As we scrolled (or flipped) through the pages of “The Semplica Girl Diaries” by George Saunders, not much was revealed to us about the SG’s until closer towards the end. Was this on purpose? For one thing, after we learn the true nature of the SG’s and being bound together by a string through the brain, we can’t help but agree that it’s a horrible fate. But what of the narrator? He obviously endorsed this as he has the SG’s come and work for him. He must agree, to some extent, with this practice. I believe that if we knew everything about the SG’s right off the bat, it wouldn’t be harder for us to sympathize with our narrator “Dad.” Our utter disagreement with that practice would have us questioning why this man would ever allow something like that to take place in his own home. But because we are slowly figuring our their true nature with the narrator, it can help us empathize with him later in the story.
Something else I’m sure multiple people across the world have realized while reading this is how much the SG’s remind them of immigrant labor. Back in 2012, when this story was first published, immigration labor was still a huge topic off debate. Everyone was arguing about whether or not they should be paid equal wage as non-immigrants or if they should even work at all. This story conquers that idea and more. It delves into the idea of how ignorant people can be towards immigrant workers and how hard it must to live their lives. They’re all seen as the same thing, hence the SG’s connected by a string. They leave their homes to be put on public display by a wealthy family and no one thinks twice.
I definitely think the lack of explanation was intentional. I think the driving force of the story was us not understanding what seemed obvious, so we scour the text for any information we can get.
Also I never thought of it as commentary immigrant labour, if this was intentional I think it was really smart of Saunders to tell it in the way that he did. To make it seem like such a natural part of day to day life accurately depicts how immigrant labour probably feels like they are just being ignored. Their service is taken for granted and never questioned, never doubted. Their feelings are never considered, never have any weight.
I also found myself wondering about the lack of explanation regarding the SG’s. Though I’m sure its intentional, it left a lot for me to be confused by. The narrator speaks as if we already know and therefore it leaves the reader scrambling for information and more understanding.