View All Items
(1 - 20 of 115)
Pages
- Title
- The Long and Short of It.
- Creator
-
McElroy, Ciera, Poissant, David, Peynado, Brenda, Kolaya, Chrissy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The Long and Short of It is a collection of ten stories, spanning centuries and continents, illustrating the universality of loss. Here is a war-haunted Korean vet, brainwashed Nazi brides, a neurotic Soviet ballerina, and a re-imagined Ethan Frome. In these stories, anxiety waits in the wings: will Ethan's wife discover his affair? Will the brides acknowledge the dark truth behind their training? Will a mother recover her kidnapped baby? Characters grapple with grief and anxiety in various...
Show moreThe Long and Short of It is a collection of ten stories, spanning centuries and continents, illustrating the universality of loss. Here is a war-haunted Korean vet, brainwashed Nazi brides, a neurotic Soviet ballerina, and a re-imagined Ethan Frome. In these stories, anxiety waits in the wings: will Ethan's wife discover his affair? Will the brides acknowledge the dark truth behind their training? Will a mother recover her kidnapped baby? Characters grapple with grief and anxiety in various ways. Two mothers mourn missing babies: one turns to the occult, the other heads to Mars. Children reel with abandonment: one obsesses over ballet, the other strives to escape a raging wildfire. With recurring themes of family and motherhood, these stories explore the psychological effects of loss. Ranging from the mundane to the wildly magical, the characters in these stories are haunted by figurative and literal ghosts as they navigate both internal conflict and external responsibilities.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007500, ucf:52633
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007500
- Title
- Kidron Road and Other Stories.
- Creator
-
Molohon, Jason, Neal, Mary, Powell, Mark, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Kidron Road and Other Stories is a collection of fiction that ranges from the soberly tragic to the magically real. The characters in each selection are molded by their choices, the choices of others, and the cruel whims of fate. I am fascinated by the way fatalism and free will intersect in the human experience. Therefore, my work often explores the paradoxical way lives are molded by past decisions while, at the same time, those decisions seem determined by outside forces.
- Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006146, ucf:51158
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006146
- Title
- Black Skies and Gray Matter.
- Creator
-
Bennett, Jacquelyn, Rushin, Pat, Kesler, Russ, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Black Skies and Gray Matter is a collection of stories thematically centered on characters that are lonely or lost in the world. These stories explore the characters' personalities through their interactions with others (strangers, family, friends, and spouses) and the difficulties they face being misunderstood. Their journeys are ones of trying to find happiness and their place in society (or rejecting it). As they face alienation, they must endure the trials of everyday life (some more...
Show moreBlack Skies and Gray Matter is a collection of stories thematically centered on characters that are lonely or lost in the world. These stories explore the characters' personalities through their interactions with others (strangers, family, friends, and spouses) and the difficulties they face being misunderstood. Their journeys are ones of trying to find happiness and their place in society (or rejecting it). As they face alienation, they must endure the trials of everyday life (some more extreme than others) and, at the same time, search for kindred spirits, a sense of belonging. Some stay true to themselves while others conform to social norms with various degrees of success and contentment. One trait all characters share is selfishness, but they are not aware of it, nor are they aware of how their selfishness affects others. These stories also explore the characters' philosophies and growth (or stagnation) through how they deal with alienation, loneliness, social awkwardness, drug abuse, alcoholism, disease, death, failure, rejection, and loss.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005579, ucf:50256
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005579
- Title
- Last Kind Word.
- Creator
-
Richardson, Dianne, Poissant, David, Hubbard, Susan, Rushin, Patrick, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Last Kind Word is a novel that explores the ways people seek control and power in the face of the unknowable. Set in the fictional town of Thorpe, South Carolina, the story follows four main characters(-)Donna Neese, Melissa Burnside, Anthony Washington, and Jill McManus(-)struggling in the aftermath of biracial teenager Micah Burnside's disappearance. They search for a replacement for the lost connection to Micah and for a sense of control at a time when their lives seem to lack it, when...
