressures that lead people to dehumanize others for status.
“One could not, after all, expect to live a life of perfect moral rectitude if one desired a good life for one’s children.”
The Power of Imagination and Internal Worlds
Many characters are deeply involved in their own imaginative or internal worlds, which often conflict with outside reality. In 'Victory Lap,' Alison's imagination and Kyle's strict internal rules shape their first responses to the abduction. Robin in 'Tenth of December' is driven by heroic fantasies that directly lead to saving Don Eber. Al Roosten's entire story is an internal monologue of anxiety and imagined glory, completely separate from his everyday reality. Even the father in 'Sticks' expresses his entire emotional world through an object in his yard. Saunders suggests that these rich internal lives, while sometimes isolating, can also be sources of creativity, resilience, and even heroism.
“He was a hero, of course. He was always a hero.”
The Absurdity and Meaninglessness of Modern Life
Several stories touch on the inherent absurdity and lack of meaning that can fill modern life, often through ordinary or bureaucratic settings. 'Exhortation' satirizes corporate talk and motivational rhetoric, showing it as a hollow and meaningless exercise. 'My Chivalric Fiasco' shows a man retreating into medieval fantasies to escape the dullness and perceived injustices of his theme park job, highlighting the absurdity of his workplace and his way of coping. The Semplica Girls themselves, as living lawn ornaments, are a strange symbol of consumerism taken to an extreme. These stories suggest a critique of modern societal structures that can strip individuals of their dignity and purpose, leaving them to find meaning in strange or desperate ways.
“You are not merely a cog in the wheel. You are the wheel.”
Plot Devices & Literary Techniques
Internal Monologue / Stream of Consciousness
Direct access to characters' thoughts and anxieties.
This device is central to many stories, most notably 'Victory Lap,' 'Al Roosten,' 'Escape from Spiderhead,' and 'The Semplica-Girl Diaries.' It allows the reader to experience events not just as they happen, but as they are processed, distorted, and interpreted by the characters' often-anxious or deluded minds. This creates a deep sense of intimacy and often generates dark humor, as the characters' rich inner worlds contrast with their mundane or terrifying external realities. It highlights the subjective nature of perception and the constant mental chatter that defines human experience.
Satire and Dark Humor
Exaggeration and irony to critique societal flaws.
Saunders frequently uses satire and dark humor to underscore the absurdities and injustices of modern life. 'Exhortation' is a direct satire of corporate speak, while 'My Chivalric Fiasco' uses the protagonist's delusions in a medieval theme park to satirize workplace dynamics and gender relations. 'The Semplica-Girl Diaries' employs a horrifyingly dark humor in its concept of living lawn ornaments to critique consumerism and global inequality. This device allows Saunders to address serious themes in a way that is both engaging and unsettling, often drawing laughter before a realization of the underlying tragedy or critique.
Sudden Shifts in Tone and Perspective
Abrupt changes that disorient the reader and reveal deeper truths.
Saunders often shifts perspectives or tones unexpectedly within a single story, or even a paragraph, to create a sense of disorientation and reveal the multifaceted nature of reality. In 'Victory Lap,' the narrative jumps between the internal monologues of Alison, Kyle, and Lou, offering three distinct, often contradictory, views of the same event. In 'Puppy,' the reader experiences Marie's privileged perspective before being abruptly confronted with Callie's harsh reality. This device forces the reader to actively engage with different viewpoints and challenges simplistic interpretations, reflecting the complex and fragmented nature of human experience.
The Ordinary Made Extraordinary/Absurd
Elevating mundane situations to surreal or profound levels.
Saunders excels at taking everyday scenarios – a yard sale, a charity auction, a walk in the woods, a corporate memo – and imbuing them with profound, often surreal, significance. The metal pole in 'Sticks' becomes a lifelong emotional diary. The simple act of buying a puppy reveals deep class divides in 'Puppy.' The concept of 'Semplica Girls' takes the mundane desire for status symbols to a horrific, absurd extreme. This device allows the author to explore universal human anxieties and moral dilemmas by magnifying them through a unique and often unsettling lens, making the familiar strange and thus more revealing.
Critical analysis
Notable Quotes
“It was like the world was full of little pockets of people, each with their own rules, and if you weren't careful you could just tumble into one and never get out.”
— A character observes social dynamics and exclusion.
“She was like a little bird with a broken wing, trying to fly.”
— A poignant description of a struggling character.
“The world was just a big machine for making people sad.”
— A character's bleak outlook on life.
“He felt a sudden tenderness for all the people in the world, even the ones he didn't like.”
— An unexpected moment of empathy.
“It was amazing how much trouble a person could get into just by trying to do the right thing.”
— A character's experience with unintended consequences.
“Everything was just a system, and if you knew the system, you could work it.”
— A cynical view on navigating life and institutions.
“He had a feeling that he was missing something important, something that everyone else knew.”
— A character's sense of being an outsider.
“The greatest joy was to be able to give something to someone, without expecting anything in return.”
— A reflection on the nature of true generosity.
“Sometimes you just had to be brave, even when you didn't feel brave.”
— A character facing a difficult situation.
“It was a strange thing, to be alive, to have a body, to feel things.”
— A moment of existential wonder.
“The past was like a heavy coat, and sometimes you just had to take it off.”
— A character trying to move on from past burdens.
“He saw that the world was not just full of bad things, but also good things, small things, that made it worth living.”
— A shift in perspective from despair to hope.
“We are all just trying to make it through, one day at a time.”
— A universal sentiment about the human struggle.
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Key Questions (FAQ)
The collection primarily explores the internal lives of ordinary people grappling with moral dilemmas, societal pressures, and personal anxieties, often highlighting their struggles for connection, dignity, and self-worth in a world that can be indifferent or cruel. Many stories delve into the gap between our inner thoughts and outward presentations, revealing the complex, often humorous, and sometimes tragic ways humans navigate existence.
About the author
George Saunders is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's, and GQ. He also contributed a weekly column, American Psyche, to The Guardian's weekend magazine between 2006 and 2008.
