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 advise his family to get out. When Ryan and his parents are trying to find a way to politely refuse to let Mikey’s family stay at their home, Ryan’s dad says, “thank you for your service,” right before Renee tells them to go to a motel. And in the shop when the two kids inquire about Mikey’s time in the war, one of them says, “thank you for your service,” before going on to talk about how he didn’t really care about the war and ask if it’s even still going on.

We can tell that despite the words coming out of their mouths, these people are really indifferent to Mikey’s situation. This disconnect between Mikey and others isn’t just with random people, but with his own family, too. When Mikey returns from the war, his whole world has changed. Ma has a new boyfriend, and his sister Renee and ex-wife have elevated to a whole new social class that Mikey couldn’t even dream of touching at this point, especially now that he’s being evicted from his home. Renee won’t even trust him to hold the baby, because she doesn’t know what he’s been through and how badly that might have affected him. These significant changes and the lack of anyone to talk or relate to is very damaging to Mikey, and his extreme reactions reflect that. Breaking the glass pitcher, threatening to burn down a house with his mom in it…. these are all instances where Mikey is trying to cope with his situation but doesn’t know how. From the stories we’ve read about war so far, I’m guessing this struggle isn’t uncommon among war veterans.