Student Scholarship
Document Type
Research Paper
Abstract
The Honors Project titled World of Rain by Patricia Underwood, dated May 1, 1951, represents a dual-mode creative and analytical study of the short story form. While the author originally intended to pursue a more critical academic path, the final project focuses primarily on the practice of creative writing, supplemented by two critical essays. The title is derived from the first story in the collection and serves as a metaphor for the private internal worlds individuals create for themselves. The creative portion of the project includes a series of original stories such as The World of Rain, Lydia Laughs, Out in the Hall, and Broken Pieces, which explore themes of childhood perception, social performance, domestic isolation, and the search for personal identity.
In the analytical section, the author provides a comparative study of the writing styles and thematic preoccupations of Katherine Mansfield and Dorothy Parker. The Mansfield essay highlights her ability to use delicate, precise imagery and sustained moods to reveal the internal lives of her characters, often resulting in stories of poignant tragedy. Conversely, the study of Dorothy Parker focuses on her use of irony, biting humor, and the stream of consciousness technique to expose the pretentions and cruelties of her subjects. The author concludes that while both writers excel in characterization, Mansfield offers a more balanced view of humanity compared to Parker's more cynical, one-sided exposures. Supported by a bibliography of reference texts on the craft of writing and collections of modern fiction, the project serves as both a demonstration of creative proficiency and a formal evaluation of the short story as a literary medium.
Research Highlights
The Problem: The author addresses the challenge of expressing personal conviction and original thought through the creative medium of the short story and critical literary analysis.
The Method: This honors project consists of a collection of original short stories and two comparative critical studies of works by Katherine Mansfield and Dorothy Parker.
Qualitative Finding: The original stories explore diverse themes such as childhood perception of familial changes, social dynamics at formal gatherings, and the psychological impact of status and isolation; comparative critical analysis determines that Katherine Mansfield reveals real beauty through compassion and sensitive mind-seizing, whereas Dorothy Parker utilizes irony and a "merciless pen" to expose ungrateful and cruel human behaviors.
Publication Date
5-1951
Recommended Citation
Underwood, Patricia, "World of Rain" (1951). Student Scholarship. 147.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/student-research-papers/147
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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