| dc.description.abstract | My thesis, entitled "Corruption of Virtue" is comprised of two short works of fiction. Both feature a young man coming into adulthood affected by various social and personal factors. The first, entitled "Southern Hospitality" has a protagonist named Nick who grapples with his sexuality. Living in the American South, he knows many people view homosexuality as a sin, but he believes he has figured out how to survive in a bigoted environment. This fragile confidence is shaken, however, when he becomes the victim of a violent hate crime during a Tinder date. The story explores how the attack hinders his ability to navigate relationships with his best friend, his mother, and his potential boyfriend. The second story, entitled "Alcohol and Catholicism" features a protagonist named Matthew who learns, a couple weeks prior to Christmas, that his father, aunt and grandmother were physically abused by his grandfather. This knowledge taints his experience of the annual Christmas gathering, and after drinking too much he instigates a heated family argument. Throughout the story, he wonders whether his grandfather deserves forgiveness. I paired these stories together because they both feature protagonists of college age dealing with drastic challenges to their worldview. Catholicism is an important presence in both works. Both protagonists are forced to confront their relationship with the religion in these stories, Nick with regards to how it treats his sexuality, and Matthew with regards to how it affects his family's reactions to abuse. While the stories are similar, I consider them foils to each other because Nick responds to his trauma by giving up on hope and trust, whereas Matthew counts his blessings and accepts life's uncertainty and gray morality. Since these characters are limited to their own unique circumstances, which are vastly different in severity, it is for the reader to judge whether they were justified in their final decisions. The title of the thesis is drawn from a line toward the end of the second story. On one level, "Corruption of Virtue" signifies losing the innocence of youth after being faced with harsh reality. On another level, the title represents the corruption of virtue itself. When Americans refer to "southern hospitality," they consider it a virtue: the kindness with which Southerners treat everyone. In the case of my story, however, the label takes on a darker meaning. For a queer person raised in the South, "southern hospitality" is synonymous with bigotry and exclusion. In "Alcohol and Catholicism," the virtue of mercy is corrupted in Matthew's eyes because mercy as an obligation has forced his father to forgive his abuser, a potentially self-destructive act. My early literary influences include John Steinbeck and Zora Neale Hurston. I am inspired by how they write subtle political narratives using vivid characters and descriptive prose, focusing on storytelling while still conveying social themes. I admire my contemporary influences, including Nawal El Saadawi and Tsitsi Dangarembga, for the same reason. In my thesis stories, I strove to emulate these writers' vivid descriptions of scene, their complex character studies, and their inseparability from broader societal influence. | |
