Puppy Rhetorical Analysis

Puppy, A Symbol for Change National Book Award Finalist George Saunders demonstrates effectively in “Puppy,” one of the many short stories in his Tenth of December, that things can and will change. Marie now leads a happy life with her husband, Robert, and her kids, Josh and Abbie, after her sad, neglected childhood. A “Puppy” is a symbol that represents change and is what inspired this rhetorical analysis. Saunders’ entertaining purpose is to pathetically appeal to the reader’s sympathies about the examples that he gives of life-altering situations that he narrates in thirdperson. He adopts a mostly positive tone in order to get his readers thinking about how the chances that they take can dramatically impact their futures. Saunders uses emotion, resolution, and questions to expertly convince his target audience, young adults, that: "Life will not always be like this" (41). Saunders begins “Puppy” by appealing to the hopeful emotions of his readers with a description of how Marie, the protagonist of the story, was able to overcome her unfortunate childhood when she was neglected by her parents, the antagonists. He goes on to demonstrate Marie’s Christian belief that God had, “given [her] so much: struggles and the strength to overcome them; grace, and new chances every day to spread that grace around” (Saunders 39). He includes this passage to inspire his adult readers to pursue their own possible changes for the better. The fascination of overcompensation from Marie conveys a happy tone that reassures the readers that they also can overcome bumps in the road, which connects back to the main theme of the passage, that life will change. As a resolution to discovering a boy who possibly has autism, Bo, chained up in the backyard of their possible future puppy's current home, Marie decides that she mustn’t hesitate to make “a call to Child Welfare, where she knew Linda Berling, a very no-nonsense lady who would snatch this poor kid away so fast it would make that fat mother’s thick head spin” (Saunders 41). Saunders figured in this decision so that young adults would be well aware of how fast situations can escalate, especially when taken out of context. He also takes the opportunity to reiterate the story’s setting, which given away by the mention of Child Welfare. This place could exist in any town in our country, the United States, today, where tragedies happen behind closed doors all too often. The story takes on a more serious and urgent tone as Marie’s decision strengthens to actively participate in the changing of Bo’s life. Saunders concludes his short story by questioning Bo’s potential outcome in life. He forces his readers to consider a completely different third person point-of-view by offering Bo’s mother, Callie’s, rationale that “if they could keep him safe, maybe he’d mellow out as he got older” (Saunders 43). This proposition from Callie contrasts from Marie’s standpoint because Callie believes that how she is treating Bo will help him to grow into someone way different than who he is now. Saunders incorporates this possible future in order to simulate how one’s life can change. Saunders wants his young readers to accept that every person’s story is affected by the decisions of others and that not everyone’s motivations are as clearly right or wrong as the way that they seem. In one of his many short stories of Tenth of December, “Puppy,” George Saunders effectively demonstrates how “Life will not always be like this” (41). He uses pathos to appeal to the reader’s sense of optimism when describing Marie’s recovery of her childhood. Marie resolves as her best option to call Child Welfare for a child chained up, a decision that triggers shocking change. Saunders questions that child, Bo’s, potential future as someone who has obviously endured traumatic circumstances as a child, but who may still yet have the capacity and opportunity to grow and develop beyond any outsider's expectations while in a more nurturing environment. From “Puppy,” readers can glean a sense of possibility and can be reassured that positive change is always a course of action. Saunders effectively communicates these themes of potentiality and possibility through his use of conflicting tones and points-ofview.