Date of Award

1-1-2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Abstract

This novel, primarily set in North Dakota, explores the complexities of several relationships, including strengths and limitations within them. Central to these is the growing cultural practice of sport as religion. In many ways, our culture has shifted from [sic] churchgoing one to one that is drawn, in an ever-increasing way, to sport as a religion, one in which "the Sunday game" replaces traditional worship. The elements of worship, however, are still present and entered into, often in large arenas, by devotees. Another theme is the element of departure. Can one leave and then come home again, as Thomas Wolfe once wondered? Is home even the same construct once one has left it? If one changes, does the place called "home" change also? Finally, throughout the journeys one takes in life, who (or what) is it that never abandons us, even if we might wish it would? Can one define the presence (it or them?) or is it merely sediment sinking to the bottom of one's mind? These are the concerns this novel sets in dramatic form

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