Death of the English Language

Author:

Faulhaber, Devin Michael

Area of Honors:

Creative Writing (Behrend)

Degree:

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Document Type:

Thesis

Thesis Supervisors:

Thomas Noyes, Thesis Supervisor
Thomas Noyes, Thesis Supervisor
George Looney, Thesis Honors Advisor
Craig Andrew Warren, Faculty Reader

Keywords:

creative writing
lonliness
identity

Abstract:

Abstract This thesis contains a critical preface and a portfolio of fiction writing consisting of six short stories. The critical preface explores the motives and background behind each story, while also explaining psychological and moral values that are emphasized or focused upon during the thesis. Loneliness, the ugliness of the human race, and its propensity for self-destruction are all themes that are delved into via the stories. The thesis is a cyclical progression, beginning with The Boy and the Monster, a dark, surreal fairytale and ending with The Glass Unicorn, named after a child’s prized possession but focused on a father’s search for family and absolution in a ruined world. The stories in between bridge the gap between childhood and parenthood beginning with The Sentry, a story that explores the loneliness and isolation of adolescence in a surreal setting. We Are All Passengers is a companion piece focusing on humankind’s lust for companionship and the pain it brings. Shadowplay focuses on the childish horrors that can creep into our adult lives. The penultimate piece, The Uncanny Valley, is parallel to the destructive excesses of young adulthood.