Gavin James Brock

Dr. Leslie Bruce

English 307

25 May 2022

“Sticks” on How the American Family Dies

George Saunders’ short story “Sticks” is at once surreal and uncannily familiar.

Though bizarre and ambiguous, many readers will be intimately familiar with the

archetypal American family at the center of the narrative. While many are filled with

pride in this heritage, with nothing but nostalgia for the better times of their childhoods,

plenty still have become disillusioned with the American household. “Sticks” confronts

the American father in particular, and how certain, usually respected, aspects of life in

this country drives his own family to ruin.

Throughout the short story, it is never revealed what caused the falling out

between the narrator's father and his children. That is not to say, however, that there is

not more than enough subtext to draw upon for a general conclusion. Judging by the six

sticks the father hammered into the ground around the pole to represent “offspring,”

(Saunders) across all of which he strung his apologies, it is clear that he had six

children; All of them have left him. It is with great difficulty that one estranges so many

of their children, thus the father’s offenses are certain to be numerous and contemptible;

The issue is with his behavior rather than being isolated mistakes. It is much easier to

determine why his children hate him with this in mind, as the father’s personality is

made exceedingly clear.

 The father is shown to be strict and austere in the early half of the story, while the

children are still in the house. Whether it’s a matter of tidiness, as “he allowed a single

Crayola from the box at a time,” or wastefulness when he “shrieked at Kimmie for

wasting an apple slice,” (Saunders) their relationship is clearly a matter of control and

distrust, which festers at the core of the family. Even the children's possessions are not

sacred, as demonstrated by the way the father takes Rod’s helmet to mount on the

crucifix, and “Rod had to clear it with Dad if he wanted to take the helmet off.” Adding on

the examples of ketchup rationing and the humble birthday desserts simply reinforces

this interpretation. None of these offenses alone would drive a family apart, but as an

indication of this family’s relationships, it is evident how the father acted day to day.

Now all that remains is to answer a crucial question: Why?

The influence on the father’s behavior with the most apparent evidence available

is his time in the military. His obsession with orderly conduct and rationing at home

hinted at this, but the old army medals he hangs from the pole confirms without a

shadow of a doubt that he served. While military service does not inherently tarnish

one's personality, Saunders’ seems to be criticizing the casual way the United States

simply leaves veterans to reintegrate into civilian life on their own, carrying with them all

the baggage and behaviors from their time as soldiers.

Furthermore, there is something to be said for the father’s potential trauma. This

is hinted at by an interesting trio of decorations he places on the pole. “On the Fourth of

July the pole was Uncle Sam, on Veteran’s Day a soldier, on Halloween a ghost.” These

three put together, a symbol of military recruitment, a soldier, and the deceased, can be

viewed as a timeline of events; Beginning with the lofty promise of fighting for American
values and culminating in death. Whether subconscious or by complete coincidence,

this appears to hint at the brutality the father faced in the war, and the trauma that may

be preventing him from connecting with his family emotionally.

(Tanielian)

Another implied influence that seems to affect the father considerably is religion.

The crucifix featured at the center of the story can make for an obvious link to a number

of religions, but most likely christianity given the context. The significance of the pole,
however, goes deeper than a mere allusion to the character’s faith. The very concept of

symbology, which the father partakes in diligently, is a fundamental element of religion.

James DiCenso, a professor in the study of religion, writes in his journal, “Symbolism

and Subjectivity: A Lacanian Approach to Religion,” that religion is “conceptualized as

related to the question of the subject’s mode of being and as a set of symbol-systems

and practices that express the worldviews that inform such modes of being.” Is it not

indicative then, if the father represents holidays from Christmas to Superbowl week as

sacred symbols, that this is a communication of his “mode of being?” The American

experience, so clearly, is such a core part of this man’s human experience, that it

becomes akin to a religion of its own.

The most blatant the religious connection becomes is when he uses the cross

and sticks to preach love and plea for forgiveness. In an ironic twist, the father,

represented by the cross, pleads to his children to forgive him. This is a reversal of the

usual biblical narrative of God and Jesus’ forgiveness of their children. Rather than

being a hole in this interpretation, this comes across as a very deliberate play on the

biblical narrative. For the father to seek forgiveness from their children, in such a

symbolically charged context, seems to suggest a necessity for the religious to practice

humility.
 Additionally, examples that can be applied to the military, such as the father’s

obsession with austerity and prudence, are also virtues of many religions. As with the

military, it is unfair to say that religion makes for worse fathers. What Saunders may be

criticizing, however, is when religious “virtues” cultivate a toxic environment for the

family.

There is one final pillar of American values that bears mentioning here. It is not

out of the question that “Sticks” also has something to say about capitalism. Saunders

has demonstrated that he’s not afraid to criticize the capitalist system, joking in 2008 in

a Guardian article that the goal in tackling the ongoing economic crisis was to “restore

the economy to that lovely, functioning place it was, oh, a week ago, when the rich

could be counted on to get reliably richer and the poor to go down down down.” One

reviewer, Matt Cheney, described Saunders’ works as “a world where free market

economic principles dominate every aspect of life,” and “Sticks” is no different. With this

lens, the fathers austerity can be viewed as having at least a tinge of frugality. This
family, with its cheap decorations and neglect to buy cake even for birthdays, opting

instead for “cupcakes, no ice cream,” (Saunders) is not indicative of a wealthy family.

Rather, they seem to be quite poor, and the struggle to provide for his children, even as

a war veteran, may well cause the father great strain. Try as he might to cut down on

waste, he cares for six children, and that duty gets in the way of a healthy relationship

with his family.

With an author such as Saunders, one can never be certain of authorial intent.

Much is left to the interpretation in “Sticks,” and as such all three influences could have

nothing to do with the father’s sins. Yet, with Saunders’ knack for satire, it’s difficult to

imagine he did not have something to say about at least one.

 Works cited

Saunders, George. Sticks. 1995.

Saunders, George. "American Psyche." The Guardian, 10 Oct. 2008,

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/11/10. Accessed 24 Apr. 2022.

Cheney, Matt. “‘The Way We Name Things Is Important, Ma’: The Stories of George Saunders.”

The English Journal, vol. 92, no. 5, 2003, pp. 84–86, https://doi.org/10.2307/3650440. Accessed

24 Apr. 2022.

Tanielian, Terri, et al. “Understanding Postdeployment and Postmilitary Mental Health

Problems.” Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Veterans in the Metro Detroit Area, RAND

Corporation, 2016, pp. 17–28, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt19w7343.7. Accessed 24

Apr. 2022.

DiCenso, James J. “Symbolism and Subjectivity: A Lacanian Approach to Religion.” The

Journal of Religion, vol. 74, no. 1, 1994, pp. 45–64, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1203614.

Accessed 24 Apr. 2022.

Pichette, Kevin. The Crucifixion. The Rosary, rosary.kevinpichette.com/

the-crucifixion/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2022.