The Injustices of Capitalism as Depicted in “Pastoralia” and “Sea Oak” Haley Parson College

Many of George Saunders’ works are focused around capitalism, which is a recurrent concept in several short stories of Saunders’ Pastoralia. However, Pastoralia not only focuses on the general workings of capitalism, but also enumerates the hardships the poorer working class faces. Saunders slowly reveals the reality for the impoverished throughout the book, and how every individual must sacrifice a part of their humanity to simply survive. The narrators of many of the short stories work unusual and sometimes unrealistic jobs —such as stripping or acting as a living caveman— yet face the same trials as wealthier working class citizens, if not more. By developing unrealistic jobs but realistic experiences, Saunders “creates an environment both deeply strange and uneasily familiar” (Hower). He meticulously crafts such environments in works like “Pastoralia” and “Sea Oak,” where he exposes the injustice of capitalism through the exploitation of the impoverished working class.

In both “Pastoralia” and “Sea Oak,” the main characters are “pathetic, trapped in soul-sucking existences, with demeaning jobs and dysfunctional relationships” (Magee). Despite their atrocious jobs, they are motivated to remain with their careers by financial...