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The World Would Not Give: Stories

Date

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

ORCID

Type

Thesis

Degree Level

Masters

Abstract

The World Would Not Give is a collection of ten short prose fictions, portraying characters in middle to late life as they wrestle with the intricacies and rhythms of daily life. Structured as a series of linked stories, the thesis explores themes related to aging including: late-life marriage and infidelity, parenthood and caregiving, sex and sexuality, faith and God, anxiety and depression—ultimately asking: What does it mean to grow older? The World Would Not Give is inspired by linked short story collections from authors such as Alice Munro, Elizabeth Strout, and K.D. Miller. The thesis works as a traditional collection of independent short stories that, when read sequentially, also follow a progression. My aim in writing the thesis was to question how aging influences character development. The goal is to make sense of growing older by understanding how the aging process might influence a character’s choices or how characters might change and grow as a result of the aging process. In so doing, I also wanted to explore how character development and theme could impact a book’s form. In my treatment of the linked short story form, I hope to have achieved a balance between independent single stories and the progressive whole. Likewise, in my treatment of the influence of aging on character development, I hope to have given voice to the experience of middle to late life. In this way, The World Would Not Give is a reclamation of vibrancy within the experience of aging and an homage to the tradition of twentieth- and twenty-first century linked short story collections.

Description

Keywords

Short stories, aging

Citation

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

Department

English

Program

Writing

Advisor

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DOI

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