Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Creative Writing

First Advisor

Dr. Eric Miles Williamson

Second Advisor

Dr. Joseph D. Haske

Third Advisor

Dr. Shawn Thompson

Abstract

Safe Passage is a novel detailing life in the RGV. The novel is a bildungsroman that follows a group of friends and their experiences in the RGV. The novel sheds light on a region that is rarely examined, and uses flashbacks and flash forwards to show what it is like to age in the RGV.

The novel deals with life growing up near the Texas/Mexico border and relates experiences from the group of friends mentioned in the previous paragraph. The novel describes political and police corruption, drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, and assimilation along the Rio Grande Border. The novel is written in a gritty, realistic style that details life among the marginalized in the region. I write against the injustices seen in the RGV, and also about the honor and dignity that can be found among even the most desperate of circumstances. With this novel, I intend to offer a glimmer of hope to those who feel they have been left without a voice. I want to shed light on issues usually marginalized or ignored outright from the national and state media.

That said this is a novel that is not didactic in any sense. I present life in the RGV as I’ve experienced it. I’m not pulling any punches.

Comments

Copyright 2017 John Molina. All Rights Reserved.

https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/safe-passage/docview/1943006245/se-2?accountid=7119

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