Student Question
What is the summary of "Winky" in Pastoralia?
Quick answer:
George Saunders's story "Winky" focuses on Neil Yaniky, who has attended one of Tom Rodgers's seminars and is determined to kick his sister, Winky, out of their shared apartment. Winky is scatterbrained and clumsy, but she truly loves her brother. When Winky greets Neil at the door, he decides he is too weak to kick her out.
"Winky" by George Saunders opens in the midst of a seminar by the famous Tom Rodgers. Rodgers's seminars are all about leading people to identify the individuals in their lives who are "crapping in their oatmeal" and learning how to confront those individuals in order to be free of them. Rodgers himself describes how he freed himself from his disabled brother, Gene, because Gene was so demanding and needed so much care, making Rodgers put his own "life on hold." Indeed, Rodgers teaches his participants that it is their time to win and that they should focus on themselves and get rid of anyone who holds them back or gets in their way.
The focus then shifts to Neil Yaniky, one of the seminar's attendees. Neil gets in line for a personal consultation with Tom Rodgers, and he identifies his sister, Winky, as someone he needs to get rid of....
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Winky lives with him, but Neil wants her to get a place of her own. Under Rodgers's guidance, Neil beats a dummy representing Winky with a baseball bat, saying that it is time for him to win as Rodgers encourages him to throw Winky out.
The scene then shifts to Winky, who is busy getting ready for her brother, whom she calls Neil-Neil, to come home. She is rather clumsy and absentminded, but she clearly loves her brother and wants to do everything she can for him. When Neil arrives, she throws open the door to welcome him home and is overjoyed to see him.
The story then returns to Neil as he walks home from the seminar reflecting on how his father got a bad deal from the world. He vows that it will not be the same for him. He will kick Winky out that very day so he can do exactly what he wants with his life. But at Winky's enthusiastic welcome, Neil finds himself weakening. He wants to hit his sister or yell at her, but he cannot kick her out of the apartment, so he goes to his room, muttering darkly.