I meant to read this story in two sittings. I was extremely tired last night, so I told myself I'd read half of it before going to bed and finish it in the morning. I ended up finishing the story last night. I had to know what happened next.
"Sea Oak" was, for lack of better words, an insane story. What even is this place? The entire story seemed to be an exaggeration--over-the-top characters like Min and Jade, over-the-top jobs like the one that the narrator has, over-the-top plotline. By the time Aunt Bernie had risen from the dead and was yelling orders while her body parts were in a heap, I wasn't even surprised anymore.
I keep trying to think of what the deeper meaning behind this story is. I feel as though all this hyperbole had to be so intentional that Saunders was trying to send a larger message. When Aunt Bernie the undead kept yelling at the narrator that he should "show his cock" near the end of the story, I was especially on the lookout for any larger social messages. When Aunt Bernie came back from the dead, she was bolder, louder, and much more animated than her former, boring self. It seemed as though she was finally taking on her own identity. I would have thought that she would've told the narrator that he should quit working at Joysticks altogether, so it confused me when she was encouraging him to basically degrade himself for money.
I guess what I am struggling with is figuring out the reasons for everything. What is the purpose of Min and Jade's babies? Are they only there to add to the chaos and financial struggle that they are experiencing, or is there a deeper meaning? Do we ever even learn the name of the narrator? To be honest, I might have missed it in the craziness of everything else. Overall, I am interested to see where our class discussion on this story will go.
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