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Description:
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The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate understanding of the themes ,
techniques and traditions of creative writing , combining all of the knowledge gleaned from coursework in a body of original fiction . The thesis consists of a collection of short stories and a critical introduction which positions them within the mode of modernism . Themes , structure and the process of creative development are examined and explicated . Influences on style , theme , subject and tone are also described so as to create a line of continuity linking this work to its literary predecessors . The stories follow the path first blazed by Chekhov , then expanded by later modernist writers such as James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway . Stylistically , I have been most influenced by the lyricism of writers like Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez and Flannery
OÂ Connor . I have chosen as the subjects of my stories ordinary people who lead ordinary lives generally devoid of fabulous and exciting incidents that might comprise an exciting plot . The characters themselves do not represent anything in particular , except perhaps a general human condition that , due to their very ordinariness , is
inescapable . By encompassing within the narratives both dreams and extended imaginings , these stories will challenge the boundaries of literal reality in some small degree . Although each story will advance its own  discrete moment , all the stories will share a focus on internal struggles rather than on external actions and an overall theme of
lying , concentrating on the lies that we , as humans , tell ourselves in order to deal with events that occur in our lives and the consequences of our actions . Following in the footsteps of James Joyce and Flannery OÂ Connor , each of the stories will be epiphanic rather than anecdotal in nature . However , some of the stories will center on false or failed epiphanies , wherein the main character fails to come to a realization or comes to an incorrect realization . |