Anyman, Everyman

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2011

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature

Advisor

Steven Thomas, English

Abstract

For my Honors Senior Thesis, I chose to do something different than a typical research paper. I instead crafted a creative thesis in the form of a novel, titled Anyman, Everyman. In short, my novel is about an identity thief who tells about his past from his prison cell. The novel brings up many philosophical questions, including questions about morality, criminal behavior, and identity. But my thesis was as much about the finished product as it was about the process of creating the novel. I had to do extensive research on identity theft, which included reading legal statutes, case studies, and studying other novels, films, and TV shows that dealt with identity. Through all of this research, I was able to create a hyper-real novel - a novel that exists on the border of reality and fantasy - and a compelling character. In the end, my novel asks a question that I believe we all struggle with: are we our own person, or just a product of the world around us?

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