Head Above Water

Abstract

Head Above Water demonstrates how cultural roles and changing societies affect the identities of young women struggling through moments of adolescent angst and solitude. Value systems inform cultural identity, and it is important to study, recognize, and challenge them so that we may be enlightened about the human condition.

In the formative stages of my thesis, I read fiction by writers from a range of cultural backgrounds who used motifs to signify the complexity of the issues central to their stories. In my stories symbols are juxtaposed as dichotomies-the mask as an obstructer and demonstrator of identity, water as a symbol of fertility as well as oppression, ugliness and beauty both internally and externally, and power versus weakness.

In order to achieve an accurate portrayal of industrial and village life in Nigeria, I conducted primary and secondary research. I learned about the verve, flavor, and culture of Nigeria through literature, media, and interviews, and I studied the ways published writers employ voice, physical and material landscapes, and cultural details. My research has informed my thesis, which ultimately centers not only on Nigerian women as mothers and daughters, but on the human condition itself.

Notes

This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your thesis or dissertation, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by STARS for more information.

Thesis Completion

2004

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Hubbard, Susan

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

English

Degree Program

Creative Writing

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences; Short stories, English; Women -- Fiction

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021836

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS