Abstract

When I initially set out writing these stories, I made a deliberate effort to avoid using my own, mixed cultural heritage as source material. My proposal eschewed the autobiographical in favour of the broader topic of exploring the gaps between adults and children, a focus that later developed into less specific moments of estrangement between people. Now, looking at these six stories as a whole, I find common themes directly related to what I see as something intrinsic to my own "mixed-race" identity; without realizing it, I have broached the very subject matter I had originally hoped to avoid. These are stories about transition, about people lacking distinct and definable identities. Like Paul in "Pet Therapy" and Les in "The Past Composed," they are caught in hybrid moments of emotion, location and self. The characters are often at "in-between" junctures in their lives: the young narrator in "Pulling Oceans In and Pushing Oceans Out," for example, is at the cusp of adolescence and sexual discovery. The title of my thesis, "Long," is meant to represent the longing that results from these "in-between" moments--a longing to connect with other people, to create "homes," to connect the disparate elements of life to form a cohesive sense of self.