Show moreLast Kind Word is a novel that explores the ways people seek control and power in the face of the unknowable. Set in the fictional town of Thorpe, South Carolina, the story follows four main characters(-)Donna Neese, Melissa Burnside, Anthony Washington, and Jill McManus(-)struggling in the aftermath of biracial teenager Micah Burnside's disappearance. They search for a replacement for the lost connection to Micah and for a sense of control at a time when their lives seem to lack it, when other forces, be they people or circumstances or spirits, hold power over them. In the midst of this, the four of them must decide what life will look like going forward. In Thorpe, theories about what happened to Micah range from the plausible to the fantastical. Those closest to him have their own theories, too, although they are less inclined to share them with the gossip-hungry townspeople. Micah's mother Melissa, reeling from the equally mysterious loss of Micah's father Dan eighteen years earlier and the intense mood swings from her untreated bipolar disorder, is convinced that her son is alive, searching for his father in San Diego. Meanwhile, Micah's grandmother Donna believes that he is dead, murdered by Nick and Nathan Goff, Thorpe's not-so-secret meth dealers who come from a long line of rowdy and dangerous men. Jill, Micah's ex-girlfriend and a recent college drop-out, worries that a prank they played on a hoodoo practitioner is somehow to blame not only for the dissolution of their relationship, but also Micah's disappearance. Jill seeks the aid of a hoodoo conjurer to set things right in the spirit world and, hopefully, her life. Anthony is a black country and blues musician and small-time drug dealer. His work forces him into a tenuous and volatile friendship with the Goffs, one that could explode into anger and violence at any moment. Anthony also thinks the Goffs have something to do with Micah's disappearance, but he believes his friend is alive, just laying low after a lie leads to the Goffs' arrest. These four characters must grapple with long-standing feuds, secrets, and family discord as they try to solve the mystery of Micah's disappearance and come to grips with the possibility that he may never be found.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005238, ucf:50582
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005238
- Title
- THE EIGHT-DOLLAR BILL.
- Creator
-
Stiles-Tardieu, Wendy, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
"The Eight-Dollar Bill" is a collection of tales that explores human isolation and displacement accented by the backdrop of magic and mystery. The characters are often cynical and disenchanted while harboring deeply suppressed longings. They are guided by strange events and circumstances that ultimately transform their world-views. Each story provides a window into an ordinary life at the moment it slips into the extraordinary. The common thread of loneliness and loss runs throughout the...
Show more"The Eight-Dollar Bill" is a collection of tales that explores human isolation and displacement accented by the backdrop of magic and mystery. The characters are often cynical and disenchanted while harboring deeply suppressed longings. They are guided by strange events and circumstances that ultimately transform their world-views. Each story provides a window into an ordinary life at the moment it slips into the extraordinary. The common thread of loneliness and loss runs throughout the collection, explored with multiple points of view and interconnected plots that link characters and places. The title story follows a divorced, detached banker who is jolted out of his monotonous routine when a peculiar bank note becomes his new obsession. Young, irreverent newlyweds learn more about their solemn commitment when they come face to face with their future selves at a mysterious sea-side hotel in "Honeymoon Suite". Two sisters traveling home from their father's funeral must examine their own personal barriers in "Black Ice" when a mysterious stranger offers a glimpse into their father's memories. "Plywood Kingdom" preludes "Honeymoon Suite" when the prospect of marriage forces Lenny and Elsie to carve a separate space from their long-time friend and roommate, Trey. Concluding the collection is "The Ruined Grove", about a troubled teenager who struggles with his mixed ethnicity and dangerous temper. He meets a little girl who can manipulate reality, but only within the boundaries of an abandoned orange grove. The stories take each character out of his or her comfort zone to a place where convictions are tested and often demolished by the shifting margins of dreams, visions and memory. From debilitating self-denial to the bitter longing for a sense of identity, the themes present in the collection always end in the subtle placement of hope and triumph.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002361, ucf:47806
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002361
- Title
- Marriage and Other Trouble.
- Creator
-
Buckingham, Benjamin, Poissant, David, Neal, Mary, Roney, Lisa, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Marriage and Other Trouble is a collection of (mostly) realist short stories. These stories explore the dynamics of marriage and family, ranging from characters dating in their twenties, to remarrying in their sixties. The characters in this collection grapple with adultery, sexual identity, addiction, class, privilege, and illness. I am interested in the lasting impact of events. Therefore, these stories often reflect on the history of relationships and on how the events of these characters'...
