Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Matthew Brennan

Second Advisor

Peter Carino

Third Advisor

Charles Nicol

Abstract

This work of fiction is the account of a near middle-aged man who responds to an uncertain calling. The calling leads him on a quest from South Florida to the Midwest in search of higher learning and self discovery. "From Abigail to Milton," and "The Patio" establish the narrator's Florida environments. They also depict the narrator's ambivalences towards life in Florida. "Test Run," "Atlanta," and "Between the Corn in Indiana" are transitional road stories which move the narrator from Florida to Indiana. The narrator's Florida girlfriend, Carmen, is also introduced. "Terre Haute" portrays the narrators return to Terre Haute. This chapter establishes his new environment. "Flash Gordon" is a comic tale in which the narrator is re-acquainting himself with Terre Haute. "Paradise Lost" depicts the compromises in quality of living the narrator has made in contrast to his home in Florida. In "Awakening," "Chicago," and "Stirrings," the narrator takes a part-time social work job. The character of Tess is introduced as a feminine ideal, contrasting the Florida girlfriend. Conflicts in values between him and his girlfriend are confirmed in this sequence. "Three Scenes from Summer" portray life as a social worker in Terre Haute. This chapter also ends the relationship with Carmen. "Concession" reveals Tess as a casualty of economic dependence on a man she does not love and is her exit from the overall story.

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