We Bare All
Date of Award
January 2014
Degree Type
Closed Access Thesis
Document Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
English and Theatre
First Advisor
Julie Hensley
Department Affiliation
English and Theatre
Second Advisor
Derek Nikitas
Department Affiliation
English and Theatre
Third Advisor
Nancy Jensen
Department Affiliation
English and Theatre
Abstract
We Bare All is a collection of nine short stories with male protagonists, both children and adults, who encounter various decision making situations. The children face opposition-- sometimes a common occurrence such as confronting a bully, and sometimes a strange situation such as burying a corpse. The young adults deal with their own trials, such as when a recently separated young man visits a roadside nude café, both to test how it feels to be single and to challenge his conservative religious upbringing. . These stories not only reveal previously unseen layers in the characters, but also explore the strange phenomenon where children can behave like adults and adults can revert to childlike conduct when confronted with bizarre situations. The resulting stories prize introspection and further a form of masculinity which is proven in non-traditional arenas such as video games, comics, and films. Also included, is a critical introduction which analyzes how the nine stories employ forms of distance, perspective, and the grotesque to establish theme.
Copyright
Copyright 2014 Wesley Shane Parsons
Recommended Citation
Parsons, Wesley Shane, "We Bare All" (2014). Online Theses and Dissertations. 304.
https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/304