Abstract

America has a long history of making promises it can't keep, the most accessible buzz word for such promises being, "the American Dream", where everyone will enjoy some level of affluence and assimilate into the proverbial "melting pot" so long as they work hard and follow predetermined rules set by the power structure. In this model American lifestyle, the spiritual essence of humans is buried by the materialistic drive of capitalism, which drives us farther apart and alienates us from our neighbors. Yet in the mid 2000s, in the aftermath of some of the country's worst disasters, this power structure began to crumble. As with any transition, those with stake in the power structure suffered, which was virtually everyone in America at the time. Yet regardless of what they suffered, they found themselves still alive, still breathing. This proved something existed beyond the American dream, something more spiritual and intangible. The aim of these stories is to explore the lives of those left in the wake of the initial post9/11 economic collapse of Brevard County. Dubbed the "Space Coast," it stood as a pinnacle for the lofty promises of the American dream and a staple of its subsequent collapse. The following stories render this time and place, populated not only by those who lost something during the economic failure, but the young people who'd been promised a bright future and watched it ebb away before their eyes.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2015

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Rodriguez Milanes, Cecilia

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

English

Degree Program

Creative Writing

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004886

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

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