You Can Go Home, But Only to Visit: Nostalgia and the Personal Essay

This is a creative thesis which considers the place of nostalgia in the writing of personal essays. It includes a theoretical introduction, in which the problem of nostalgia, or longing for an idealized place and time, is viewed as a result of the need to find personal identity within a community and a geographic location in a contemporary world where people are increasingly mobile and isolated. This introduction examines the actual process of writing the body of the thesis, a collection of personal essays drawn from the childhood and youth of the author and centered both physically and ideologically in the state of Kansas. The conclusion of the thesis is that "going home," in the sense of reminiscing, is both possible and good, though it involves many risks. Contents: Middle -- Moving -- Looking forward -- Lincoln Elementary -- The tunnel to the end of the universe -- Ethnic -- Twisters -- L.A. underground comes to the Midwest -- Holidays, family reunions, and funerals.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in English

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year

1997

Author dc:creator

• Gilstrap, Jack Andrew

Contributors dc:contributor

• James Baumlin

• English Language and Literature

Statement dc:rights

• © Jack Andrew Gilstrap

Repository record dc:identifier

https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/230

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-1231