Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Schizophrenia--Case studies; Family violence--Case studies; Child abuse--Case studies; Child abuse; Family violence; Schizophrenia; Case studies;
Abstract
"Voices in the Fire" is a memoir which culminates three main themes: child abuse, mental illness, and Asian American identity. The theme of child abuse deals with domestic violence suffered at the hands of an alcoholic father, my mother withstanding the deliberate beatings, standing in my place so I could be saved. The child abuse influences later patterns of my adult mental condition, causing self-repudiation of Asian American heritage. In the memoir, I seek out counseling at the suggestion of a friend. I feel unstable and uncertain about what's happening around me. When I go to the mental health center, the counselor calls a nurse, and he drives me to the John Pappajohn wing of the hospital. There, I'm incarcerated for nearly two months until the treatment takes hold and I am released. The theme of mental illness is evident throughout the work, affecting thoughts and actions. It is a manifestation of auditory and visual hallucinations, the reason I wound up in the hospital. To stave off the hallucinatory voices, I finger a pocket-sized mirror, a talisman to get me through the difficult journey. My mother had given me a Shinto mirror to protect me, to keep me out of harm's way so that, when my father returned after his drunk-driving arrests, I wouldn't be so afraid. It is a focal point of Asian American identity, parental abuse, and mental illness, where three worlds collide.
Year of Submission
1999
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of English Language and Literature
First Advisor
Vince Gotera
Second Advisor
Grant Tracey
Third Advisor
Paul Siddens
Date Original
1999
Object Description
1 PDF file (8 leaves)
Copyright
©1999 James Harrold
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Harrold, James, "Voices in the Fire" (1999). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2850.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2850
Comments
The creative work referenced in this graduate thesis, consisting of pages iv-118, currently is not being made available in electronic format through UNI ScholarWorks.
If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.