University Honors

‘CONVERSATIONS’ is the title of my novella that I created for my UCR Honors capstone. The novella features five different chapters and one epilogue which spans across seventy-seven pages. Throughout these five chapters and epilogue the reader follows the journey of two main characters; Paul and Mick. The novella is written in a third-person omnipresent perspective. This third-person omnipresent narrative structure allows for perspective shifts between characters' thoughts, their speech, and the environment around them. Although Paul and Mick are the two protagonists they aren’t the only characters whose thoughts and pasts are explored throughout the novella. The first five chapters take place throughout the course of the same night. The perspectives switch between Paul and Mick before the two protagonists finally share a conversation in the final chapter. Paul and Mick cross paths during a difficult time in their lives. They have each lost their wives recently and they are both in pain over their losses. But each character portrays their pain in different ways. Paul processes his pain internally. He is sorrowful about his loss and has a difficult time moving forward in his life. Mick processes his pain externally. He is angry about his loss and blames others for his wife's passing. As the novella progresses the reader learns more and more about how each protagonist plans to deal with their pain. The novella ultimately ends in the two men having a conversation and changing the course of each other's lives.