Abstract
The purpose of my thesis is to demonstrate a grasp of the techniques covered in Creative Writing workshops and lectures. The thesis consists of two parts-the critical introduction and the creative body. In the critical introduction, I locate my work within the Modernist literary tradition that has influenced my writing. The importance of this critical introduction should not be underestimated. However, the real test of my understanding lies in the creative body that follows, for there I put to good use the techniques. The creative body is a collection of short stories that captures the dichotomy of the common, yet distinct "encounters'' between the East and the West. This creative text renders the conflict within and among characters having roots in two different cultures. The central consciousness occupies this space between cultures a sort of limbo. All the stories refute such stereotypes of the East as an exotic land of karma and the West as only the hub of commercialism. In this sense, my writing reflects the voice of Indian writers in English. Yet, the collection does not define me as merely an "Indian writer in English.'' The symbolical representation of the human condition, along with the narrative technique adopted in the stories, places my work within the Modernist literary tradition of fragmentation, alienation, and subjective reality--elements that appeal to different audiences through their questioning of identity, security, and conditioned responses to life.
Gupta, Chandralekha (2000). Brown is the color of many things: a collection of short stories. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2000 -THESIS -G86.