The Semplica Girl Diaries - Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

Wealth has grown to be a great symbol that defines a society. 'The Semplica Girl Diaries' is written by the father, who is a middle-aged man, of three girls, Lilly, Thomas, and Eva. Despite the title portraying the diaries as written by a girl, the first sentence, "Having turned 40..." (Saunders, pg. 1) Reveals that a man wrote it. He narrates the chronicles of the life of his family up to the events that lead to him winning a lottery on his daughter Lilly's birthday. The book gives a depiction of how the girls feel incompetent in front of the wealth of the family and seem to cheer themselves, though in reality, are not so cheerful. The diary is written to address the "future readers" as it is written in the past. Generally, the story describes Semplica girls who can be depicted as humans on display. This creates a concern for the analysis of the story written in these diaries about the Semplica Girls to get an exploration of what influences the "choices" the narrator of the story makes in relation to how to spend the winnings of the lottery.

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The narrator's choices represent the various conflicts that exist in society in terms of expectations, reality, poverty, wealth, morality, and immorality. From the story, it is clear that the choices the father of the girls makes are in regards to the expectations that he had; however, they failed to materialize into reality. One of the expectations is quoted "In one year, at a rate of one page/day, will have written 365 pages". The reality is that he could not keep up with the schedule and skipped some days. His daughter also expectations. Lilly says, "we are going to get a new car soon anyway when rich right?" However, the reality is that they were not getting a new car and would remain poor. The father expects his children to take the initiative and pick clean up after the dog. The reality is that they pass by the dog and poop near the porch. The narrator also expresses another expectation, "All over up there, men at my age reading in big chairs under affluent orange lights. Where is my big chair? Orange light?" The author expects to be at the same social class as his age-mates, in the same social status, but the reality is he is already lagging and risks falling further backward. All these represent a discrepancy between what the narrator and his family expect of life and what it turns out to be. This gives a depiction of how the narrator and his family are obsessed with expectations of a good and fulfilling lifestyle. However, all their expectations fail. But the narrator is not the only one conflicted. There is even conflict in the society that they live in.

Societal expectations are exemplified by Emmett, who says, "The strange arcane things our culture expects some of us to do, degrading things, things that offer no tangible benefit to anyone." The reality is that people are the ones willing to do strange things. Emmett feels like it is essential to do the things that they do and remain proud of yourself. Despite his views that seem to be against the societal expectation of degrading things that have no tangible benefit, Emmett represents the group that reinforces these same expectations. They were degrading poor women into lawn decorations made of human beings. Extravagant fountains and lavish gardens, large tree houses, and expensive paintings for the excessive display of wealth (Saunders). Another societal expectation is revealed when the narrator talks about his father. He says that his father must fight the good fight, and have the thought of a dad. At this point, he is expected not to collapse under pressure and embody his father. Even when he is faced with adverse situations, he was still there for his family and kept pushing on. The narrator is under the pressure of societal expectation to shower his daughter with an extravagant party and lavish gifts. Among them is the familiar rich people's practice of using girls or women from impoverished backgrounds as decorations. However, Eva is not happy about the decorations and lashes out at her parents for choosing such a cruel method of entertainment. She is more sensitive than the rest of society to such acts that derive pleasure from the misery of others. The narrator choice of using the Semplica girls is a product of societal expectations where a vast majority of the houses in the neighborhood have them.

The narrator is influenced by the societal practices and the conceptual practices of the rich, for instance, in the concept of the conflict between expectations and reality that extends to the financial aspect. The conflict between expectation and reality reflected in contrast between poverty and wealth. The author says, "Do not like the rich people, as they make us poor people feel dopey and inadequate." The author thinks wealthy people go through a lot of trouble to make other people conscious about their wealth. The reality is that some of the time, the rich are not even aware of what they are doing to the other groups that are less wealthy. That aspect can be seen in the narrator's life after he won the lottery. He threw a lavish party to impress his daughter and the rest of his family (Saunders). The rest of the world was not a priority at that moment, but all he wanted was for them to feel good about themselves and where they are coming from. This clearly shows how he is influenced by the society on the activities or the practices that are carried out. The book itself uses symbolism to depict the conflict that exists in modern society. Symbolism is seen through the Semplica girls who are immigrants from developing countries that are trying to feed their families. The girls represent immigrant families in the real American society that come to the country to try and make a life for themselves by doing odd and degrading jobs that the rest of the community would not do. The conflict in society extends to their definition of right and wrong. The narrator's decision to use Semplica girls presents a conflict between morality and immorality. The fathers thinking represents that of the rest of the society that they live in. His decision to use the Semplica girls presents a conflict between the things that qualify as moral and immoral. This is also an instance that depicts how the narrator is influenced by society by using the Semplica Girls.

The author says, "Can you imagine her little brother, in a good school, because of her, because of us?" The narrator thinks of his actions and that they are acceptable because they help the Semplica girls to feed their families. On the other hand, Eva`s reaction shows that the use of Semplica girls as decorations is an acquired trait, and it only appears as moral because everyone else is doing it. Therefore, it is evident that the narrator uses Semplica girls as a result of the influence of society. Eva proceeds to ask, "So just because everyone is doing it, that makes it right?" (Saunders) Her father's most significant defense for his actions was that the girls needed the money, and everyone in the neighborhood is doing it but did not deny the immorality behind the practice.

Simplica Girls and Lilly's birthday plays a significant importance in developing the story. It gives a room for the "future readers" to realize how the narrator would like to fit into society by preparing a lavish party for the family. It also helps build the theme of immorality in society, and we get to know how the choices the narrator makes are out influenced by society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is justified to conclude that the story, "The Semplica Girl Diaries" outlines the theme of conflict and expectations. Both the society, the narrator, and the family members are obsessed with expectations that later fail. Nonetheless, Semplica Girls and Lily's birthday represent a significant opportunity for the narrator to show his expectations of fitting in the societal setup and plays a key role in developing the thesis of the discussion. The conflicts that exist between expectations and reality, wealth and poverty, and, moral and immoral behavior represent the current society's struggles; especially when it comes to dealing with immigrants. In today's reality, people chose violence over good acts, showing off one's wealth rather than helping the poor together with practicing immoral acts. People are more inclined to show who they are on the outside rather than the inside. It is, therefore, necessary to think of the other person's feeling before acting on anything.

Works Cited

Calvo, Ana Maria M. Manzanas, and Jesus Benito Sanchez. "Guest/Ghost Object in the Garden: George Saunders's "The Semplica Girl Diaries." Hospitality in American Literature and Culture. Routledge, 2016. 179-196.

Coleman, Philip, and Steve Gronert Ellerhoff, eds. George Saunders: Critical Essays. Springer, 2017.

Saunders, George. Tenth of December: Stories. Random House, 2013.

Tran, Sharon N. Between Asian Girls: Minor Feminisms and Sideways Critique. Diss. UCLA, 2017.