War at Home
We saw Tim O’Brien criticize war through his stories along the war front in The Things They Carried . Now we see George Saunders comment on the war at home. He does this by drawing attention to people’s problematic reactions to Mikey’s involvement in the war. The most notable example of this is the frequently repeated, almost mechanical “thank you for your service” that the sheriff, Ryan’s dad, and the boy in the shop say to Mikey. Superficially, this seems very respectful, like they really appreciate Mikey risking his life for them and his country. However, as soon as they say “thank you for your service,” they have done their bit, so to speak, of properly honoring the troops. In those five words, they basically shed any and all other obligations that they might have to do anything else to help Mikey the veteran. When the sheriff helps kick Mikey and his family out of their house, almost the first thing he says to Mikey is, “thank you for your service,” and then he proceeds to ad