Date of Award
12-1998
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
English
Abstract
Genuflect, Gentlemen is a novella-Iength work of fiction in which Dan Mooney, a recovering drug-addict and former rock star, has a religious awakening that inspires him to write a journal as an attempt to find meaning in his past. This journal, a soapbox for Dan’s newly realized philosophies, focuses primarily in his troublesome experiences as a student at an all-boys Catholic boarding high school; it is essentially Dan’s version of the “story” of those years just before his fame when music was replacing religion as the center of his spirituality. The ultimate conclusion Dan reaches through the reconsideration of that past and the influence it had on the course of his life becomes the central motivating force for his professed future plans. The accompanying short stories, though not directly related to Genuflect, Gentlemen, utilize similar themes of the spiritual quest, misdirected spirituality, violence, loss, and drug and alcohol abuse to contemplate the often inexpressible emotional complexities of the human condition.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Mullins, Matt B., "Genuflect, Gentlemen and Other Stories" (1998). Dissertations. 1581.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1581