Show moreMarriage and Other Trouble is a collection of (mostly) realist short stories. These stories explore the dynamics of marriage and family, ranging from characters dating in their twenties, to remarrying in their sixties. The characters in this collection grapple with adultery, sexual identity, addiction, class, privilege, and illness. I am interested in the lasting impact of events. Therefore, these stories often reflect on the history of relationships and on how the events of these characters' lives will carry into the future. Mostly set in Florida, place plays an important role in these stories, providing both structure and conflict. The one magical realist story I've included takes place in the afterlife. Addressing suicide and depression, this story explores the guilt over those left behind, and the continual struggle to reconcile with the past, even after death.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006080, ucf:50955
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006080
- Title
- Though I Know the River is Dry.
- Creator
-
Campbell, Victoria, Poissant, David, Thaxton, Terry, Milanes, Cecilia, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Though I Know the River is Dry is a place-oriented collection of short fiction. The included stories follow female protagonists as they struggle with identity, relationships, and place in the world. The women in these stories frequently grapple with the fear of being loved in the wrong way, often unearthing a deeper examination of what it means to be tethered to a person or a place, along with the ramifications of these ties. All tangentially related to the island of Martha's Vineyard, place...
Show moreThough I Know the River is Dry is a place-oriented collection of short fiction. The included stories follow female protagonists as they struggle with identity, relationships, and place in the world. The women in these stories frequently grapple with the fear of being loved in the wrong way, often unearthing a deeper examination of what it means to be tethered to a person or a place, along with the ramifications of these ties. All tangentially related to the island of Martha's Vineyard, place serves as a grounding element in this collection, as well as an entity with which the women interact.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006083, ucf:50941
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006083
- Title
- Press Anywhere: Stories.
- Creator
-
Barnes, Brendon, Poissant, David, Hubbard, Susan, Kesler, Thomas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Press Anywhere is a collection of short stories that depicts the various inadequacies of the third millennium male. Each story concerns a man, a boy, or a family on the cusp of change. These characters, burdened by their family tragedies, try to shake off their histories and renew themselves. But, in one way or another, home always finds them. Set in a shared universe, some characters appear in multiple stories, including one boy who dreams of an unlikely superhero to save him from an abusive...
Show morePress Anywhere is a collection of short stories that depicts the various inadequacies of the third millennium male. Each story concerns a man, a boy, or a family on the cusp of change. These characters, burdened by their family tragedies, try to shake off their histories and renew themselves. But, in one way or another, home always finds them. Set in a shared universe, some characters appear in multiple stories, including one boy who dreams of an unlikely superhero to save him from an abusive sibling, and a man determined to outlive a family curse.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005129, ucf:50712
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005129
- Title
- Broken Toys.
- Creator
-
Eliot, Robin, Pugh, William, Milanes, Cecilia, Nwakanma, Obi, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This novel is about a character, Felicity Gourd. She's Cinderella, but she lives in twenty-first century Boston and knows the Cinderella story as well as anyone else. She's also one of a small number of people who are able turn into the creatures represented by their childhood toys. Felicity's toy was a mouse. Her godmother's was, of course, a fairy.Through her godmother, Felicity enters the community of Toys, where she finally finds a home. But the Toys are the only people who stand in the...
Show moreThis novel is about a character, Felicity Gourd. She's Cinderella, but she lives in twenty-first century Boston and knows the Cinderella story as well as anyone else. She's also one of a small number of people who are able turn into the creatures represented by their childhood toys. Felicity's toy was a mouse. Her godmother's was, of course, a fairy.Through her godmother, Felicity enters the community of Toys, where she finally finds a home. But the Toys are the only people who stand in the way of Clarity, a secret organization that wants to place humanity under the rule of a personality-type based master race. The Toys' victory comes at the cost of most of their lives, leaving Felicity to find her own way, with neither stepmother nor fairy godmother.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0006999, ucf:51624
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006999
- Title
- Hidden Variable.
