Sticks By George Sanders

In the short story “Sticks,” George Sanders utilizes a pole to represent the cyclical nature of familial life. Sanders writes from the perspective of a son who has viewed his father’s connection to the pole throughout his entire life. As a child, the son’s entire family participated in decorating the pole. However, as the children age, their father’s harshness greatly damages their relationship, which is exacerbated when the children leave their home. “We left home, married, had children of our own, found the seeds of meanness blooming also within us” (Sanders). Through the pole, the reader can observe that as the children grow up, their father’s strictness results in them being less empathetic and receptive towards their father's quirk of