Amidst this fading light

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Rebecca Lynn Davis (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Holly Goddard Jones

Abstract: What follows is a novel-in-stories. This hybrid genre is characterized by a text made up of distinct entities that are similar to stories in that they each feature a unique plot and purpose, but each story (especially as one progresses through the work) comes to depend more and more upon the preceding for context and to fully develop the characters. The plot of this novel-in-stories revolves around a small town in the North Carolinian piedmont called Germantown. This town is based upon Germanton, NC an unincorporated community located about fifteen miles from Winston-Salem. Another main plot element is also borrowed from real-life events: on Christmas in 1929, Charlie Lawson shot and killed most of his family. The Lawson family murders are still a major part of Germanton and Stokes county history. Many writers, singers, and storytellers have tried to understand this horrendous event that shook the small town. My purpose is not to explicitly seek to find meaning in this event, but rather to explore the impacts and influences of such an occurrence on people—along with how people impact each other, the role of community, and human relationships. While the following work does harken back to these real places and people, it is truly fictitious and, in the end, is really only based upon these events. The characters and occurrences in this work may find their roots in the real, but have branched out to become their own.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
Fiction, Historical, Southern Gothic
Subjects
North Carolina $v Fiction
Murder $v Fiction

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