- Creator
-
Harms, Heather, Hubbard, Susan, Rushin, Patrick, Neal, Mary, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Hidden Variable is a novel that blends linear storytelling with the novel-in-stories form. It poses questions about the nature of identity as well as the feasibility of personal power, particularly with respect to disorders of the mind.Darla Pierson, the novel's protagonist, is a woman in crisis. She is steeped in self-loathing brought on by the knowledge that she has, in effect, become her dead father(-)a genius with an epic libido, habitually using and discarding people. Her father has...
Show moreHidden Variable is a novel that blends linear storytelling with the novel-in-stories form. It poses questions about the nature of identity as well as the feasibility of personal power, particularly with respect to disorders of the mind.Darla Pierson, the novel's protagonist, is a woman in crisis. She is steeped in self-loathing brought on by the knowledge that she has, in effect, become her dead father(-)a genius with an epic libido, habitually using and discarding people. Her father has another habit that Darla doesn't share: being struck by lightning. After the second strike kills him, Darla makes a conscious attempt to recreate herself. But soon the new Darla sinks into depression, and her act begins to crumble, damaging her and those around her. Throughout the years, she and her family members experience periodic clashes with nature, never fully realizing that sometimes the most powerful, most devastating opponent comes not from without, but within.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004784, ucf:49774
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004784
- Title
- The Former Lives of Buildings.
- Creator
-
Duvall-Francisco, Bethany, Poissant, David, Uttich, Laurie, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The Former Lives of Buildings is a novel about thirty-one-year-old architect Adelle Corey. Adelle is a woman in denial. A nightmare figure called the Baron steals memories of her closest relationships and most poignant experiences. He hides the memories in Adelle's dreams, where he reconstructs them into buildings. The only way she can recover the memories is by cutting or tattooing these buildings into her skin. Adelle uses notebooks, mnemonic devices, and academic trivia to keep track of...
Show moreThe Former Lives of Buildings is a novel about thirty-one-year-old architect Adelle Corey. Adelle is a woman in denial. A nightmare figure called the Baron steals memories of her closest relationships and most poignant experiences. He hides the memories in Adelle's dreams, where he reconstructs them into buildings. The only way she can recover the memories is by cutting or tattooing these buildings into her skin. Adelle uses notebooks, mnemonic devices, and academic trivia to keep track of her daily routines. The novel takes place in contemporary times and opens in the burn unit of Bridgeport Hospital, Connecticut, where Adelle has been recovering for two months. She does not remember her stay prior to the opening day of the story, but she retains her memories from this day forward. Adelle's parents, her husband, and the mysterious woman Celesse St. Armand, who has been given charge over her care, refuse to allow Adelle to see her six-year-old son, Ben, until she can recover the missing days. Adelle suspects that something has happened to Ben. She seeks the help of Sam, her tattoo artist, to recover memories. The search uncovers painful truths about Adelle's childhood and marriage, ultimately forcing her to face that the Baron is a device she created to protect herself, not an outside force acting upon her. Adelle goes from a lonely, untrusting existence to a willingness to form deep friendships. She gains the capacity to face the whole truth instead of selecting only the comfortable parts. She does not find her son in any of the buildings. However, confronting the experiences hidden there gives her the strength to accept that she has passed her memory problems on to her son, who has not been able to remember his family since the fire. Although their marriage does not survive, Adelle and De learn to work together as parents.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004676, ucf:49853
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004676
- Title
- Drops of Light in the Dark.
- Creator
-
Urban, April, Neal, Mary, Hubbard, Susan, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The short stories in this collection focus on young individuals', especially women's, experience and development as they navigate personal relationships and search for a place in the world. Both longer stories and flash fiction are included, and stories are told in past and present tense, and from first, second, and third person point of view. However, the narration of all of these stories stays close to the characters' points of view, inhabiting their visceral experience. These stories take...
Show moreThe short stories in this collection focus on young individuals', especially women's, experience and development as they navigate personal relationships and search for a place in the world. Both longer stories and flash fiction are included, and stories are told in past and present tense, and from first, second, and third person point of view. However, the narration of all of these stories stays close to the characters' points of view, inhabiting their visceral experience. These stories take place in a variety of settings, including a beachside motel, college campuses, bars, and offices. All of these characters, though, struggle with questions of identity, intimacy, and purpose. These conflicts are revealed through the characters' interactions with others and reactions to their environments, especially focusing on the small details of ordinary events and settings. By depicting these characters' encounters with the everyday, their sense of self and experiences are shown, and thus the particularities of women's relationships with their selves, their bodies, and their relationships are represented. In addition to this collection of short stories, the Writing Life Essay in this thesis discusses my development as a writer, my aims, and the writers, such as Dylan Landis, Joy Williams, and Mary Gaitskill, who have influenced my work. A Reading List of influential works, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, follows.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004764, ucf:49766
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004764
- Title
- WIRES AND LIGHT.
