CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

In “Bounty,” the collection’s novella, America is divided into two groups: Normals—humans who do not have genetic mutations—and Flaweds, those who do. Flaweds are not allowed to procreate and have no voting rights; further, all examples of Flaweds in the book show them as either working menial, demeaning jobs (effectively being the working poor) or being slaves.

In this way, Saunders sets up the Normal/Flawed binary as haves vs. have-nots. This binary can be extended out to other stories, as well, especially “Isabelle,” in which the title character suffers immensely through no fault of her own. In other narratives, bosses—and those able to effectively navigate the mores of corporate culture as Normals and their underlings (Mary and Jefferey, especially)—can be viewed as Flaweds. This Otherizing is the identity trait that the Normals, collectively, most fully possess; that is, they’re most defined by what they aren’t.

At its core, Saunders’s collection is satirical: crimes, foolishness, abuse, and failure are criticized and ridiculed, with the purpose of pointing a finger at the ways of society, and especially the ways of corporations and corporate culture.

Satire has many components and features, the premiere of which is irony, in which an event or action is made purposefully contrary, often amusingly so. For example, at beginning of “The Wavemaker Falters,” the protagonist saves a wayward nun from taking her own life, only to have that nun subsequently stab a cafeteria worker to death. Further, in a duo of instances involving guns, Saunders utilizes ironic outcomes. The first of these is in “Isabelle,” in the scene with Norris Crane breaking into Split Lip’s house. Norris points the gun at Split Lip, who pleads with Norris, asking who will take care of Isabelle if Split Lip is dead. Norris considers this, then kills himself—an action contrary to what the scene sets up, and the reader expects to have happen. In “The Wavemaker Falters,” Clive’s dad comes to the protagonist’s house to kill him; here, not only does Saunders set up the scene in such a way where the reader assumes the protagonist will die, the protagonist himself also assumes this. Further, the fact that he remains alive is ironic; while most would be happy to have their life spared, the protagonist now has to face a life consumed by guilt and in which he must deal with a partner who has cheated on him.

Another central component of satire is hyperbole. All of Saunders’s narratives, in one way or another, exaggerate in order to provide social criticism. A good example of this is the business of Humane Raccoon Alternatives, in the story “The 400-Pound CEO.” It’s an ironic exaggeration to have a supposedly humane trapping company then kill the animals it traps; the purpose in this exaggeration is Saunders commentary that corporations often present themselves in one way, superficially, and act another way when they believe no one is paying attention.

Another example of hyperbole (and exaggeration personified) is the character of Sam, in the collection’s title story. It’s not an exaggeration to say that corporations take sometimes-extreme measures to ensure their continued livelihood, often at the sake of clients/customers. However, it is an exaggeration that a theme park with security problems would hire a lunatic to kill gang members in the park, and then dispose of the bodies.