Fiction Commons^™

What Have I Done?, Paul A. Bowman

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Project Wildest Dreams, Faith Bernier

Honors College Theses

“Project Wildest Dreams” is a hybrid psychological correlational study and short fiction collection based on anecdotes of vivid, frightening, or bizarre dreams. This collaboration of art and science explores the nature of dreaming, a phenomenon that has intrigued and perplexed both the humanities and the STEM fields for many years. The goal of this thesis was twofold: primarily, it was intended to utilize the outlandish, surreal, and unique feelings and images that dreams elicit in order to procure an anthology of surrealist and absurdist short stories across primarily the genres of horror, comedy, and fantasy. In addition to this, the …

A Puff's Exploration Of Wayne Hopkins, Ethan G. Mullen, Leon Wiebers

Honors Thesis

This thesis is a synthesis of modalities I have studied during the course of my Theatre Arts degree, applied to the realization of the principal character, Wayne Hopkins in the award-winning play Puffs (Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic) a LMU Theatre Arts Department production. This work is divided into three major sections. First, I reflect on how I applied acting tools I have studied at LMU to the development of my character and performance. These include script analysis, story structure analysis, breath work, and Viewpoints training. Second, I share media displaying my …

Long Haulers, Zachary Roush

2026 Symposium

Long Haulers is a science-fiction short story.

Two long-haul space delivery drivers agonize about their love lives with a sarcastic android bartender.

Caladrius: Creating A Playable Game Via A Multimedia Experience, Isabelle Morgan Brookshire

Whittier Scholars Program

Caladrius: Creating a Playable Game via a Multimedia Experience hones in on making an experience through different forms of media to represent a game. If this project was fully funded and done, it would be a video game on Steam with an art exhibition, small poetry book, and novel accompanied with it. It would even have a show, a soundtrack, and merch. But at this level, it was to make an experience for my audience that they could experience whether or not they enjoyed video games as a concept. I wanted them to enjoy 'playing' within a physical exhibition and …

The Machinery Of Division, Ethan D. Ernst

Honors Capstones

This single chapter of a future fictional work follows the protagonist, Grace Scott, as her twenty-first birthday approaches, yet things are not as they seem. In this world, alien creatures known as the Marauders have forced humanity to hide within fortified cities, while all children are at risk of mutating into these monsters and eventually losing their minds. This risk is guaranteed to disappear after reaching the age of twenty-one, making it the most celebrated birthday for every society on Earth. As this grand day arrives for Grace, however, strange events occur that indicate that the world may be about …

How To Fail At Faith, Olivia R. Bacon

Honors Theses

How to Fail at Faith tells the story of Ruth, a girl in middle school who begins to doubt her faith in the Christian God. With these doubts come existential questions, fear, and, most strangely, a voice that narrates Ruth’s everyday activities inside her head. Ruth is scared this voice means she is only a character inside a story, but is even more scared to tell her parents about her internal struggles. As Ruth grapples with her faith, this “narrator” becomes a tangible support amid uncertainties. Ruth surrenders to trusting God after fighting her doubts, and discovers that her mysterious …

The Weight Of The Unknown: Xenophobia In Lucía Puenzo’S Xxy, Daylen Motamed

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This project examines how Lucía Puenzo’s film titled XXY critiques societal responses to unique identities (specifically intersex as an example), asking how xenophobia and normative gender expectations shape the marginalization of bodies that exist outside the binary. Situating the film within scholarship on queer adolescence and intersex representation, the analysis of this poster will argue that XXY exposes how institutions such as medicine and family reinforce harmful notions of “normalization.”

Drawing on close textual analysis of key scenes and engagement with critical sources, including Guillermo Olivera’s work on space and visibility and testimonies from intersex individuals, this study investigates how …

After The Morning Light, Fiona Candland

English Honors Projects

One fall morning, Clarice, a woman in her mid-twenties, is getting ready for the day when she finds a black ground beetle crawling along her bedroom wall. The beetle consumes her, and throughout the day, Clarice undergoes a metamorphosis. Rendered in poetry and prose, After the Morning Light explores the cultivation of a self, questions the boundaries between humans and their environment, and portrays the fragile relationship between women and the act of being seen.

Flying Fish, Chelsea Parsley '28

A Midwestern Review: A Magazine of the Arts and Issues at DePauw University

Chelsea Parsley is a sophomore Creative Writing major at DePauw University. She enjoys drawing, writing, singing, and accumulating obscure pieces of trivia.

Souvenirs From The Old Country, Julia Gartley

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Megan St. St. James

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Call To Prayer, Oliver Diaz

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

The Logic Of Our Game, Ethan Keeley

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Alternative, Ashlynn M. Stroud

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

A series of illustrations, sculptures and comic book issues designed to introduce a series of stories and characters that represent the history and members of a fictional mythology depicting the cultural social group often referred to as the “alternative” community. Alternative takes place in a world that combines high fantasy and science fiction with elements of pop culture and music. This world uses iconography of the various genres of the alternative subculture and music, metal, post-punk, and the evolving scene of the underground with varying visuals from both gothic and industrial time periods. Viewers are encouraged to read and follow …

Addressing The Problem Of Erotica In Fiction From A Christian Standpoint, Elizabeth Burgess

Senior Honors Theses

The body of erotic content embedded in mainstream literature grows by the day, and based on an investigation of its similarities to pornography—which has many documented negative effects—this content warrants caution before interaction. Christian writers and editors are faced with a multifaceted problem when it comes to erotica: they must weigh the risk of harming consumers by participating in its production, and they must discern whether it aligns with the moral demands of the Christian faith when it comes to sexuality. The analysis of biblical frameworks for sexuality, the present literature documenting the negative effects of pornography, and the purpose …

Some Things Never Change, Ryely Rogers

Honors College Theses

Some Things Never Change is a coming-of-age play that explores the intersection of memory, identity, nostalgia, faith, and the process of growing up. The play follows two versions of the same character: Young Ryann and Older Ryann. Young Ryann is the eleven year old version of Older Ryan, the young woman she grows to become. This play was born from my own interest in how identity evolves and continues to shape us through adulthood. Some Things Never Change is the culmination of my own experiences, broader themes of self-discovery, and the science behind nostalgia. Through this play I uncover the …

Another Inconsistency: A Collection, Christy Luong

Student Theses

A collection of stories.

The Oncoming Light: An Experiential Approach To Psychological Exposition Through Dialogue-Driven Narrative, Benjamin G. Dewitt

Honors Theses

Narrative is a lens through which we understand ourselves, our histories, our futures, and our ties to those around us. Narrative form has undergone vast transformations over time, and in the case of “postmodern” literature, pushes the boundaries of form into the experimental, questioning the truth of knowledge itself. While these experimental works can give rise to uniquely powerful emotional experiences, some components of narrative, when abandoned, may only hinder the immersion of the reader. This thesis evaluates several experimental, dialogue-driven narrative works against these components: linguistic, literal, emotional, and intellectual significance, in a hierarchy of importance as proposed by …

Lovepilled, Zhiliang Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

"Lovepilled" is a collection of essays and stories about love, the longing for it, and where it takes place.