Creative Writing Commons^™

Roadside, Lea L. Downing

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Roadside deals with themes of self-discovery, transcendence, and the search for camaraderie in modern America. Many of the stories take place on or adjacent to the road: that eternal path of transience and transformation. Whether metaphorically or literally on the "roadside," many of the characters contained within are marginalized in their own lives and communities. It is through their grasping and searching for greater meaning in their lives that they come to gain understanding of their places in the world.