Theses and Dissertations

This is a collection of short stories surrounding the life of a person whose heart is broken. It documents the experiences of a range of people: a therapist in a psychiatric ward, a desperate housewife, a haggard professor, a famous composer, in various locations from New York City, to the deserts of the Southwest, to the calm of coastal California. It is an attempt to show the impact of grief and loss on the human heart and mind, and how the psychological impact of such a tragedy can seep into the lives of countless others, so interconnected is our presence on this planet. This is a book about pain, life, and love. Most of all, it is a book about memory, that illusory thing which taunts and tempts us all. I hope only that this work makes the reader feel in communion with the characters, so that they may sense what they - and ostensibly, the author - feel in their hearts and minds.

If you’ve ever been driving cross country along the highway and seen a sign from the window of your car advertising the world’s largest rocking chair, or smallest museum, or biggest ball of string, then you’ve caught a glimpse into a closing window on a unique and fascinating chapter of American history, namely the essentially distinctive and often academically overlooked age of Roadside Americana. When most people think of Roadside Americana, they likely first think of Route 66 in the 1950s. There are immediate associations with the kitsch and hyperbolic: dramatic signs, themed diners and motels, and of course an abundance of roadside attractions like the ones listed above. Ask them to think a little harder and they might define their idea of Roadside Americana by its stereotypically friendly strangers, small towns, and open roads. All of these elements together create a conceptual definition of Roadside Americana as it is often optimistically considered today. However, while Route 66 at its commercial height is undeniably the blueprint for this collective definition, the influence of Roadside Americana has long since outgrown the original setting of its birth. Despite the ongoing decline in functionality and visibility of the Mother Road itself, the image of the era it gave rise to is one that has persisted throughout the decades in the American imagination. One place the evidence of this persevering fascination can be observed is in the close examination of media. The truth of a culture’s values is often revealed in storytelling, and the story of the American road trip is one that has been told time and again, so much so in fact that it’s become a widely acknowledged genre in its own right. Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, Kerouac’s On the Road, SNL’s The Blues Brothers, Pixar’s Cars, all these and more. The tone may differ drastically between works, ranging from poignant and tragic to downright ridiculous. And yet, there is a consistency across these fictional narratives. There is an appeal that unites them all. Despite practicality and the passage of time, despite maybe even challenging internal cynicism, there is something about Roadside Americana that we, as a culture, just aren’t ready to let go of.