English Language and Literature Commons^™

The Action Of Grace In Territory Held By The Devil: Flannery O’Connor And Cormac Mccarthy, Scott A. Singleton

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper compares the lives and work of Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy. The two authors share similarities in their backgrounds, careers, and work. The paper begins with an examination of biographical information of both authors to contextualize their work and note commonalities in their lives and careers. The central idea is that Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy both create grotesque characters to reveal the depraved condition of humanity in order to highlight the need for redemption and the possibility of divine grace. To prove this, examples are discussed from multiple pieces of work by O’Connor and McCarthy including The …

The Hero’S Journey: A Postmodern Incarnation Of The Monomyth, Sarah Hoffman

Honors Theses

‘Monomyth’ is the term coined by James Joyce and popularized by Joseph Campbell in his seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Its structure is delineated by Campbell, and it follows that of the traditional heroic myths that permeate human culture and history. Margaret Atwood’s two companion novels, Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood, incorporate Campbell’s monomyth and transplant it into the realm of postmodern dystopia. In this way, Atwood offers an escape from the existential dilemmas that face the postmodern subjectivity through the self-perpetuated, neo-shamanic journey toward the recognition of immanence. The …

Matriarchal Monsters: Literary Villians Through The Lens Of Gender, Katherine Currie

Honors Theses

The exposure of American readers to the literary monster culminates at an incredibly young and impressionable age. The genre of children’s literature seems to rely heavily on the impact of the presence of villainous monster characters. From the “boogey man” to “Cruella de Vil” to “The Grinch,” children are presented at a very young age with the character of evil. As a result of our early experience with villains, we as readers accept the “bad guy” created in a novel to be classified under the category of “monster.” However, most readers have never even pondered or questioned the label of …

“Critical Habitat” And Other Stories, Jon Michael Mitchell

Honors Theses

The nature of writing, that is, storytelling, is difficult to discuss in a technical manner. Often it is easier to demonstrate by example rather than theory how storytelling does and does not work. This thesis is a collection of short stories written to practice the art of writing and storytelling. They do not follow a central theme or motif; they are self-contained projects demonstrating the application of the theories discussed in the introduction. The point of this thesis is not to show the correct way to write or provide examples of perfect stories. It is to show the learning process …

What Makes A Man: Social Constructions Of Masculinity In The Works Of Stanley Kubrick, Michael Cory Taylor

Honors Theses

This study examines three male protagonists from films by Stanley Kubrick, and the original literary texts, with specific focus on the social influence of each character’s sense of masculinity. Much has been written about literature and film as a social critique, but there is a particular need for study through Kubrick’s lens. The original literary texts are Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining. By considering the historical context of both the novel and its adaptation, it is possible to provide an indication of each protagonist’s effect on social constructions of manhood. It is also necessary to note the …

Corporate Style Guides: Understanding And Construction, Riley Ann Ashcroft

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Style guides have existed for many years and yet there is almost no information concerning how to write one. Since corporations are so different from one another, each could have its very own style guide. Most, however, use an existing style guide and fill in any gaps with customer specific information. One such corporation is the Utah State University Research Foundation (USURF). To answer the question “how to write a style guide,” this paper compares five style guides with similar content to what would appear in a USURF guide. The paper then discusses interviews from USURF’s technical writers to determine …

How Do We Read Comics Of The Quotidian? (Part I Of A Series), Frank Bramlett

English Faculty Publications

In two separate posts on Pencil Panel Page, Qiana Whitted and Aaron Meskin have explored the way comics readers engage with images. (Click here to read Qiana’s post and click here to read Aaron’s.) Specifically, they engage Scott McCloud’s claim that readers identify with drawn images of human beings. To quote McCloud, “when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face–you see it as the face of another. But when you enter the world of the cartoon–you see yourself” (36).

My question in this post has not to do with images but rather with narrative. When …

The Galway Rambler: Anthony Raftery And The Roots Of Irish Cultural Identity, Caroline O'Shea

English Student Scholarship

My project looks at the impact of Anthony Raftery, a 19^th century blind poet and fiddle player from Co. Mayo, Ireland, on Ireland’s cultural landscape upon his ‘discovery’ by Irish writers Lady Augusta Gregory and Douglas Hyde, and his influence upon E. B. Yeats. Explorations of Scottish folk collections and Homeric influences upon Raftery’s poetry and the art of folk music preservation are also examined.

