_________________________________________________________________________Swansea University E-Theses Be There First Thing. Vanderploeg, Emily How to cite: _________________________________________________________________________ Vanderploeg, Emily (2012) Be There First Thing.. thesis, Swansea University. http://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42921 Use policy: _________________________________________________________________________ This item is brought to you by Swansea University. Any person downloading material is agreeing to abide by the terms of the repository licence: copies of full text items may be used or reproduced in any format or medium, without prior permission for personal research or study, educational or non-commercial purposes only. The copyright for any work remains with the original author unless otherwise specified. The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder. Permission for multiple reproductions should be obtained from the original author. Authors are personally responsible for adhering to copyright and publisher restrictions when uploading content to the repository. Please link to the metadata record in the Swansea University repository, Cronfa (link given in the citation reference above.) http://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/researchsupport/ris-support/ ‘BE THERE FIRST THING’ Emily Vanderploeg (447080) Submitted to Swansea University in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Swansea University 2012 ProQuest Number: 10821311 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10821311 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 LIBRARY SUMMARY (Abstract) This thesis is a work of creative fiction accompanied by a critical/reflective essay. The dissertation is a novel{Be There First Thing) comprising thirteen chapters, each in the style of a short story, that give glimpses into the life of the protagonist, Lily Sled, beginning when she is eleven-years-old and ending when she is near thirty-years- old. The first seven of these chapters are set in southern Ontario, Canada, while the last six are set in and around Swansea, Wales, employing a juxtaposition of place and the theme of the foreigner via linguistic and cultural similarities. The structure of this novel is similar to a Composite Novel, as it consists of story-like chapters, yet these stories are not autonomous, thus is it more closely aligned with the Bildungsroman genre, employing the technique of vignettes to illustrate the coming of age of the protagonist, while functioning as a novel of development. The accompanying essay seeks to analyse both the writing process and the literary significance of the novel itself. CONTENTS Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................i DISSERTATION: ‘Be There First Thing’....................................................................... ii Chapter 1 - Grackles................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 - Blue Suede Skates.............................................................................. 15 Chapter 3 - Bush X.................................................................................................33 Chapter 4 - L a Jolie................................................................................................46 Chapter 5 - Postcards.............................................................................................61 Chapter 6 - Nuit Blanche...................................................................................... 74 Chapter 7 - Rescue.................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 8 - Wedding .............................................................................................102 Chapter 9 - Kittens................................................................................................ 119 Chapter 10 - Bonfire Night....................................................................................134 Chapter 11 - Sin City.............................................................................................. 149 Chapter 12 - ‘Funeral’...........................................................................................165 Chapter 13 - Dawn.................................................................................................. 180 ESSAY: ‘Be There First Thing’: A Novel of Identity...................................................199 1. Introduction............................................................................................................ 200 2. Language, Construction, and Cultural Influence.....................................................202 3. Genre...................................................................................................................... 209 4. References, Themes, and Motifs............................................................................. 215 5. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 228 Appendix 1.............................................................................................................................231 Appendix II............................................................................................................................232 Appendix III..........................................................................................................................234 Appendix IV..........................................................................................................................235 Appendix V...........................................................................................................................236 Glossary .................................................................................................................................237 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................................241 Dedication.............................................................................................................................248 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the Creative Writing staff at Swansea University, particularly my supervisors, Dr. Alan Bilton for his unwavering humour, wisdom, and trusting support, and Dr. Fflur Dafydd for her early guidance and patience during this PhD process, and also Mr. Nigel Jenkins and Dr. Stevie Davies for their wonderful and continued encouragement. Additionally, I am grateful for the support, assistance, and camaraderie of my colleagues, especially Claire Houguez and Dr. Roshi Fernando, and the other kind and generous Creative Writing PhD students at Swansea University. I also thank those who supported me as readers and friends throughout this process, especially Rebecca Lisett, Gemma June Howell, Steph Tracey, Marika Marosszeky, and my literary friends at ‘The Crunch’. Finally, I thank my parents, Jack and Kathy Vanderploeg, for their steadfast and unquestioning moral and financial support. DISSERTATION ‘Be There First Thing’ CHAPTER 1 Grackles The grackles are nesting. Or, at least, that’s what I tell my Grandpa. Right now there are seven grackles eating voraciously at the feeder. The little, pretty birds - nuthatches, cardinals, chickadees - are waiting patiently in the shadowy boughs of the spruce trees that form a glen outside our kitchen window. Gramps says the food is meant for the little birds: grackles are greedy, they’ll clean out the feeder in a day. But secretly, or perhaps, not so secretly, I am on the grackles’ side. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to feed here too? I accuse Gramps of bird discrimination. He grumbles. It has started to rain. The birds are always hungrier when it’s raining. The little ones are twittering now, venturing out from the safety of the evergreens. They battle for a place to feed, but are flummoxed by the scrappy grackles, their black feathers frayed with a sinister teal-blue sheen. I stare at their yellow eyes, darting wildly and looking over narrow shoulders. Their sharp beaks peck at the sunflower seeds as though this is their last meal. Gramps and I are sitting at the kitchen table, drinking hot chocolate. He holds out a shortbread cookie to me;sable , he calls it, and keeps watching the birds. We both perk up when a goldfinch appears. So rare and yet so common, according to our book, Birds of North America: Southern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Northern New York State. The goldfinch seems to float in the air, hovering like a hummingbird. We are mesmerized. The chickadees sing,chicka-dee-dee-dee , and then out of nowhere, Georgina, my orange tabby, leaps into the air, paws extended, and snaps the goldfinch in her mouth. Merde!“ ” mutters Gramps. The other birds, bold grackles included, scatter. Georgina sits