Analysis Paralysis and Paralysis Analysis

In “Victory Lap,” both Alison Pope and Kyle Boot find themselves figuratively paralyzed when faced with opportunities to act. For Kyle, his moment of paralysis occurs when he stands on his porch watching the “meter-reader” drag Alison away, debating whether to intervene. Alison, likewise, is haunted by the feeling of immobilization as she dreams about deciding to stop Kyle from killing the intruder. Both suffer from “analysis paralysis,” or inability to act due to over-thinking.

Kyle’s analysis paralysis derives from his obsession with contemplating the consequences of his actions. He constantly harrasses himself by wondering “WHAT IF...RIGHT NOW?” (pg. 11) and early in the story, he finds himself immobilized when he realizes that in order to clean muddy footprints off the floor, he must leave more (pg. 11). When Kyle contemplates if he should help Alison, he imagines the consequences of helping: his parents’ reactions to his violation of their “directives” not to intervene and even how his reputation would suffer if he were to call 911, admitting that he saw the incident and chose not to save Alison. By over-thinking the results of his actions rather than following his gut, he fails to act immediately.

Unlike Kyle, Alison quickly knows that she wants to intervene. As she watches Kyle lift the geode to kill the intruder, she whispers “Kyle, don’t" (pg. 26). However, she frequently wakes up from dreaming that she failed to stop Kyle. She relates this feeling of paralysis to dreams in which she wants to save a puppy but can’t because she must also balance a ball on her head (pg. 26). The complication of the task by the addition of the ball reflects Alison’s tendency to become immobilized by her imagination. For instance, at the beginning of the story, she spends a rather long time at the top of a staircase, lost in a fantasy and unable to proceed in reality.

George Saunders’ ability to enchant the reader is evident in these moments of paralysis. By granting the reader access to all Alison and Kyle’s thoughts, Saunders invites the reader not just to see how the characters act, but to understand what thoughts, fears, and patterns of thought compel them to act in the way they do.