The short stories, ‘Sticks’ by George Saunders and ‘Likeable’ by DEB OLIN UNFERTH are ones that are very similar. The most obvious similarity is how they both convey a feeling of loneliness in both characters. ‘Sticks’ conveys this in a disturbing way through descriptions of a metal pole that describe the state of mind of the character ‘dad’. I say disturbing due to the fact that the dad decorates the metal pole in a very bizarre manner. He begins by decorating the metal pole in the occasion of traditions such as Fourth of July, Superbowl, Halloween and etc. This seems to the audience to be pretty normal, however, the author decides a shift in the character which is evidenced by the paragraphing. In the second paragraph, dad decorates the metal pole in very bizarre and unconventional manners. For example, when his wife died he dressed the pole as death. It seems as if the dad is becoming more and more obsessed with the metal pole and is becoming closer to insanity. The short story ends in a sombre tone by his lonely death and the trashing of his possessions. Similarly, the story Likeable begins with a paranoid woman who thinks that she has become unlikeable due to her old age. However, the story advances with the woman giving up and accepting her fate that she is unlikeable. It ends on another disturbing note by stating that ‘she will have to be shoved into a hole and left there.’ Both these stories seem to depict the human condition in the context of loneliness. The disturbing effect it has on the audience is there for both but I think, Sticks is more disturbing due to the fact that it describes a person’s emotions through an inanimate metal pole. The fact that ‘sticks’ is in the third person through the perspective of his son makes it feel as if there is someone to care for the dad. But ‘Likeable’ is in the first person which better encapsulates a feeling of loneliness.