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Seagull beach

Author

Dona E. Mostafa, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

English

First Advisor

Camille Norton

First Committee Member

Robert Cox

Second Committee Member

John Seaman

Third Committee Member

Davis S. Fries

Abstract

Seagull Beach is a creative work about a woman who moves to a seaside town. While there, she is befriended by an artist and volunteers at the aquarium. The woman, Shell, becomes involved in a mystery involving drug smuggling and murder. Shell and her friend, Linda, solve the mystery through a series of unexpected events. Chapter one establishes Shell in Seagull Beach and introduces Linda. The plot begins with a mutilated dolphin on the beach and the appearance of a bald-headed man. Chapter two takes the reader into the aquarium and expands the cast of characters. The plot is further developed during a party scene when an angry exchange is overheard by Shell. The plot thickens, in chapter three, with the meeting of three men in an all night cafe. Later on, Shell sees a picture of the mysterious bald-headed man, in the local newspaper. Chapter three ends with the discovery of Roger's body. Chapter four has Shell and Linda trying to make some sense of Roger's death. Shell receives Roger's diary on the afternoon of his funeral. Chapter five is an important chapter for this work. It is here that we get a glimpse of a drug encounter that sets up the following scene between the drug smugglers. The use of dolphins as drug runners is also established. In the final two scenes, Shell's RV is ransacked, and the man who killed the dolphin is also killed. The suspense heightens in chapter six as Shell and Linda break into Roger's office. Shell later sees the drug delivery take place and has a confrontation as she walks across a dark parking lot. The work ends with an unexpected revelation and a conversation between Shell and Linda.

Pages

76

Recommended Citation

Mostafa, Dona E.. (1996). Seagull beach. University of the Pacific, Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2295