The following story and introduction focus on compassion. I explore this theme through comedy, specifically dark humor, as a way of talking about some of the darkest times a person can experience and how compassion from others can help in those moments. The main character of the story works as a “chauffer,” a grim reaper-type, escorting the recently deceased into the afterlife. In the project’s critical introduction, I discuss the authors, including J. Robert Lennon and Octavia Butler, who inspired my fiction and shaped my views on dark humor
","abstract_html":"<p>The following story and introduction focus on compassion. I explore this theme through comedy, specifically dark humor, as a way of talking about some of the darkest times a person can experience and how compassion from others can help in those moments. The main character of the story works as a “chauffer,” a grim reaper-type, escorting the recently deceased into the afterlife. In the project’s critical introduction, I discuss the authors, including J. Robert Lennon and Octavia Butler, who inspired my fiction and shaped my views on dark humor</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stricklin, Josh"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joshua Bernstein","Olivia Clare Friedman","Eric Tribunella"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:19Z","subjects":["Comedy","Compassion","Dark Humor","Deadpan","Death","Fiction","Other Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/820","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joshua Bernstein","Olivia Clare Friedman","Eric Tribunella"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stricklin, Josh"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2171-05-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Comedy","Compassion","Dark Humor","Deadpan","Death","Fiction","Other Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/820"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The following story and introduction focus on compassion. I explore this theme through comedy, specifically dark humor, as a way of talking about some of the darkest times a person can experience and how compassion from others can help in those moments. The main character of the story works as a “chauffer,” a grim reaper-type, escorting the recently deceased into the afterlife. In the project’s critical introduction, I discuss the authors, including J. Robert Lennon and Octavia Butler, who inspired my fiction and shaped my views on dark humor
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