Everywhere Teeth: A Collection Of Animal Stories

Abstract

Since the earliest recorded days of human existence, from early cave paintings to today's children's cartoons and bestselling novels, our narratives have prominently featured animals living alongside humans. Just as their presence in the world has shaped the human experience, their presence in our creative narratives shapes the experience of the human characters with whom they share these stories. They may be portrayed as fearsome adversaries, or loyal companions, or so anthropomorphized that they may as well be humans themselves. Yet regardless of how they are characterized, our inclusion of animals in creative narratives is reflective of the relationships we have with nonhuman creatures, and of the human condition and imagination as a whole. This thesis takes the form of a collection of short stories, each featuring animal characters living alongside human ones. The species represented and the degree to which the animal characters feature will vary from story to story, but each will examine the different relationships that the human characters have with the animals in their lives. In each story, the human characters will experience personal character growth that is related to--or even caused by--their affinity for the animals to whom they are close. In this way, each story will demonstrate the idea that people's relationships with animals speak to their character as humans, and can even engender growth and maturation under certain conditions.