EXISTENTIAL BEBOP is a collection of thirteen short stories that use humor and satire to address some of the absurdities of human existence. In some stories, characters are forced to come to terms with mortality, such as the six-year-old boy in “A Goldfish Memory,” who learns about death for the first time. In “Cassandra Knows All” a rational twenty-something is lured by a charlatan who convinces her that there is an afterlife. In others, the comedy centers on human frailties, such as “Weekend in Deceit,” where two couples confront infidelity. “The Sacrifice of Mikey Horowitz” explores family values, ancient and modern, through the lens of a bar mitzvah. Influenced by the work of Woody Allen, Kafka, and Dostoyevsky, the collection uses exaggeration, surreal juxtapositions, and absurd premises to point to the darker side of the human condition and the necessity for a sense of humor to get us through life.

THE GREATEST IS LOVE is a collection of ten short stories showing the painful manifestations of romantic relationships in the lives of contemporary American characters from many walks of life. As in the stories of D.H. Lawrence, these characters are often driven towards what may be bad for them, finding that love overrides their rational thoughts. In “The Mechanic” a woman whose legal career has left her isolated becomes irresistibly attracted to her friend’s ex-husband. Three stories center on one character, Charles, whose early failures both in college and at work lead him to become a detective, only to be tempted to betray his new calling by a woman who leads him astray. As in Italo Calvino’s Difficult Loves, the stories in THE GREATEST IS LOVE combine the pain and comedy of passion. Even when it is challenging, love offers characters irresistible glimmers of hope.

This thesis submission is a collection of short stories about women and the many ways women create identities for themselves in popular culture. Each of the main characters are painfully self-conscious, but still unaware of how carefully they have created their own personas. In “For the Sake of Anonymity,” “Annie” learns that a sweater set can have a mind of its own. In “The Voice of Reason,” Lauren defines herself against her sister. “The New You” and “Developing Chloe” both show characters who consciously create new personas for themselves through superficial changes. “Sensible People” is a story about a woman who decides to finally let her real self come out from her past. / Thesis / Master

The significance of the use of the short story in language teaching and the effective approaches that help to realise this significance are the two major concerns of this field study. The whole study consists of two parts : theoretical justification and practical application, with more emphasis on the second part. It starts with a brief discussion on the inseparable connection between language learning and literature (Chapter 1), followed by a close examination at the specialities and potentialities short stories can offer to language teaching (Chapter 2), which leads to a detailed discussion (accompanied by an exemplified demonstration through sample lessons) of the actual use of short stories in an EFL class (Chapters 3, 4, and 5). The practical value of the study lies in two aspects : it brings about, by analysing its substances, the awareness of the value of the short story in language teaching; and it opens to us, by presenting detailed and concrete examples, varied and practical approaches to the effective use of the short story in EFL environment.

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT I COME UNGLUED By Laurah Norton Raines Under the Director of John Holman ABSTRACT This thesis is comprised of a collection of stories concerning adolescents involved in the North Carolina and Atlanta punk rock subcultures. The thesis, which contains six stories, focuses on the crisis moments in the lives of the teenagers and is firmly rooted in contemporary southern culture. The first three stories center on a Georgia native, Aaron, and his aimless adventures in small towns and big punk clubs. The second set of stories is all based in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina, and each concerns a different adolescent girl. INDEX WORDS: Creative Writing, Punk, Greensboro, North Carolina, Georgia, Atlanta, Adolescence, Teenagers, Thesis

This is a collection of short stories derived from the author's experiences at the United States Naval Academy.

My thesis includes a collection of short stories that showcases my growth and potential as a fiction writer. The thesis also includes a critical introduction that highlights my aims and the influences on my work. My introduction seeks to establish the overarching purpose of creative work. Specifically, I focus on how my work reflects the theme of using projection as a defense mechanism to cope with internal and external crises that force characters to deal with undesirable situations or aspects of their personality. The introduction then expounds on the commonly accepted Freudian definition of ?projection,? as well as the related Jungian ?shadow.? Both of these psychoanalytic concepts are closely linked to the doppelg�nger. To expound on the tradition of using these concepts in literature, I list works that employ these themes and dispute the traditional association of such themes with invariably tragic endings. Next, I attempt to explode the common assumption that links projection to dysfunction by pointing to both maladaptive and adaptive uses of projection. I point out that people can project both negative and positive aspects of their personality onto outside entities with both positive and negative consequences. I then detail examples from my stories that reflect these uses of projection. I go on to further expand the definition of ?projection? by challenging the notion that people only project aspects of their personality onto other people and that this is a strictly psychological process, providing additional examples from my work. Finally, I illuminate how my stories seek to reevaluate the common assumption that the doppelg�nger and the ?shadow? are figures that foreshadow destructive outcomes. Next, I move on to a discussion of the specific research methods and influences of each story, drawing on literary works and personal reasons for exploring my topics. I also mention how previous study has fueled my work on the themes in these stories. The stories themselves are products of my purpose and research. My conclusion relates how these stories reflect my theme and purpose and how they shaped my growth as a writer.

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Florida State University, Department of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 24, 2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2002. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-125).

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Philosophy