Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Document Type

Thesis

School

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Department

English

Date of Original Version

2013

Abstract

This thesis is a major component towards a completed short-story cycle. The author’s work uses a multi-faceted aspect of storytelling by employing its many characters and isolated chapters in a mosaic form. All stories operate independently while simultaneously linking together through familiar characters and setting. Every story involves characters who reside on the same suburban cul-de-sac, which forces them to interact with each other and influencing their lives. By having these characters return, sometimes by a brief presence only and other times by mention of their name, creates a concrete social atmosphere. The author’s work provides several glimpses into the lives of characters who struggle with their past and future decisions. As a collective text, this work echoes themes of family turmoil, grief, dependency, and forgiveness. Moments of broken friendships, teen angst, and infidelity reconcile through character introspection as witnessed from the psychic distance of a third-person limited narrator. Each story leaps to a different month in 1994, creating a non-linear time line of self-contained narratives. References from that year, such as music, film, and important events help construct the character’s fictional universe.

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