English Honors Theses

Date of Creation

5-4-2021

Document Type

Departmental Honors Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Oliver de la Paz

Second Advisor

Susan Elizabeth Sweeney

Abstract

In Voices of the Wandering, Grace Manning explores the concept of belonging through the disconnect that exists when one’s home isn’t defined by structure or established in childhood, but rather a by constantly changing and evolving ideal. Manning’s speaker draws inspiration and comfort from others who are living between countries and continents, using their voices and emotions to try and understand her own. South and West African experiences investigate the confusion and suffering that is colonialism, from blame, to hurt, to lifelong guilt, she introduces the perspectives of those on either side of the racial wall built during Apartheid. Using French to highlight language as a factor that has the power both to unite and to ostracize, the speaker ultimately allows for a duality of identity, intrinsic to a nomadic lifestyle. From the heat and surprise of Cameroon, to a France rocked by violence, to the wild Ireland of her childhood, Manning introduces a self that is shaped by an expatriate, and by a transient, existence.

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