This project is a wordless children's book about an excluded child with autism who, with the help of a cat, learns to make friends and be happy with who she is. The book is illustrated with water color and acrylic paints and is based on my experiences with autism. The goals for this project were to create representation for autistic people and to give something to younger autistic children to practice their communication. The essay portion of the project details the creation of the project, my inspirations, the research that has been done on how autistic children interact with storytelling and other non written communication, and a reflection on how the project went.

In this project, I will study how the Disney corporation altered the story Rapunzel and how those changes interact and are influenced by culture and time. The story is indicative of the time and culture that produced it, but it has been reproduced many times and in many cultures. I will compare the original Grimm Brothers' Rapunzel (1812) and the popular Disney film Tangled (2010). This project will be divided into two main parts to address these two distinct iterations of the story. In the first section, I will focus on this form of media's background information and relevance. In the second part, I will address the specific differences between the versions and their relevance. I will discuss the restraints and limitations of my research as well as possible future related research. I will establish the importance and value of fairy and folk tales as well as their widespread reciprocal impact. I will compare the effects of media in general on a population with a hypothesized impact of fairy and folktales. Furthermore, through all of this, I will critique the changes made by Disney.

Cain's Jawbone is a puzzle book written in 1936, detailing 6 murders in 100 pages. However, it is up to the reader to not only figure out who kills who, but also what order the events happen in. With multiple narrators- none explicitly named- it is a seemingly impossible task. In the 90 years since publishing, only 3 people have successfully solved it. A contest started in 2018 to see who could solve it by December of 2022- the winner receives a cash prize of $350. This thesis will detail my process of solving the book, as well as (part) of my proposed solution. In the spirit of fairness for the competition, I will not submit my proposed page order- but I will go into great detail of what I believe happens, as well as who murders who.

This creative project is a short story in the Gothic genre followed by an explanation of certain literary elements and decisions. The Gothic genre often explores supernatural and uncomfortable topics that can challenge the reader’s perception and understanding of the world. Through this means of storytelling, authors are given the opportunity to connect the supernatural with complex and sensitive topics that may be difficult or even taboo to speak about in certain locations and time periods. In this thesis, I embrace the traditions of the Gothic-genre with a story that focuses on the issues prevalent today. The years 2020 and 2021 have been unprecedented times for humanity. Technology continues to grow at an alarming rate, suicide rates of young people have been on the rise for years, and a global pandemic has people adapting to all new ways of living. During these ever changing times, it is the Gothic that may provide guidance through these uncertainties by shedding light on the problems that will plague humanity both today and tomorrow. The story follows an outcast from society who aids in the creation of a divine monster, and the consequences that follow.

For my project, I delve into the relationships of Victor and the Monster as well as the relationships Victor shares with other characters that were underdeveloped within the original novel by Mary Shelley in the novel Franeknstein. I examine their relationships in two components. The first through my own interpretation of Victor and the Monster’s relationship within a creative writing piece that extends the novel as if Victor had lived rather than died in the arctic in order to explore the possibilities of a more complex set of relationships between Victor and the Monster than simply creator-creation. My writing focuses on the development of their relationship once all they have left is each other. The second part of my project focuses on an analytical component. I analyze and cite the reasoning for my creative take on Victor and the Monster as well as their relationship within the novel and Mary Shelley’s intentions.

500 Days of Summer, released in 2009 and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, is an American film told through the perspective of Tom Hansen, the male lead. It is a story that begins with a third-person narrator, explaining that “This is a story of boy meets girl.” The narration then finishes with a warning that “you should know up front, this is not a love story” (Neustadter & Weber, 2009). As the movie continues, however, it becomes increasingly challenging to believe this warning. Tom sees Summer Finn, falls in love, and their relationship ends with him broken-hearted. It is only natural for the audience to view it as a story of Tom’s failed love, and without a deeper analysis, to perceive Summer as the antagonist. <br/> This tendency to view the movie as a love story motivated me to question why the discrepancy between the beginning narration and the common audience perception occurs. My thesis addresses this discrepancy by focusing on the idea that the natural gravitation towards the belief that 500 Days of Summer is a love story exists due to the unreliable narration given by Tom Hansen throughout the movie. I wrote three songs, an interlude, a duet, and a solo, based on the themes and lead characters of the movie to help validate the warning provided in the beginning and provide a deeper insight into Summer’s version of the story.