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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in English Language and Literature
Men Will Be Boys: Regressive Nostalgia In The Virgin Suicides, Gabrielle Vuillaume
Men Will Be Boys: Regressive Nostalgia In The Virgin Suicides, Gabrielle Vuillaume
English Honors Theses
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides is widely considered a cult-classic novel. However, the text reveals much deeper concepts that at first may miss the eye. The first-person plural narration of the male narrators unveils a regressive nostalgia where they cannot move on from the suicides of the Lisbon sisters, which occurred in the 1970s, twenty years prior. This paper describes the gendered relationship between the present day of the novel, the 1990s, as a male possessiveness over the 1970s as a female past.
Verity, Olivia Sun
Verity, Olivia Sun
English Honors Theses
A divorced, despondent middle school science teacher joins a secret society and helps them get to the bottom of a Galapagos tortoise government conspiracy.
Othering: An Analysis Of Expression In Hip-Hop And South Asian Literature Through Post-9/11 Discourse, Syed Tareq Alam
Othering: An Analysis Of Expression In Hip-Hop And South Asian Literature Through Post-9/11 Discourse, Syed Tareq Alam
English Honors Theses
The critical question this thesis seeks to answer is how a relationship between hip-hop and South Asian literature can be developed in such a way that one is able understand and address both the present and future state of America in a post 9/11 context. To answer this question, three hip-hop songs will be analyzed through their lyrics and instrumentation with a specific focus on their expression of the other: “Cops Shot the Kid” by Nas, “Flag Shopping” and “Patriot Act” by Heems. One novel and play will be analyzed in similar form: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid and …
Finding Tomahna: Myst As 1990s Time Capsule And Community, Maxx Hirsch
Finding Tomahna: Myst As 1990s Time Capsule And Community, Maxx Hirsch
English Honors Theses
The original Myst took the 1990’s by storm, quickly becoming the best-selling games in the world after its initial release in 1993. Many gamers and reviewers look back now, accustomed to lightning-fast loading speeds and razor-sharp graphics, ask why? I believe that Myst was able to find such wild popularity because it was a relevant reflection of its time period. In all of its oddity and solitude, Myst is an excellent representation of the feelings of American adults in the 1990’s. This thesis examines Myst as a product of wartime, new technology, and of community.
Wish In One Hand, Amber John
Wish In One Hand, Amber John
English Honors Theses
In confessional genre-blending poems, prose, and poetic essays, Wish in One Hand probes the reality of living in liminal spaces, and how that reality changes perceptions of identity and the home. Crossing three physical spaces that separate the works, the idea of home is shown to be fluid and multifaceted, frequently interweaving with ideas of childhood, memory, and the passage of time. From meditations on mice in the walls to visceral descriptions of swamp creatures, Wish in One Hand reflects the personal struggle to reconcile liminality with the concrete nature of our worldly experiences.
"A Kindler, Gentler Time": How Pleasantville And The Truman Show "Fix" The 1950s Suburban Ideal, Sophie Cohen
"A Kindler, Gentler Time": How Pleasantville And The Truman Show "Fix" The 1950s Suburban Ideal, Sophie Cohen
English Honors Theses
The Truman Show and Pleasantville both present a vision of the 1950s that is manufactured and mediated by television. I attempt to explain this using Lauren Berlant's model of the pilgrimage narrative, in which a character encounters true America in Washington, DC. Instead of locating America in the nation’s capital, though, I argue that these films locate America in the idealized suburbs of the 1950s. I propose that this pilgrimage differs from the one Berlant outlines in one crucial way: the capital can be visited at any time, but if America is really located in 1950s suburbia, then citizens of …
Presidential Rhetoric And Media's Contribution To The Subjective Nature Of Truth In American Democracy, Bianca Miccolis
Presidential Rhetoric And Media's Contribution To The Subjective Nature Of Truth In American Democracy, Bianca Miccolis
English Honors Theses
This thesis examines the role of media on the subjectivity of truth in presidential rhetoric and its ethical implications. In my three case studies, I find that there is some form of deception by each president in their chosen form of media. I analyze Roosevelt’s use of the radio, which he uses to hide his disability and gain more executive power to combat the Great Depression. I examine Reagan’s use of television and how he fabricates an intimate relationship with the American people to enact tax reform. Finally, I investigate Trump’s use of Twitter to deflect negative publicity as he …
