Since Edward Eggleston’s materials for his Hoosier novels are based upon his own experiences and observations, it is necessary to know something of him in his actual environment. To understand how the events and conditions equipped him to be the fictional historian of this part of the Middle West, a rapid survey of his biography is essential.

Through the use of biographical materials, and three selected works from Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Bronte, parallels were found between their lives, character design, and the plot of their works. The lack of a mother figure in the lives of the Bronte sisters caused their upbringing to differ from that of other children, and as a result influenced their perspective of the world. Motherless female characters were found in each of the three novels by the Bronte sisters and in each instance commonalities were shared with the author of the work, to a degree that indicates that the lives that the sisters led, was the inspiration for the stories they created. After investigating whether or not the novels created by the Bronte sisters were influenced by the lack of a mother figure, the conclusion reached, is that this absence had an immense influence throughout their lives, and based on more than one account, helped shape the design of each of their respective works.

Slavery is something that cannot be taken lightly. Even Butler says no matter how harsh the slavery in her novel is, it does not compare to how gruesome actual slavery was: “As a matter of fact, one of the things I realized when I was reading the slave narrative…was that I was not going to be able to come anywhere near presenting slavery as it was. I was going to have to do a some-what cleaned-up version of slavery, or no one would be willing to read it” (qtd. in Kenan 497). Octavia Butler knew that if she presented slavery directly and in a way that called people, most likely white males, that there would not be an audience for the novel. Instead she had to present slavery as something society shaped, rather than a specific group of individuals. An analysis of Octavia Butler’s Kindred reveals that societal expectations alter the dynamics of such interracial relationships as those between Dana and Kevin, Dana and Rufus, and Rufus and Alice, determining their success or failure without regard to the foundations upon which these relationships were initially built.

This research seeks to compare and contrast fictional Appalachian writings by Lee Smith and Mildred Haun to contemporary historical sources in an attempt to trace the development of Appalachian music between the mid-nineteenth century and the late twentieth century. The thesis examines two novels by Lee Smith (The Devil’s Dream and Oral History) and the collection The Hawk’s Done Gone by Mildred Haun, which includes a short novel and several short stories. Contemporary primary sources and scholarly secondary sources were used to compare the fictional works’ depictions of Appalachian music to their historical counterparts. Also included within the thesis is a discussion of Smith and Haun’s personal and research backgrounds and their connections to Appalachian music. Overall, the study found Smith and Haun’s works accurate and based in historical fact, in part due to both writers’ use of historical research and interviews to inform their fiction.

No description available.

Bobbie Ann Mason uses her fiction to portray the problems in American society. She devotes most of her time to average persons who are suffering from the rapid changes that society is going through. These characters at times seem lost and helpless, but ultimately they do not give up hope for a brighter future. Through social problems such as divorce, lack of communication, loss of identity and place, obsession with the past, submersion in rock music and TV, loss of ritual, proliferation of objects, lack of education, and the need to face mortality, these characters still seem to have hope and strength. There are serious problems to deal with, but there is also a future that can possibly bring better times if the problems can be solved successfully. But Mason's world is not completely pessimistic and not all of her characters are miserable. Many of them take advantage of the changes in society, and improve their lives. Also, there are still positive values left. They are not as obvious, but they are still there if a person takes the time to look. Not everything has changed for the worse. For example, Mason seems to suggest later marriages. Early marriages lead to discontentment and more than an abundance of problems, and most of Mason's characters who married younp. are very dissatisfied with their lives. Mason also stresses the fact that most people have the freedom of choice since people no longer have to behave in a certain manner, and society is more accepting than it once was. Mason also points out the peace and contentment that can be found with the land. She says as well that simplicity many times is preferable to the "technological advances" that have driven people to large cities where everyone seems the same, and she Insists that there are still small towns and contented people who inhabit them. Other positive qualities are the fact that we have the opportunity to receive an education, and we still have humor. We can look at the mistakes we have made and find humor in them as well as learn from them. Mason also seems to retain the hope that changes will keep occurring, that people still care enough to fight for a better, less problem-filled life. In subtle ways, Mason's fiction is optimistic.

When I decided to write a thesis on Emily Dickinson's poetry, my intention was to show that she did, indeed, implement a concrete philosophy into her poetry. However, after several months of research, I realized that this poet's philosophy was ongoing and sometimes inconsistent. Emily Dickinson never discovered the answers to all of her religious and spiritual questions although she devoted her entire life to that pursuit. What Dickinson did discover was that orthodox religion had no place in her heart or mind and she must make her own choices where God was concerned. Immortality was an intense fascination to Emily, and many of her poems are related to that subject. In fact, the majority of Dickinson's poems deal, in some way, with spirituality. Emily Dickinson is a poet who deserves to be studied on the basis of her philosophical pursuits as well as her style. Dickinson scholarship has improved in the past several decades; however, Emily Dickinson has yet to receive the attention she deserves as a philosopher and thinker.

Fictional story written by Scott Earle.

Edgar Allan Poe wrote forty-three critical reviews of novels during the period 1_835 to 1848 that he was associated with the various literary journals in the East. And, although his best known critical works concern themselves with the tale and with poetry, his statements regarding the novel are of sufficient quantity to merit scholarly research. Yet investigation of the major bibliographic sources reveals this to be not at all the case. Thus, this thesis snail endeavor to place some substance in the void of scholarship concerning Poe's criticism lf the novel with the hope that this substance might provide ample material for additional scholarship and the eventual filling of the void.

American war poetry did swell to greater volume, but much has been written already about this poetry and much more will be written before it has passed the test of time and found its proper rank in the literature of the ages. Numerous collections and classifications have been made, but, strange to say, very little attention has been paid to the poets themselves. We have brief sketches or scattered magazine articles on the lives of some of the war poets, but it seems that the most interesting phase of work has been neglected, that of making a detailed study of the environmental factors (particularly the war experience) in the lives of the various poets and the influence of their environment on the poetry. It is in this connection that I have attempted to discuss two of America's most outstanding war poets, Alan Seeger and Joyce Kilmer. I have chosen these two because they succeeded best in making a name for themselves among the immortals. They have made a particularly interesting study because they are so much alike and yet so different.