Date of Award
1-1-2015
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
M.F.A. in Creative Writing
Department
English
First Advisor
Tom Franklin
Second Advisor
Megan Abbott
Third Advisor
Beth Ann Fennelly
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Thin Bodies, is a fictional thriller revolving around a retrospective, female voice. It is a short novel-length view into the insular community of the sorority, specifically in the U.S. Deep South. The town and university are both fictional, as are the characters, sororities, and events, but they are based in realistic institutions of socialization and community. Sarah Beth, our protagonist and narrator, considers her coming-of-age through her recruitment, initiation, ensuing leadership, and eventual fall from grace in her sorority, Theta Kappa. The group of women that this novel intends to characterize struggle with identity and how they are perceived against standards of class, race, and gender. The novel's perspective is one that is removed from the present action but attempts to keep the reader within the narrative, moving from scene to scene chronologically, in short, fast-paced chapters, and culminating in the suicide of a sorority member. Sarah Beth provides occasional hindsight and ultimately reaches the realization that these social institutions function in order to reproduce themselves, and in the case of Theta Kappa, this reproduction has been occurring for more than 150 years. The novel has a gothic tone mixed with dark humor in order to occupy a dual space of entertainment and literary value.
Recommended Citation
Tran, Elizabeth Meliza, "Thin Bodies" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1240.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1240