Date of Award
4-2013
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
English
First Advisor
Thisbe Nissen, M.F.A.
Second Advisor
Dr. Jon Adams
Third Advisor
Dr. Nancy Eimers
Fourth Advisor
Daniel Orozco, M.F.A.
Keywords
stories, fiction, working class, surreal, subdivision, Mandeville
Abstract
This collection of stories delves into themes of the working class. These stories of working-class characters range from realism to fabulism to experimental, because the story of working-class people is complex and always shifting. Some of the stories travel backward in time to shepherds and traveling crusaders, while others take on much more contemporary voices, speaking from the point of view of sex workers, carpenters, office workers, ice cream van drivers, and salesmen. If these stories have one thing in common, it is that the characters are searching for identity, for a concrete sense of self that seems to have become nearly impossible to grasp in their working-class societies.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Hoffman, Dustin M., "Almost Touching, Almost Free" (2013). Dissertations. 146.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/146