Award Date

1-1-2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

First Committee Member

John H. Irsfeld

Number of Pages

150

Abstract

Permanent Record is a collection of loosely connected short stories, told primarily in the first person (framed by a prologue and epilogue in other points of view), taking place on Staten Island; New York, during the 1980s. Tracing the character's development from his bar mitzvah through college, the stories deal primarily with a young man's attempt to reconcile his feelings of rebellion---against his parents, teachers, tradition, etc.---with his growing awareness of the Judaism instilled in him as a child. As much as the character tries to distance himself from his parents and their religious values, he becomes increasingly aware how much his own beliefs were influenced by being brought up Jewish in the specific milieu of Staten Island. Through his interaction with family and friends---most specifically, girlfriends, both Jews and non-Jews---he gains a greater awareness of his own prejudices and need for reconciliation.

Keywords

Original writing; Permanent; Record; Staten Island; Short stories

Controlled Subject

American literature; Literature, Modern

File Format

pdf

File Size

4382.72 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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