Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Major/Program

Creative Writing

First Advisor's Name

Lynne Barrett

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Les Standiford

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Vernon Dickson

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

creative writing, arts and humanities

Date of Defense

10-27-2022

Abstract

TROUBLE IN BIBLELAND AND OTHER STORIES is a collection of fourteen short stories that focus on characters confronting tests of their resourcefulness, relationships, and beliefs.

As in George Saunders’ “Tenth of December,” circumstances challenge characters’ faiths, with unexpected results. In the title story, when convicts employed at a theme park enact roles in the crucifixion, the protagonist, playing a Roman Centurion, learns a lesson in self-sacrifice. A pastor questions everything he's believed after his wife's death from Covid in “Reformation Sunday.”

Point of view and tense are used for focus. “Deliver Us from Evil” uses secondperson present tense to make the protagonist’s trauma more immediate, while in “Camp” the past tense and first-person plural depict high schoolers navigating their group and individual identities.

TROUBLE IN BIBLELAND AND OTHER STORIES shows characters finding unexpected beauty and wisdom, even on the worst days of their lives.

Identifier

FIDC010965

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