Victory Lap

Change can be seen as a form of transformation or conversion. A form of change can be seen in “Victory Lap” by George Saunders, a short story written in such a way that the events that are enrolling throughout the story are being processed and told through the minds of three main characters. Having the perspective of each character allows us, the readers to get a much greater understanding about them and to make a better character analysis. Having said that, this story is simply about a girl, Alison getting kidnapped by an unnamed kidnapper. What were really captivating were the changes spotted on characters as the conflict progresses. One character in particular is very intriguing and his name is Kyle. One of our main character, Alison gives a small description on Kyle as she spots him running outside through her window, moments before the incident with the kidnapper: “He looked like a skeleton with a mullet.” (71). She further describes him as a weird and wimpy guy. With these descriptions we can easily paint a picture of how Kyle looks and boy does he sound “heroic”. It may be hard to imagine, but Kyle has changed from the beginning of the story to the end, and this change may even be described to be heroic.

Kyle seems to have no independence at first, relying on his parent’s mind voice for support. But as the conflict resides in front of him, Kyle finds himself jumping into action with his own independent choice. As Kyle walks out of the garage into his house, he finds himself swearing in his head,
“Swearing in your head? Dad said in his head. Step up, Scout, be a man. If you want to swear, swear aloud.
I don’t want to swear aloud.
Then don’t swear in your head.” (74)
This situation reveals how he somehow finds a way to do bring his father for something small as swearing in his head. Goes to show how dependent he really is. Rather than personally telling himself to stop swearing, he brings his father’s voice in his mind in order to be told not to swear.