Art and Effort

Author

• Saul Gabriel Dominguez II, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Date of Award

5-1-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Creative Writing

First Advisor

Jean Braithwaite

Second Advisor

Eric M. Williamson

Third Advisor

Steven P. Schneider

Abstract

Since childhood I questioned living and my life itself. I wondered the extent of our own free will since people live to cry, to hate, to think they’ve been born simply to die. I use philosophers and some contemporary fiction to portray a lens of living where we must romanticize the present, rather than an uncertain future, and remove the idea that there is a reason for our living. This method of present thinking is a characteristic of a life-well lived. The manuscript will largely be told from my point of view, a young aspiring author with limited experience, through a series of personal essays varying on topics such as reality and our perception (and social media’s influence), the extent of free will and desire, nature and its effects on humans, and controlling the attitude of the world around you with your own brain. I also use my personal experience with being a son, worker, and dog-owner (dog-father) to portray a governed society and the inability to appeal to an entire population. This is all stated to make the point that life is driven by individual decisions – decisions that nobody but your own person can make.

Comments

Copyright 2025 Saul Gabriel Dominguez II. All Rights Reserved. https://proquest.com/docview/3314779703

Recommended Citation

Dominguez II, S. G. (2025). Art and Effort [Master's thesis, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley]. ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1854