logo

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

George Saunders

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

George Saunders

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline Story 3: “The Wavemaker Falters” Summary & Analysis

Story 3 Summary: “The Wavemaker Falters”

The collection’s third story follows an unnamed, male protagonist who works at a theme park and: 1) accidentally kills a boy; 2) has the boy’s ghost talk to him at night; 3) catches his partner, Simone, cheating on him with a co-worker; 4) is almost killed by the dead boy’s father; and 5) wanders in the hills near his house, vowing to change who he is.

The story opens with a description of the “Center for Wayward Nuns,” which is “full of sisters and other religious personnel who’ve become doubtful” (34). The protagonist states that: “A young nun named Sister Viv came unglued [up] there last fall and we gave her a free season pass to come down and meditate near our simulated Spanish trout stream whenever she wanted” (34).

Sister Viv is at the theme park one day, “sitting cross-legged a few feet away from a Dumpster housed in a granite boulder made of a resilient synthetic material”(35) when she falls into the water. The protagonist “dive[s] in and drag[s] her out” (35). Viv comes to and “spits in [the protagonist’s] face and says [he] couldn’t possibly know the darkness in her heart,” to which the protagonist responds, “Try me” (35).

blurred text

Unlock this
Study Guide!

Join SuperSummary to gain instant access to all 63 pages of this Study Guide and thousands of other learning resources.
Get Started
blurred text