European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

The perpetual attack of Gapperson goats belonging to three neighbouring families at the seaside village of Frip pronounces surface meaning of the satire by George Saunders. As to how he develops most of the critical perspectives in his stories, the underlying meanings open possibilities to different interpretations that connect to the realities of the world rather than sticking on to the fictional plots, the settings and its characters. This research paper analyses George Saunders’ fable The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip for its critical angle related to the exploitation of the working class by the capitalist power structures. The attack of the gappers, slack behaviour of the neighbours, helpless situation of the affected, and the resilience through their innate identity resembles the exploitation of capitalism, disunity of the working class, victimisation of the affected due to the swing that occurs in-between their innate identity and the coercive other, and the resilience through a permanent acceptance of innateness respectively. Through the satiric fable, Saunders draws the consequences of being in the liminal state due to the coercive liminality produced by the power structures of capitalism. Arnold van Gennep’srites of passage and Victor Turner’s theoretical insights on Liminality are used for describing the in-depth connotations of the fable. The perspectives shared in the research would help to add knowledge to the areas discussing the consequences of capitalist exploitation over the working class.