Date of Award
Spring 5-2015
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
Committee Chair
Andrew Milward
Committee Chair Department
English
Committee Member 2
Steven Barthleme
Committee Member 2 Department
English
Committee Member 3
Craig Carey
Committee Member 3 Department
English
Abstract
The subject, style, and form of these stories are different from one another. At first glance, there seems to be no obvious thematic connection throughout this collection, no binding thread that ties them together. However, what allows these stories to exist side by side is their focus. The characters in these stories are human, no matter what situation they find themselves in, be it strange, fantastic, or mundane, they strive to achieve their desires. Each story takes a different approach to create a succinct feeling, all parts working toward eliciting a certain emotion. In one story, a family is powerless in the face of a blackout and the primal fear of darkness that consumes them one at a time. In another, a Ska band plays the best gig of their lives, a night full of promise that ends in betrayal as the lead guitar tries to steal from the band, only to find years later that none of their problems or apparent successes mattered. A man who suffers from a sleep disorder that causes him to die instead of sleep is disillusioned with the girl he thinks he loves and a married couple must deal with their dead son’s dog, who they’ve never met. The strangeness of life and fantasy are woven through most of these stories, but not as a driving force. That belongs to the people of the story, the attention is always on the characters, even if they’re being buried in their car by leaves flowing in through the vents.
Copyright
2015, Henry Burgard Shepard III
Recommended Citation
Shepard, Henry Burgard III, "Another Word for Autumn and Other Stories" (2015). Master's Theses. 108.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/108