Abstract

This Must Be the Place is a collection of short stories that take place in Massachusetts, America. Each story exists as a subtle celebration of the ordinary moments of our lives that softly, and gradually, shape us over time. This testament to the every-day is characterized by detailed, tender depictions of brief conversations, picnics in parks, afternoon car rides, and trips to the grocery store with past lovers. Although the narrators and other orbiting characters in the stories are all different, they are bound together by an insatiable curiosity and fascination with the world and the human condition.

Inspired by works from authors such as Raymond Carver, Richard Brautigan, William Trevor, Carrie Fountain, and Andre Dubus, This Must Be the Place is a comment on how we, as people, are as defined by the decisions we do not make as the ones that we do. The characters in each piece confront choices and the invariable emotional consequences that will follow them, either temporarily or for the foreseeable future. These consequences propel the narratives, causing anxiety, uncertainty, and at times even excitement for all of those involved. Similarly, and perhaps more importantly, because of these consequences, the gears of the characters’ hearts shift, ever so slightly, in new, unexplored directions.

As a whole, This Must Be the Place is about the understated importance embedded in every connection, misconnection, beginning, and ending.

Thesis Completion

2017

Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Hubbard, Susan

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

English

Degree Program

Creative Writing

Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Release Date

12-1-2018

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