George Saunders on The Importance of Kindness:

George Saunders on The Importance of Kindness:

    George Saunders employs techniques of narrative in his speech The Importance of Kindness. One way he accomplishes this is through the use of imagery to support characterization. The memory of a new student in his seventh grade class is retold in vivid detail. He describes “Ellen”, a name given for retelling purposes, stating, “she was small, shy, she wore these catseye glasses which at the time only old ladies wore.” This description allows listeners to not only picture her, but draw conclusions about her character. His statement that she wore glasses that only old ladies wore reveals that she was different than the other kids at school, and most likely did not fit in. Another way he utilizes narrative techniques is through the inclusion of movement. He shows this by traveling from a small story to a greater idea. He eludes that the theme of the story is kindness by stating a goal as to be kinder in his introduction. He revisits this concept of kindness at the end of the piece when he generalizes that the people we remember most and have warm feelings towards are those who were nice to us. Saunders uses this story from his childhood to make the argument that we should be kinder to people.

    Saunders exhibits perceptivity by providing observations he made about Ellen throughout the year. He talks about watching her hang her head after she was teased by peers and the hurt he watched her feel. He states that “she was trying as much as possible to disappear.” This reveals that he was aware of her actions and was able to make the assumption that she began to attempt to go unnoticed. Saunders shows an understanding of Ellen’s feelings although he never mentions any conversations that took place between them. This shows that he often put himself in her shoes in order to see things from her perspective.

    Saunders offers the surprising information that the reason he is retelling this story is because he still is always thinking about it even though it was over 40 years ago. It is powerful that he would recall such an unimportant event in his life, and speaks to the impact it had on him. He states, “what I regret most in my life are the failures of kindness.” Listeners might assume that he must have been mean, or unkind to Ellen considering the regret he seems to have about the situation. However, he discloses that he was never rude to her, and sometimes even stood up for her. I think that even though he wasn’t one of the kids causing her pain he still carries with him the regret that he wasn’t able to stop her from moving away.