Date of Award

Spring 5-2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

English

School

Humanities

Committee Chair

Andrew Milward

Committee Chair Department

English

Committee Member 2

Steve Barthelme

Committee Member 2 Department

English

Committee Member 3

Craig Carey

Committee Member 3 Department

English

Committee Member 4

Martina Sciolino

Committee Member 4 Department

English

Abstract

Cacophony: Stories was written over three years in the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. The collection depicts middle-class characters disconnected from relationships, careers, and family. Each story explores disillusioned characters forced to confront a major moment in their lives from a bleak setting. Characters find varying degrees of success in forging an identity in the face of flawed existence. This existence lingers, producing an apathetic lifestyle where characters must act. These characters act passively through the narrative and the collection sees them forced to break away from their malaise. The collection aims to explore austere suburban life, removing middle-class virtue to uncover a layer of despondency fraught with social, cultural, economic, and environmental complications.

ORCID ID

0000-0003-4875-0014

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