Evolution Of Effect: The Numinous In Gothic And Post-Gothic Ghost Experience Literature, Ryan P. Kennedy

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis undertakes to examine Rudolf Otto's work on the rational understanding of God and authentic experience, referred to as the "numinous," as it applies to the authentic ghost experience as it exists in Gothic literature and its successors. We begin by establishing the scene in 19th century Europe, where the Enlightenment is the primary philosophical force and superstition is seen as a primitive concern of the past. The playful fascination with tales of ghosts and spectral forces begins here, with the publication of Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, an ultimately failed, farcical piece, which nonetheless serves as the …

Transformational Leadership In The Life And Works Of C.S. Lewis, Crystal L. Hurd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The author of this study explored the works of C.S. Lewis as well as memoirs and scholarship concerning his work to illustrate his transformational leadership. Works reviewed included Lewis's fiction, such as his science fiction trilogy and his children's series, The Chronicles of Narnia, as well as his works of nonfiction, such as essays that addressed social issues. The secondary aim for the author of this study was to determine whether the transformational qualities Lewis exhibited also existed in his characters.

Transformational leadership served as the conceptual framework for the descriptive explanatory qualitative design. Essentially the study analyzed the primary …

Transforming Information Literacy: Engaging Stakeholders, Deana Greenfield, Rob Morrison

Faculty Publications

Librarians at National Louis University have been engaged with stakeholders for the past four years to integrate Information Literacy into the undergraduate curriculum that goes beyond traditional instruction. The outcome was a 2 credit course on Digital Information Literacy now required in three undergraduate degree programs. The success of this course resulted in the creation of additional credit courses tailored to the learning outcomes of specific programs. We have learned from this process how to strategically discuss Information Literacy with academic departments. In this session, we will draw from our experience to facilitate a group discussion on transforming Information Literacy …

Hidden Kisses, Walled Gardens, And Angel-Kinder: A Study Of The Victorian And Edwardian Conceptions Of Motherhood And Childhood In Little Women, The Secret Garden, And Peter Pan, Leah Marie Kirkpatrick

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In this paper, I explore the evolving conceptions of childhood and motherhood as expressed in Victorian and Edwardian children’s literature generally, and specifically in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Frances Hodgeson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. An overview of the history of children’s literature and its development with relation to the changing cultural concept of childhood, as well as a discussion of social, economic, and creative factors impacting the ideological position of women at the turn of the 20th century provide the necessary background for said exploration. A variety of primary and secondary sources relating to …

A "New" New Woman: The Portrayal Of Women In The Late Nineteenth-Early Twentieth Century Novel, Samantha L. Moore

English Department Theses

The thesis examines how women are portrayed in Bram Stoker's Dracula, E.M. Forster's Howards End, and Elizabeth Robins's The Convert and Votes for Women. I specifically focus on how the ideal of Victorian womanhood is juxtaposed to the attributed horrors of the New Woman in Dracula and Howards End. In The Convert and Votes for Women I explore how the ideas of and about the New Woman transition into the Suffragette. Finally, I argue that the women I examine establish a "new" New Woman that is worthy of praise.

Frontier, Displacement, And Mobility In Joss Whedon's Firefly, Emma Leigh Boone Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Firefly, a television series created, written, and directed by Joss Whedon, premiered on the Fox network in 2002 and aired only eleven episodes before it was cancelled halfway through its first season. While it gained some on-air popularity, it was not until fans convinced Fox via online chatrooms to release the series on DVD that it gained posthumous acclaim. Whedon credits westerns as the inspiration for Firefly because frontier characters tend to be natural, flawed, complex human beings who question universal truths through widely recognized motifs of classic westerns. In a February 17, 2011 Entertainment Weekly interview, Firefly actor …

Writing La Mestiza: Creating A New Chicana Identity In Sandra Cisneros' The House On Mango Street And Woman Hollering Creek, Amber Lea Strother

Student Theses and Dissertations

Chicana identity is shaped not only by individual development, but also by the homes, communities, and cultures in which that development takes place. This examination of Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek illustrates the influences of class, gender, and ethnicity on the negotiation of multicultural identity formation. These two works demonstrate the maturation process that moves the Chicana experience from the individual to the communal. By revising traditional Chicana models, Cisneros demonstrates that a new Chicana identity or la mestiza, one that provides Chicanas with a positive role model, can be created.

Fantasy Revisited: A Writer's Escape From The Bindings Of Reality, Victoria Page

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A project thesis submitted to the faculty of Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Department of English at Morehead State University by Victoria Page in May of 2012.

May 1, 2012: Wmu Creative Writing Graduate 2012 Earns Merit Award, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of Feminism During The Late Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries By Female Artists And Authors, Tracy S. Koubek

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This thesis paper identifies the ways in which the painters Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and Mary Cassatt and the writers Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Barrett Browning challenged the limitations of their sex by engaging in professions outside of the domestic sphere during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This essay first focuses on the negative effects that a separation between the private and public spheres had on women, how these changes came about, the expectations society imposed on women, and how many women learned to cope and step forward into the public sphere. The emphasis shifts to an examination of the lives …

Life Across Friends, Brandon Ballard

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A project thesis submitted to the faculty of Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Department of English at Morehead State University by Brandon Ballardin May of 2012,

Secrets In A Box, Charlotte Joann Cain

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A project thesis submitted to the faculty of Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Department of English at Morehead State University by Charlotte Joann Cain in May of 2012.