I read fun the Victory Lap by George Saunders. Victory Lap is the first story of Tenth of December. The short story about teenagers Alison and Kyle, and three days before her birthday, Alison is kidnapped by strangers. Saunders has unique writing’s style, but he made the reader confused because transition of character has no restriction. Perhaps for English learner would be read, read, and read again to understand what the meaning. Saunders generally use 3rd person. This perspective made characters has no control at all. What’s inside Alison’s head, what’s would happen, and everything in the story knew by the narrator. The narrator would be guide, and make the story more interesting. So every character could not change the situation.
This story began from exposition of Alison,
Three days shy of her fifteenth birthday, Alison Pope paused at the top of the stairs.
Say the staircase was marble. Say she descended and all heads turned. Where was {special one}? Approaching now, bowing slightly, he exclaimed, How can so much grace be contained in one small package? Ooops. Had he said small package? And just stood there? Broad princelike face totally bland of expression? Poor thing! Sorry, no way, down he went, he was definitely not {special one}.
The ‘special one’ is refers to her imaginary as prince. She likes create imagination that makes her feel good. In other pharagraph, she imagined a baby deer trembling in the woods and she talked each other with baby deer. “Where’s your mama, little guy?” she asked and pretend the baby deer answer “I don’t know” in the voice of Heather’s little sister Becca. Still hopeful that ‘special one’ will come from far away, she scared of the local boy (a ixnay special) possessed which tell the truth and named their own nuts. She imagined kiss him at the pep rally had been like kissing an underpass, she didn’t like kiss him.
We will appear some unique vocabularies such as: “Jeté, jeté, rond de jambe”, refers to Ballet, so we know Alison may takes Ballet classes. Sometimes she says the adulthood vocabularies like “Egads” (mean “ye Gods” or more closely “OMG”), “thingie,” and “Pooh footie”(not means pyjama for kids, but beautiful days). She also loves her home, across the creek was the Russian cruch and it’s so ethnic. She loves Gladsong because it was amazing and everything was in her home and Kyle’s home.
When the perspective changes to Kyle, we will know how his parents are give so many work notice for him. Like in kitchen area, his parents was give,
Scout: New geode on deck. Place in yard per included drawing. No goofing. Rake area first, put down plastic as I have shown you. Then lay in white rock. THIS GEODE EXPENSIVE. Pls take seriously. No reason this should not be done by time I get home. This = five (5) Work Points.
The conflicts began when a van had just pulled up in the St. Mikhail’s parking lot and a guy go out of the van. The guy was wearing a jean jacket over a hoodie. It was not unusual church-wear. The guys name Kenny and Melvin, being strangers came to Alison’s house but she didn’t know who they are. In the first something told Alison to step back in, slam the door but it seems rude. And, Alison abducted by that strangers. Kyle was confusing to help Alison or ignore the situation to keep himself safe. He remembered what’s his parents briefing to him at evening meeting. “Mom had said that she considered Kyle’s decision not to intervene judicious. Dad had said, That was none of your business. You could have been badly hurt. Mom had said, Think of all the resources we’ve invested in you, Beloved Only. Dad had said, I know we sometimes strike you as strict but you are literally all we have”. In the last, Kyle smashed them with the rock. Kenny is bleeding and tried to standing but couldn’t. He doesn’t want to be in jail again after this.
Characterization of Alison is flat and static. She didn’t do anything when the strangers kidnapped her. I think, as main character Alison suppose to do something to keep herself safe. Different with Kyle, he is dynamic. Even though he was hesisted to help Alison, but with the war inside his mind, he smashed Kenny with rock.
At the end of the story, Alison had nightmare afterward in which Kyle brought the rock down. The problem with Alison perhaps will be the problem for anyone. After in the worse situation, at least we will have little nightmare for something, and worry if the problem will come again. “Why was it, she sometimes wondered, that in dreams we can’t do the simplest things?”, of course because sometimes we can’t handle what would happen later and tomorrow.