Youthful Rebellion Against the Parent/Child Binary

George Saunders has a style of writing that is much different than that of his contemporaries. Considering the reader has to expend a greater amount of mental focus to decipher which character is speaking at that exact moment, the short stories can be confusing at times. However, despite the need to read with greater detail and attention, to read text that displays a constant stream of consciousness is interesting as a reader. In one of the short stories entitled "Victory Lap", a teenage boy named Kyle struggles internally with the thought of violating his parents rules, which are almost comical considering how severely strict his parents are. Kyle watches as his neighbor, a teen girl named Allison, is kidnapped by an older man. Contemplating the punishment that would most likely ensue if he disobeys his parent's rules, the reader is given the opportunity to go inside Kyle's head and follow his line of thinking. One of the most enchanting parts of the story is watching as Kyle breaks the power struggle that exists between he and his parents. Watching Allison struggle to break free from the man's dominating grip, Kyle rebels against his parents dominion of control and decides to act in regard to his own agency and moral obligation. It appears as if Kyle has been repressed for so long by his overbearing parents that when he does respond to the situation and assume power, he displays a lack of any self-control in his inability to stop.

This scene is an excellent source of binary expression. As a teenager, there is a given amount of rebellion expected as kids learn to lead independent lives free from the control of their parents. In kyle's situation, the binary between the parents (dominant) and the child (subordinate) is only made more extreme by his parent's excessive amount of regulation. Jessica Benjamin, a psychoanalyst and feminist voice, expresses an argument regarding binaries and the power struggle. She believes that, ideally, there should exist mutual recognition between individuals. Yet, she argues that in this transition from power struggle to mutual recognition, the repressed individual must be careful so as not to simply overturn the power struggle, initiating new roles of leader and subordinate. In Kyle's situation, his glimpse of personal power feels so empowering after years of repression that he is unable to control his new position of power. As he attacks the man freeing Allison from his control, he thinks of his dad with each blow to the man's head. It can be argued that this expression of power and rage is more of a rebellion against his own parents than reaction to Allison's kidnapping.