Abstract

Set on the Florida peninsula, this story collection focuses on the complex religious and personal strife of a variety of characters across six tales. "Private Confirmation" follows a man with a heart condition who grapples with his new reality and his daughter's upcoming confirmation, while "Something Visual, Sensual" details a visually impaired student's plight with a bully at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. More nefarious characters take center stage too, with a scam artist conning a doomsday church in "Happy Dogs at the End of the World," and a teenage daredevil acting out his frustrations upon an abandoned building in "Peaks and Valleys." Rounding out the collection is "Cat's in the Cradle," dealing with the fallout of a deceased child in the shadow of the Deepwater Horizon oil leak, and "Prayer of the Novice Methodist Lad," a foster child's plea to end the cycle of abuse and neglect perpetuated by the foster care system. Throughout each story, the Christian themes of hardship and grace are featured, with the characters finding spiritual alignment (or losing it) due to the pressures of the world or their own psyches.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2020

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Poissant, David

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

English

Degree Program

Creative Writing

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008015; DP0023155

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0023155

Language

English

Release Date

May 2025

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Campus-only Access)

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Restricted to the UCF community until May 2025; it will then be open access.

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