- Creator
-
Inguanta, Ashley, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Wires and Light is an experimental story cycle composed of fiction and hybrid pieces, which blend poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction together. The characters in these pieces are propelled by uncertainty and a strong desire to be connected to places, people. If these characters do find the connections they are searching for, most of these joining moments are fleeting. A girl, straight out of high school, misses her wonder boy, befriends a woman nearly a decade older, fists her in the...
Show moreWires and Light is an experimental story cycle composed of fiction and hybrid pieces, which blend poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction together. The characters in these pieces are propelled by uncertainty and a strong desire to be connected to places, people. If these characters do find the connections they are searching for, most of these joining moments are fleeting. A girl, straight out of high school, misses her wonder boy, befriends a woman nearly a decade older, fists her in the desert while California's on fire. A woman who dives horses off the Atlantic City Steel Pier is forced to leave her glamorous, dangerous career, which has been her entire life. The same woman meets a grieving mother years later on a train, wrestles with the idea of loving this woman, tries to understand the wall between them. A boy loses his virginity and has trouble understanding the power of his body. A young girl loses her blue horse, her best friend. Years later the same girl will deal with depression and self-mutilation, and will heal on her own. She will meet a child in a coffee shop and help her heal, too. These characters yearn for love, freedom and wholeness, and although the search is painful, they must learn to find happiness by accepting the presence of pain. These pieces are intended to show how pain affects the body, how wires can bind bodies and light can burn skin, but they don't have to. Wires can be used to collect love, keep it fastened and safe, like a guiding light.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003699, ucf:48830
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003699
- Title
- "IN THE DROWNING CITY" AND OTHER STORIES.
- Creator
-
Segarra, Malyn, Leiby, Jeanne, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
"In the Drowning City" and Other Stories is a collection of fiction written and revised during Malyn Segarra's graduate studies at the University of Central Florida. Most of the collection examines the transient nature and fragility of identity and shifting roles within the family unit. All focus on a particular span of time, the transition into young adulthood. Each character is faced with an obstacle or event that tests his or her beliefs, integrity and sense of self. As each one...
Show more"In the Drowning City" and Other Stories is a collection of fiction written and revised during Malyn Segarra's graduate studies at the University of Central Florida. Most of the collection examines the transient nature and fragility of identity and shifting roles within the family unit. All focus on a particular span of time, the transition into young adulthood. Each character is faced with an obstacle or event that tests his or her beliefs, integrity and sense of self. As each one struggles to make a unique and permanent impression in the world, he or she must come to terms with the past, in some cases, breaking away from it. Although the characters come from varying backgrounds, the themes that thread the collection are universal. The three stories that serve as the backbone of the collection, "Slashing, Tripping and Other Offensive Plays," "In the Drowning City," and "This Is Just a Modern Love Song" find the protagonists striving to adapt to their newly transformed environments. As the situations they face become more complicated and the resolutions exceedingly compromised, the innocence and certainty associated with childhood is jeopardized.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001870, ucf:47386
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001870
- Title
- HOW THE SKY TASTES: EIGHT STORIES.
- Creator
-
Sinclair, Daniel, Leiby, Jeanne, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
How the Sky Tastes is not simply a collection of stories. It is my representation of moments in life, social commentaries, bits of humor, and pure entertainment all in one. Each story, although unique and easily able to stand alone, shares qualities I find important in writing fiction. First, each story features realistically flawed, yet sympathetic characters dealing with difficulties in life. Secondly, the actual moment is important in each story--whether that moment is something shared...
