This thesis consists of three original short stories: "August Morning," "Weekend Idyll," and "Free Ride." In addition, an appendix has been added which contains "Hamilton House Roundabout," the original version of "Weekend Idyll." It is included to illustrate the dramatic changes that can occur in the writing process. "August Morning" focuses on a young man's struggle to gain his freedom from his family, particularly his overbearing father. Whether or not he succeeds is ultimately up to the reader. "Weekend Idyll" follows a young woman as she tries to live a dream she has long believed in. Ultimately, her vision is shattered. The final story, "Free Ride," centers on a hapless teenager who finds happiness only in the exhiliaration of racing. Ultimately, it kills him. I wrote stories rather than an analysis primarily for practical reasons. As a teacher I found an exercise in writing more readily transferrable to my classroom.

The following thesis is composed of two parts: a collection of nonfiction essays and a collection of short stories. All of the works collected here were completed during my four years of study at VCU. The nonfiction essays are part of a larger memoir concerning my family’s ancestral farm in Powhatan County, Virginia. They deal with the history of that farm, its legacies (both emotional and physical), the people who have lived there during the past three hundred years, my attempts to find freedom from the burden of history, and an exploration of the ephemeral nature of all things. The short story collection is based on experiences and people I have encountered during my many travels to St. Petersburg, Russia. They are largely concerned with how ordinary people are affected by that country’s current social and political climate, and the universality of human experience

We are forever shaped by the worlds we live in. The following stories are musings on the importance of time and place and on the conflicts that arise for characters who are born into and who live with or rail against those forces. The stories are set in and around Laurel County, Georgia over a period of decades. They look at the people who are made there and the lessons they learn or fail to learn as they work to make their way there.

This thesis is a short story collection set primarily New Orleans and focuses on the subject of fathers and sons. It explores the effect that the absence of a father figure or the presence of an unsuitable father may have on boys and men. The stories are literary fiction.

This thesis is a collection of fictional short stories about loss and the left behind, seeking to confront grief in terms of hope, humor, and getting the oar back in the water to row on.

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Les écrits littéraires, à domaine historique auxquels nous nous intéressons dans le présent travail se caractérisent par leur hybridité, mettant en récits des expériences perceptives et mémorielles de soi et de l’autre qui questionnent le statut même de l’Histoire. Ils oscillent entre le biographique et l’autobiographique, entre les faits et la fiction, entre l’individuel et le collectif, entre l’actuel et l’universel. Ils se penchent sur les thèmes de la souffrance et de la mort en réfléchissant sur la condition humaine. Dans ce cadre, la nouvelle du XXème siècle, notamment celle de Kessel, Camus et Dib, semble traduire cette nouvelle perception de l’Histoire. Elle offre un cadre narratif souple et bref réunissant à la fois les portées historiques, référentielles, poétiques, symboliques et universelles de l’écriture. / The historical narratives attached to this period were mainly marked by hybridity. They oscillate between the biographical and autobiographical, fact and fiction, the individual and the collective, and the current and the universal. They immersed into the themes of anguish and death, reverberating the human condition. In this vein, the novella of twentieth century sounds reflecting this new perception of history. It is a protean genre that offers a more flexible narrative framework involving altogether referential, poetic, symbolic and universal scopes of writing.Kessel, Camus and Dib go beyond mere obsession with a specific period to provide a more personal view of history. To this end, they reshape the historical discourse and its ideologies, translating them with, by and in their fictional texts. They disrupt the chronology, linearity and totality.

Sharp Edges and Other Lessons is a collection of stories that share a loose thematic link suggested by the title. The various "lessons" encountered by the characters here represent the ways people respond to the many currents and fluctuations roiling beneath the surface of everyday life. / by Michael Gray. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The eleven short stories in this collection can be described as autobiographical fiction, combining true instances from the author’s life with fictional characters and events. The stories explore the themes of grief and loss, coming of age, and the importance of preserving the natural world. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

From modern-day parking lot snipers to 18th century Romantic picturesque painters, At the Bank of Paradise: and Other Stories explores the unexpected boundaries of the Caribbean, following those who have come, those who have stayed, and those who have left the Caribbean behind. Inspired by real historical figures at the periphery of the Caribbean experience, these stories dive into untold narratives only glimpsed in the footnotes of history. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection