As Small As a World
Kumar, Rebecca
Citations
Abstract
This thesis, a compilation of stories, features hurricane survivors of the American south: Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Set in the wake of the major southern hurricanes of the 21st Century thus far β Katrina, Irma, Harvey, and Maria βthe respective characters in this compilation will be forced to confront profound loss, negotiate trauma, forge new and strange relationships, come-of-age, and reconsider what it means to have a home in and around the United States. Each story will be told from a different and unique point of view creating a chorus of southern American voices that rarely receive airtime. As these hurricane-stricken places gentrify, erasing what was, these fantastic lives that illustrate β even celebrate β loss, frustration, and shame in the United States only continue to be ignored. This thesis honors their profound sense of survival.