Animal cruelty

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Zacary J. Goldstein (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Michael Parker

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the widely differing circumstances under which misanthropy flourishes. A short story collection, this thesis follows characters from various walks of life. Protagonists include a high school student, an accountant-turned-restaurateur, an ad designer, a public school spokeswoman and a veteran narcotics officer. Despite holding different values and living different lives under different sets of circumstances, each character is a victim or perpetrator (or, in some cases, both) of an unquestionably cruel act. In presenting these stories as a single collection, this thesis will challenge conventional notions of innocence and culpability. All characters, no matter how sympathetic or well-intentioned, have a hand in whatever tragedy befalls them and others. As such, this thesis attempts to synthesize a Hobbesian view of human nature (animalistic and cruel, hence the title) with a Randian/existentialist recognition of the individual as the ultimate arbiter of his or her own destiny.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
Short Stories, Fiction
Subjects
Fiction.
Short stories.

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