Date of Award
Fall 12-2023
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
School
Humanities
Committee Chair
Dr. Eric L. Tribunella
Committee Chair School
Humanities
Committee Member 2
Dr. Alexandra Valint
Committee Member 2 School
Humanities
Committee Member 3
Dr. Ery Shin
Committee Member 3 School
Humanities
Abstract
Along with having similarities in their themes and narrative perspectives, John Donovan’s I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip. (1969) and Isabel Holland’s The Man Without a Face (1972) use similar tropes like attraction to older men and the death of the protagonists’ pets. Both protagonists tend to associate their fathers with potential sexual partners as an attempt to find companionship with anyone they perceive as mature within their immediate social circle. When their fathers or father figures are unavailable, they fill this gap by forming bonds with their pet animals as substitute companions. This practice prepares them for future relationships. In this thesis, I argue that the feelings of loss from the termination of the intergenerational relationships and the trauma from the death of the pets accelerate their maturation process and solidifies their sexual identity.
Copyright
MD Mehdi Habib Khan
Recommended Citation
Khan, Mehdi, "FATHERS, SONS, AND PETS: INTERGENERATIONAL DESIRE AND TRAUMA IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAY ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY IN I'LL GET THERE. IT BETTER BE WORTH THE TRIP AND THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE" (2023). Master's Theses. 1010.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1010