Earles, ThomasThe stories in this thesis represent a portion of the work I have done during my time as a student in the creative writing program at the University of Maryland. They were ultimately chosen for their thematic links and because they--I feel--best represent the writer I have become over the last three years. Collectively, the stories deal with class, communication, culture, disappointment, displacement, marriage, and maturity, sometimes all in the same story. While each story is meant to stand alone, it is arranged here in a deliberate order, relative to the others, as there is a discernible arc.ThesisFine ArtsAmerican LiteratureModern Literature