First Advisor

A. B. Paulson

Date of Publication

11-7-1996

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in English

Department

English

Language

English

Subjects

Short stories -- Collections

DOI

10.15760/etd.6953

Physical Description

1 online resource (150 p.)

Abstract

In a world that devours one technological advance after another, the simple human questions persist. They endure despite the increased speed of the personal computer or the decreased size of the cellular phone. In a time ruled by measurements they remain elusive and undefined. The longing for love, the crisis of past versus present, the nagging hunger for meaning in the face of constant change--these questions manage to be both small and huge, both slow and fast, all at once. They are the inheritance of every generation; they are written on the very lining of our hearts. These stories are, then, simply a short list of questions. Whether it be a story like "Bones, 11 where love and time intersect, or one like "There is A., 11 where moral strength is at issue, each asks a question. Each attempts by a different angle to flush some answers from the brush. What does it mean to love? When does hope become foolishness? When lost, is it always better to stay put? These are some of the concerns taken up in this collection. In the end, the answers remain just out of reach, having only just rounded the corner at our arrival. The reader is left to either the tremulous bravado of the boy in the second story, who asks, "What do I care about wolves in the night anyway?" or the paltry rebellion of the man in "Making for the Phoenix" who is reduced finally to throwing rocks at the windows in his office building.

Rights

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Comments

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/29293

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