Date of Graduation
Fall 2012
Degree
Master of Arts in English
Department
English
Committee Chair
Richard Neumann
Abstract
This thesis is comprised of the first 23 chapters of a novel-in-progress, entitled Small Fires, which is a work of literary fiction focused largely on the physical and psychological growth of its protagonist. The purpose of this thesis is to utilize the traditions of the Bildungsroman novel in order to create a work that conforms to the expectations of literary art as they pertain to character, theme, and language. The novel is inspired primarily from Harper Lee's Bildungsroman, To Kill a Mockingbird. Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita provides further inspiration, inasmuch as the concept of exploring an illicit sexual relationship between an adult male and girl child is concerned, but Small Fires seeks to tell the story from the perspective of the girl child, rather than of the adult male.
Keywords
novel, literary fiction, Bildungsroman
Subject Categories
English Language and Literature
Copyright
© Toni Mitchell
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Toni, "Small Fires" (2012). MSU Graduate Theses. 1122.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1122
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