CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1996

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Story 1: “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline”

Story 2: “Isabelle”

Story 3: “The Wavemaker Falters”

Story 4: “The 400-Pound CEO”

Story 5: “Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz”

Story 6: “Downtrodden Mary’s Failed Campaign of Terror”

Novella: “Bounty”

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

How does Saunders employ satire to comment on late American capitalist consumer culture? Use examples from three different stories to support your claim.

What role does religion play in these stories and in the lives of the characters inhabiting these worlds?

Five of the seven protagonists in the collection are unnamed. Why does Saunders choose to do this? Further, why does he give names to the remaining two protagonists?