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Thesis
LEOPOLD'S GROCERY MART THEORY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
University of West Florida
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2014
Abstract
"Leopold's Grocery Mart Theory of Human Existence" begins with a grocery store manager interviewing a young woman for a cashier position, and the story unfolds as a philosophical inquiry into the nature of grief. The story's title character, Leopold, once an academic, obsessively returns to questions of free will and choice and their relationship to a predestined life. His own experience with tragedy distorts his philosophy, which, while absurdist, still echoes the concerns of Western culture today. While Leopold's story unfolds, so too does that of the young woman, Savannah, whose needs and concerns are immediate, even prosaic, by comparison. The two main characters' differences in age, education, and experience also inform the plot arch. Leopold's personal story comes from the past and moves to the present, while Savannah's starts at the present and moves towards an uncertain future; Leopold has lost a child, and Savannah is pregnant with a child she does not want. The characters' unlikely involvement troubles the story's philosophical undertones, ultimately rejecting any single moral imperative.
Details
- Title
- LEOPOLD'S GROCERY MART THEORY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Identifiers
- 99380090732206600
- Academic Unit
- English
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida