Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Dreams on Shelves Jillian Koopman Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERISTY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES DREAMS ON SHELVES By JILLIAN KOOPMAN A Thesis submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the committee approve the thesis of Jillian Koopman defended on March 4th, 2011. ______________________________ Mark Winegardner Professor Directing Thesis ______________________________ Julianna Baggott Committee Member ______________________________ Erin Belieu Committee Member Approved: ______________________________________ R.M. Berry, Chair, Department of English ______________________________________ Joseph Travis, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii To my mom, dad, Andy, Sam, and Bandit. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge The Florida State University for giving me the opportunity to attend this program. I would also like to acknowledge all of the professors, classmates, peers and students who helped shape my time in Tallahassee. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract vi The Walk 1 Into the Wound 19 My Blue Memory 40 Origins 58 Afloat 78 Open Doors 99 Ordinary Thursday 137 La Sedia Del Papa 164 Dreams on Shelves 186 Biographical Sketch 210 v ABSTRACT This thesis is a collection of short stories that explore characters undergoing a personal change and how it affects their lives and relationships. Each character struggles with a sense of ambivalence as well as a desire to control and understand her life, and these two reactions produce a conflict.