Show moreHow the Sky Tastes is not simply a collection of stories. It is my representation of moments in life, social commentaries, bits of humor, and pure entertainment all in one. Each story, although unique and easily able to stand alone, shares qualities I find important in writing fiction. First, each story features realistically flawed, yet sympathetic characters dealing with difficulties in life. Secondly, the actual moment is important in each story--whether that moment is something shared between two or more characters or simply the time a certain character comes to a serious realization. Finally, the style can make or break the story. I do not believe in gimmicky writing--form must always have function--but I do feel that the writing must be representative of the characters and the stories that it serves. Experimentation is important in writing. Each story should have its own way of telling itself. All these stories can be seen as experimental in some way, but also all these stories are told the way they have to be told. The characters tell the stories themselves and the writing just follows suit. It is my hope that readers can identify with most, if not all, of these stories, and engage interest in these characters enough to care about what happens to them, even if they don't necessarily like them.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001973, ucf:47431
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001973
- Title
- NEED: STORIES.
- Creator
-
Ellis, Megan, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The intent of this thesis is to create a literary fiction collection centered on diverse adolescent girls. In recent years, women writers have moved away from the domestic sphere of authors whose writing focused solely on the daily lives of women, and have begun penning epic stories and novels whose themes were previously tackled by men alone. Authors show that the craft of expansive and immersive literary fiction transcends gender, allowing women more freedom with the types of stories they...
Show moreThe intent of this thesis is to create a literary fiction collection centered on diverse adolescent girls. In recent years, women writers have moved away from the domestic sphere of authors whose writing focused solely on the daily lives of women, and have begun penning epic stories and novels whose themes were previously tackled by men alone. Authors show that the craft of expansive and immersive literary fiction transcends gender, allowing women more freedom with the types of stories they choose to write. That's not to say that domestic fiction is unimportant or "less than" other types of literary fiction, however. The difference is in choice—women are free to create works in other genres, forms, and conventions separate from domestic fiction, but can also reclaim and reinvent the genre to show the importance of everyday women. Each story in this collection highlights the complex lives of adolescent girls while exploring universal themes of women from a literary fiction rather than young adult fiction perspective. Issues such as sexuality, virginity, and popularity—which all girls experience at least tangentially—are often relegated to young adult fiction. Their purpose is to build a relationship of trust between characters and readers who are experiencing the same confusing period. Literary fiction allows deeper exploration into these issues, showing how larger psychological and societal problems result in adolescent physical manifestations, such as the sexualization and commodification of women's bodies. This thesis will add to the current literary conversation by highlighting teenage girls, a demographic whose importance is often downplayed by modern society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004612, ucf:45264
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004612
- Title
- IMAGO DEI: STORIES.
- Creator
-
Langevin, Benjamin, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Translated from Latin, Imago Dei means the image of God. In the very beginning of the Torah, the writer says that God created humanity in Their own image. According to the text, woven in the fabric of who we are is God. In a post-secular society, the concept of God brings a lot of weight and baggage. Which God are we talking about? Can God be talked about it? Is God or thinking about God even relevant anymore? Hasn't science taken care of it? What good can discussions on faith bring us? These...
Show moreTranslated from Latin, Imago Dei means the image of God. In the very beginning of the Torah, the writer says that God created humanity in Their own image. According to the text, woven in the fabric of who we are is God. In a post-secular society, the concept of God brings a lot of weight and baggage. Which God are we talking about? Can God be talked about it? Is God or thinking about God even relevant anymore? Hasn't science taken care of it? What good can discussions on faith bring us? These are the questions explored in Imago Dei: Stories. Within the collection is a story about a group of college students in the Bible belt struggling with sorting through emotions in the aftermath of their pastor's suicide. There's a husband search for grace and acceptance in the midst of a looming divorce and a dying father. Finally, there's a letter from a youth pastor who is publically accused of abusing a transgendered student. The collection was written under the guidance of Dr. David James Poissant with the help of Professors Laurie Uttich and Nathan Holic. In the directed readings portion of the program, I read Marilynne Robinson, Bret Lott, and Flannery O'Connor to get a better picture of faith and moral fiction. For craft guidance, I read works by Bret Anthony Johnston, Junot Diaz, David Foster Wallace, Vanessa Blakeslee, and John Henry Fleming.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004712, ucf:45403
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004712
- Title
- DON'T SEE, DON'T SPEAK: A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES.
