Document Type
Paper
Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
Undertow by Charlene Edge and Uncultured by Daniella Mestanyek Young each document the rise and fall of a religious cult—The Way International and The Children of God, respectively—and the authors’ personal experiences with cult indoctrination. Both works discuss cult leaders’ use of psychologically manipulative language to strip members’ agency and individuality, and both works demonstrate how Edge and Young reclaimed their sense of self by processing their experiences in writing. An examination of their memoirs supplemented by selections from Emily Dickinson’s poetry reveals the power of words to destroy and create, to be used by cult leaders to obliterate the identities of their followers and by those who have emerged from a cult to painstakingly rebuild that identity.
Recommended Citation
Notes
Course: ENG 493, Senior Capstone (Dr. Lorne Mook)