Committee Chair

Balazs, Thomas P.

Committee Member

Babine, Karen, 1978-; Guy, Matthew

Department

Dept. of English

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The goal of these three stories is to bear witness to American Christian life in the 21st century, to give weight and texture to the virtues and contradictions of what Cornel West called "the most absurd and alluring mode of being in the world." Borrowing from the traditions of psychological realism, Christian existentialism, and American minimalism, these stories attempt to craft credible accounts of Christian belief and doubt. The stories follow a woman estranged from her family who begins caring for her ailing pastor; a young couple as they try to get back to the basics of their faith; and an older man who travels to Mexico in search of catharsis. Organized as a triptych, each story attempts to depict the tension embodied by the prayer, ”Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank Dr. Rik Hunter, for suffering through all my emails and questions over the last two years; Dr. Sybil Baker and Dr. Aaron Shaheen, for their critiques of my writing, as well as your letters of recommendation and encouragement in my pursuit of an M.F.A.; Dr. Leahy, for taking a chance on me in the Writing Center, and also for your support and encouragement; Dr. Karen Babine and Dr. Matthew Guy, for serving on my thesis committee; and Dr. Thomas Balazs, for your unexpected interest in my writing and generosity with all my attendant anxieties. Whatever success these stories have is in part because of all of you. Thank you all, again.

Degree

M. A.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts.

Date

5-2021

Subject

Belief and doubt in literature; Christianity in literature; Faith in literature

Keyword

Christian; doubt; faith; fiction; literature; short story

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

vi, 66 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Date Available

5-31-2024

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