Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Semester of Degree Completion
1989
Thesis Director
David Carpenter
Abstract
Mainlining is a collection of six original stories and a prose foreword. The six stories, each of which can stand on its own but when read together form a unified whole, divide into two sections. The first section introduces three main characters, and the second section details the various fortunes (and misfortunes) of these three main characters and additionally introduces a wide range of secondary characters. When analyzed as a group, these characters provide some insight into the collective experiences and emotions of the people living in Mainlining's fictional community of Lincoln.
Lincoln is a small city bearing more than a little resemblance to certain existing "rust-belt" areas found throughout the Midwest. The stories in Mainlining sketch a broad overview of the social, economic, and psychological pressures affecting the residents of a declining region, thus echoing the work of selected "regional" authors (for example, William Faulkner).
Mainlining's prose foreword briefly mentions some of the literary influences that have helped shape the stories in this collection. The foreword clarifies the creative link between these stories and the inspirations given by authors such as Bret Harte, Stephen Crane, Mark Twain, Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Ken Kesey.
The first section, Origins, presents a teenager, known only as Jeff, as he is seen through the eyes of his closest friend, Scott Richards. The young Jeff, who will appear as an adult in later stories in the collection, is characterized by his fascination with death, which quickly grows into an obsession overshadowing the more traditional and "acceptable" concerns facing American teenagers. The progress of Jeff's obsession is watched by Jeff's puzzled friend, Scott. Scott is reserved, quiet: too afraid to let a girl named Doreen know he is interested in her. Jeff refuses to let Scott passively observe anymore and tries to shock him out of his reticence by, as Jeff calls it, "taking him along for the ride." What happens to Jeff and Scott during this time is told in the story "Roadkill," which comprises the first section.
The second section, Destinies, relates the events of approximately six years later in the lives of Jeff, Scott, and Doreen. The first story in Destinies, entitled "Starlet," takes place on the night when Doreen, former girlfriend of both Jeff and Scott, meets a human predator who specializes in small-town girls working in isolated bars. The second story, "Fishing," centers around Detective Williams, a cop in the process of losing his perspective and who regains it through an investigation involving Doreen and Jeff. The third story, "New Semester," tells what happens when Scott comes back to Lincoln and renews his neglected friendship with Jeff. "Connection" is the next story, which describes one woman's wish that Jeff and Scott represent relief from Lincoln's dismal choices for existence. The last story in the collection, "The Toast," is Scott's goodbye to his friend Jeff.
The tone of the stories in this second section is one of resignation. The characters involved are fully aware of their limited options, and the ways in which they select their options form the interest of the stories.
Recommended Citation
Simpson, Philip L., "Mainlining" (1989). Masters Theses. 2413.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2413
