George Saunders’Pastoralia – Simple Summary

George Saunders’
Pastoralia – Simple Summary
The story is about a man who works in a strange theme park. His job is to live inside a fake cave and pretend to be a caveman. He wears animal skins, eats strange food, and must grunt instead of talking. He has to stay in character all the time, even when no visitors are watching.
His co-worker, Janice, also plays a caveman, but she sometimes talks or complains instead of grunting. The managers send daily memos telling workers to report on each other if they break the rules. They pressure the narrator to write a bad report about Janice so she can be fired.

The narrator feels torn. He knows Janice has a difficult life outside the park—her husband mistreats her, and her son is in trouble. He feels sorry for her and doesn’t want to betray her. But at the same time, he is afraid of losing his job because he needs money to support his own family.

In the end, nothing really changes. The theme park continues, and the narrator is stuck in his role, still unsure whether to betray Janice or protect her. Life goes on in the same absurd way.

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