- Creator
-
Kalfar, Jaroslav, Neal, Darlin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This short story collection follows diverse characters as they long to find their place in the chaos of modern world. As the trend of postmodern literature traces our failure to understand our lives and discover a larger context, we find that our reality is ever-changing and there is not a single constant to follow. We are disappointed by modern political systems, our lovers, and our own individual capabilities. The issue of belonging means finding a place that, both physically and mentally,...
Show moreThis short story collection follows diverse characters as they long to find their place in the chaos of modern world. As the trend of postmodern literature traces our failure to understand our lives and discover a larger context, we find that our reality is ever-changing and there is not a single constant to follow. We are disappointed by modern political systems, our lovers, and our own individual capabilities. The issue of belonging means finding a place that, both physically and mentally, provides context and meaning for our existence. The five short stories presented here examine social issues, such as immigration, political revolution, and social role of the media. At the same time, the subtleties of personal belonging - love, rejection, fear of the future, crisis of identity - are dissected under a looking glass, brought forward to emphasize the individual human element while the larger themes fade into the background. The main character of "Winter Velvet" speaks from the midst of the Velvet Revolution taking place in Prague, anxiously awaiting the outcome and attempting to understand the impact this revolution will have on his life. The narrator of "Metathesiophobia in Three Parts" possesses the kind of existential fears and anxieties we see in the eyes of American youth as they all face grim futures in a country without direction. "The Stage" explores the moments of terror an immigrant experiences when facing his first deportation scare. "El Pollo Negro" is the story of a Mexican man haunted by a black chicken as he attempts to build a life in America. Finally, "Jeremy Stock Live!" examines the role of morality in American reality TV shows ala Jerry Springer. What is it that fascinates us about pitting tragically flawed people against an audience of judges and a host/executor? In all of these stories the characters experience a longing to hold onto a single place, to find firm ground in the world and allow home, whatever and wherever it is, to pour over them and never let them go.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0004101, ucf:44876
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004101
- Title
- Red Tide and Other Stories.
- Creator
-
Vazquez, Heather, Peynado, Brenda, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Pugh, William, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Red Tide and Other Stories is a fictional collection of eleven short stories in which characters react to their struggles with loss, frustration, regret, loneliness, and love. Each story presents a strong sense of place and moment, while examining how characters are influenced by these elements. While individual stories present new characters and scenarios, they are connected by elements of water and include aspects of coasts and shorelines in the setting of the real world. The commonality of...
Show moreRed Tide and Other Stories is a fictional collection of eleven short stories in which characters react to their struggles with loss, frustration, regret, loneliness, and love. Each story presents a strong sense of place and moment, while examining how characters are influenced by these elements. While individual stories present new characters and scenarios, they are connected by elements of water and include aspects of coasts and shorelines in the setting of the real world. The commonality of water in the stories works to demonstrate a connectivity between all people and cultures because water is shared and linked between continents without regard to socioeconomics or political boundaries drawn throughout the world. Regardless of these drawn boundaries, we all share grief and disappointment, just as we share water.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007110, ucf:51968
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007110
- Title
- The Storm.
- Creator
-
Delemeester, Kara, Peynado, Brenda, Thaxton, Terry, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Set in a world where natural disasters start increasing in both intensity and frequency, this work examines what it means to be self-reliant when the world is falling apart. As the largest recorded hurricane heads for the eastern coast of the United States, Sierra Egan evacuates her Florida home with her boyfriend and makes her way toward safety(-)a shelter in Atlanta, Georgia. When Sierra and her boyfriend breakup and part ways along the evacuation route, Sierra assumes her history of self...
Show moreSet in a world where natural disasters start increasing in both intensity and frequency, this work examines what it means to be self-reliant when the world is falling apart. As the largest recorded hurricane heads for the eastern coast of the United States, Sierra Egan evacuates her Florida home with her boyfriend and makes her way toward safety(-)a shelter in Atlanta, Georgia. When Sierra and her boyfriend breakup and part ways along the evacuation route, Sierra assumes her history of self-reliance will work to her benefit. But an anti-government couple, a beach cult, a lonely storm chaser, an interdependent family, and a pregnancy call this into question, forcing Sierra to ask whether or not it's possible to survive a world like this alone.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007450, ucf:52733
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007450
