The concepts of praise and reassurance are ubiquitous throughout George Saunders’ story “Victory Lap” from his book Tenth of December. The story features a quirky teenage boy named Kyle who lives a seemingly ridiculously sheltered life under the control of his parents. Kyle must complete certain tasks in order to earn “work points,” which give him the ability to indulge in activities that most people take for granted, such as watching television. While Saunders makes it extremely clear that Kyle’s parents are (almost impossibly) overprotective, the sets of dialogue throughout the story more surreptitiously make clear the parents’ use of praise and reassurance toward their only son. In one instance, the dialogue portrays the parents reassuring Kyle that Allison, a girl he saved from being kidnapped, will “recover in time.” The parents go on to state that they are “amazed by his good judgment.”
The parents’ use of reward, reassurance, and praise seem to have adverse effects on Kyle, as he tends to doubt himself often. In one instance, reflecting upon his actions of leaving his house and breaking many of his parents’ set rules in order to save Allison and subsequently (possibly: Saunders does not explicitly inform the readers as to whether or not Kyle actually dropped a geode on the man’s head) causing severe injury to or even killing her kidnapper, Saunders reveals that Kyle is thinking that he “should’ve never stepped outside.” Kyle’s doubting of himself and his low self-esteem seem to be the consequences of his parent’s misuse and overuse of praise, reward, and reassurance, as he only acquires sincere gratification through completing his tasks and receiving excess praise from his parents. Thus, Saunders puts forth a complex critique of parental praise by demonstrating the damaging effects it can have on a child.
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