This dissertation presents a novel that focuses on an immigrant family that struggles to understand the tragic death of one of their own. Thirty years ago, ten-year-old Mina Zand, the youngest child of Iranian immigrant, died, presumably while attempting to climb a tall rock in a secluded park near her home. Thirty years later Mina's older sister, Keyana, now a scholar of American silent film, returns home after the death of her father and struggles to understand what happened the day her sister died. The novel replays how the actions of each family member indirectly contributed to the child's death. While the family members, collectively and individually, wrestle with the guilt of their unintentional contribution to the death of their youngest child, the novel reveals how Mina's death is actually connected to the murder of elderly widow who once starred in silent films. Part murder mystery, part exploration of nationality and ethnicity, Ways to Kill Babies is a novel that attempts to shadow the noir literature of Jim Thompson and Patricia Highsmith, while threading together multi-layered narratives in the spirit of Charles Dickens and Margaret Atwood. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2012. / October 22, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references. / Mark Winegardner, Professor Directing Dissertation; Juan Carlos Galeano, University Representative; Anne Coldiron, Committee Member; David Kirby, Committee Member; Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183577 |
| Contributors | Osanloo, Azita (authoraut), Winegardner, Mark (professor directing dissertation), Galeano, Juan Carlos (university representative), Coldiron, Anne (committee member), Kirby, David (committee member), Stuckey-French, Elizabeth (committee member), Department of English (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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