Dead End Drive
Date
2016-06-16
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Publisher
MFA in Creative Writing, The University of Tampa
Abstract
Dead End Drive examines the human condition through the persuasive tools of
desire, greed, and desperation. The main character, Kelly, discovers that some people are
willing to trade anything if it means exalting themselves and that some find a particular
pleasure in watching others suffer while they gain.
The novel uses comedy to demoralize readers and reduce the severity of the
murder that takes place in the story. By removing the criminality of the actions, the
narrator questions the reader’s morality and draws them into a sense of normalcy and
madness. It thrusts readers into a position where martyring others is not only seen as
ordinary, but it’s turned into a playful sport. The setting also plays a major role in
establishing the major theme of the novel: In order to move forward, something must be
lost. Dead End Drive takes place in a Louisiana plantation placed built on a swamp that
devours the surrounding life in order to thrive.
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Keywords
Novel, Morality, Comedy, Louisiana