Type of Document	Thesis
Author	McKelvy, Ashley
URN	etd-04082005-151537
Title	Laugher and Hope and a Sock in the Eye
Degree	Master of Arts
Department	English, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Ned Stuckey-French Committee Co-Chair Virgil Suarez Committee Co-Chair Dr. Leigh Edwards Committee Member
Keywords	Creative Non-fiction Essay
Date of Defense	2005-03-18
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract In this collection of essays, I am looking at a young woman trying to find direction and decide what kind of woman she will be. Growing up, I have often felt like a woman of contradictions. I wanted to be tough, but not so tough that I was no longer “pretty.” I was proud of being independent, but afraid of ending up alone. I wanted to travel the world as much as I wanted to find a place to call home. I began to see myself as a composite of gestures: The kind of girl who bought Gin and Tonic cologne. A girl who stole a book of Leonard Nimoy’s poetry, danced on a pole she helped build in her living room, wished her life was an Aaron Sorkin script, hated Italian men but loved Italian Americans, and a girl who was as uncomfortable with her desire to date a nice guy as she was with her inability to find one. My one reservation about writing personal essays is that it feels a little self-indulgent. I don’t think these stories are important simply because they are about me. Arkansans don’t often tell people how fabulous and special they are; we leave that to Texans. If anything, I think these stories are worth telling because they deal with being a young woman finding out what she is capable of and who she wants to become. These essays focus on the struggle to find a balance between child and adult, girl and woman, observer and participant, naughty and nice, which I think many women struggle with. Also, there will be jokes. No one dies in these essays. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t typically write that kind of essay. Just as I had to find a balance in the extremes of my personality, I also seek to find the right mix of comedy and drama. Ultimately, I think humor works best when it has aspects of seriousness and there is something at stake. During the process of writing this thesis, I’ve read a lot more non-fiction in the form of essays, memoirs, and a book about corpses. My main influences remain Sarah Vowell and David Sedaris, not only for their use of humor but also for their conversational tone. I also read quite a bit of Dorothy Parker in college, and I still admire her ability to combine angst and venom in delightful heroic couplets. As a film and tv junkie, I am also looking at British comedies and American dramadies, which I think blend the elements of comedy and tragedy into something that is entertaining but also has a sense of purpose. I’m looking to curve out a niche somewhere between The Full Monty and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I hope you laugh, Ashley McKelvy
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