Transfer And Transitions: Exploring First Year Writing At Holy Cross, Elizabeth Casavant
Transfer And Transitions: Exploring First Year Writing At Holy Cross, Elizabeth Casavant
English Honors Theses
This study explores how first year students transition to college writing, especially in a pandemic with an online format, and how students use transfer, if at all. It focuses on the following research questions: How do students transition to college writing, college norms, and online classes in a pandemic, and how can Holy Cross first-year writing courses support students in this transition? The methods used to investigate these questions included the administration of two surveys sent to first-year students in a first-year writing course, as well as 10 interviews with students. After transcribing, collating, and coding the data, the following …
Twistin’ The Night Away: Perverted Nostalgia In How I Learned To Drive, Coco Mcneil
Twistin’ The Night Away: Perverted Nostalgia In How I Learned To Drive, Coco Mcneil
English Honors Theses
This paper situates Paula Vogel's 1997 play How I Learned to Drive as an American memory play that is representative of 1990s cultural and political discourses rooted in nostalgia for the 1960s. By examining each character--the Greek Chorus, Peck, and Li'l Bit--within Lauren Berlant's 'intimate public sphere,' 1960s iconography, and memory practices, I argue that Vogel offers an allegory in Drive that characterizes this nostalgia as perverted and traumatizing rather than idyllic.
Voices Of The Wandering, Grace Manning
Voices Of The Wandering, Grace Manning
English Honors Theses
In Voices of the Wandering, Grace Manning explores the concept of belonging through the disconnect that exists when one’s home isn’t defined by structure or established in childhood, but rather a by constantly changing and evolving ideal. Manning’s speaker draws inspiration and comfort from others who are living between countries and continents, using their voices and emotions to try and understand her own. South and West African experiences investigate the confusion and suffering that is colonialism, from blame, to hurt, to lifelong guilt, she introduces the perspectives of those on either side of the racial wall built during Apartheid. Using …
High Tide: A Novella, Anna Davis
High Tide: A Novella, Anna Davis
English Honors Theses
High Tide follows Dan and Sam, a married couple who go to an island off the coast of Maine where Sam grew up as a kid after a trauma as they try and reconcile their relationship. Dan finds out that Sam has been keeping big pieces of her past from him and Sam underestimates just how much going back to the island will affect her. She has been running away from her past for so long that she can’t distinguish between the stories she’s told herself and the reality. Sam and Dan will have to confront her past in order …
Blood-Ties And Misfortune, Justin Frasier
Blood-Ties And Misfortune, Justin Frasier
English Honors Theses
A story about a boy who faces familial and mental health struggles.
Simulating America: Ludocapitalism Of The 1990s In Wall Street Kid And Animal Crossing, Emily C. Byrne
Simulating America: Ludocapitalism Of The 1990s In Wall Street Kid And Animal Crossing, Emily C. Byrne
English Honors Theses
The 1990s witnessed a rapid and unprecedented growth in technology. People watched more television and film, conversed with strangers in anonymous chat rooms, messaged each other on personal pagers, and increased their consumption of video games. The 1990s mark the third decade of the video game industry’s existence. Similar to other forms of digital media, the video game industry participated in rapid technological development during the decade. Home and handheld consoles became increasingly widespread, driving players away from the arcades of the past. Genres such as the first person shooter, fighting games, and survival horror started gaining significant popularity. These …
The Car Ride Home, Jonathan Rivera
The Car Ride Home, Jonathan Rivera
English Honors Theses
The Car Ride Home explores the coming of age of a young boy into a queer man, searching and sifting through the trauma of home life, and realizing his mother’s addiction affects more than just herself, but an entire family. This realization coincides with views of masculinity, as he carefully watches the men around him. He internalizes these depictions of masculinity when exploring his own confusion and investigation of his own sexual identity and queerness. The poetry collection is broken up into two connected parts. Part one explores the illusion of childhood and nostalgia while introducing subtle glimpses and secrets …