This moment speaks to Jeffrey's persistent ability to think that his life will get better. This is the darkest moment of the story since we know that Jeffrey's life will never change unless he himself takes action. By providing a glimpse into one of the saddest and most unfortunate people on Earth, Saunders, I believe, wants to make people feel better about their own lives.Īt the end of this story, Jeffrey entertains the possibility that his life could restart if a benevolent higher power were to assume responsibility for his tragic life. Reading about Jeffrey's struggles will most likely make you feel grateful for how much better your life is and that is quite the feat on Saunders part.

It's a testament to Saunders' ability as a writer that this story can inspire such different reactions at different points. One of my favorite things about Saunders' stories is how they combine funny and dark elements. Jeffrey is arrested and sentenced to fifty years in prison where he continues to be humiliated but Jeffrey somehow refuses to give up his dignity. Jeffrey's reign as the CEO is short-lived when his co-worker Claude discover's Tim's dead body. Jeffrey then forges a letter in which Tim says that he is moving to Mexico and Jeffrey is the new CEO. In the moments after this event, Jeffrey realizes that his biggest concern in life is not lofty ideals but himself. While attempting to stop his evil boss Tim from attacking an animal rights girl with a camcorder, Jeffrey inadvertently kills him. When Jeffrey returns to work, his life continues to consist of boring work, self-loathing and humiliating jokes about his weight. In response to this humiliation, Jeffrey goes on vacation for a week and does nothing but play a game called Oil Can Man. It turns out that Freeda only went out with Jeffrey because their coworker Tim agreed to pay Freeda's phone bill.

Jeffrey and Freeda go out to Ace's Volcano Island, a Hawaiian themed restaurant run by an aging beatnik with Tourette's. Jeffrey has feelings for his coworker Freeda who is repulsed by Jeffrey but she accepts Jeffrey's invitation to dinner. Jeffrey is frustrated at his lack of love life and his co-workers constantly make fun of him for being so overweight. In this case the character is Jeffrey who works at Humane Raccoon Alternatives, a corporation that claims to release troublesome raccoons into the wild but actually kills them. Like other stories by Saunders, the 400-pound CEO focuses on a character negative experience in a bizarre workplace. The 400-pound CEO is one of my favorite stories from George Saunders' collection CivilWarLand in Bad Decline.

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