Nihilism and Existentialism in Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing
Cormac McCarthy's second book in The Border Trilogy offers an impressive array of worldviews all competing together in the larger narrative framework of the novel. These are not only expressed through the life of the protagonist Billy Parham and his brother Boyd, but also in the narratives of the many people they encounter on their horseback journeys through the hot desert sands of Mexico. Critic Robert L. Jarrett, associate professor of English at the University of Houston-Downtown, suggests the same in Cormac McCarthy, noting that "Despite the claims of the ex-priest [in The Crossing] that all men's tales are one, such visions or tales are individual, highly particularized, hence the necessity for the interpolated tales, each containing a unique vision of the world" (147). He goes on to suggest that "The McCarthy novel is not only stylistically divided in its narration and in its inclusion of regional and professional dialects, but it is also divided among contradictory ideological, philosophical, and ethical visions that resist easy integration into a unified ideology by readers or critics" (Jarrett, 147). In my own reading of The Crossing, however, I propose that a compelling case can be built for an overarching view of existentialism-if not its marriage to the dark-skinned nihilism-under the watchful and perhaps complacent eye of God as the Unknowable, Impersonal Absolute: the "wholly" Other.
The minute the word nihilism is introduced into the topic of discussion, visions of actively participating in the tearing down of creeds and the intentional destruction of all moral, philosophical, and religious values present themselves to the mind. Nihilism to many ...
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...pp. 31-41. DISCovering Authors. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Discovering Collection. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group. October, 2001. Accessed: July 27, 2003. http://www.galenet.com/servlet/DC/.
Jarrett, Robert L. Cormac McCarthy. New York: Twain Publishers, 1997.
McCarthy, Cormac. The Crossing. New York, Knopf: 1994.
Pratt, Alan. "Nihilism." The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed: July 27, 2003. http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/n/nihilism.htm.
Priola, Marty. "The Textual McCarthy I: 'Christian' readings of the novels." The Cormac McCarthy Home Pages. Accessed: July 27, 2003. http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/archives/textual.htm. (Note: Link no longer valid as of January 06, 2004.)
Wyatt, Christopher Scott. "Existentialism: An Introduction." Christopher Scott Wyatt. Accessed: July 27, 2003. http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/exist.html.
Some works show their true colors right away. Gene Edward Veith’s book, Reading Between The Lines, addresses philosophical ideas, literary sub genres, and reader criticisms in order to ascertain a Christian’s role in literature. He also goes through various historical periods and examines their more prominent works and schools of thought. While a select few of his conclusions about Christianity in relation to the arts have merit, others contain more damaging implications. Specifically, his statements regarding television represent inaccurate and offensive thinking.
In Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Crossing, there is a dramatic sequence described by the narrator. The author uses many different techniques to convey the impact of the experience on the narrator. Some of these such techniques are: repetition, diction, and simile.
In Borderlands, the realities of what happens by the border instill the true terror that people face every day. They are unable to escape and trapped in a tragic situation. After reading my three classmates’ papers, I was able to learn a lot more about this piece than I originally encountered just on my own. I was able to read this piece in a completely new light and expand on ideas that I did not even think of.
Schopen, Bernard A. "'They Rode On': Blood Meridian and the Art of Narrative." Western American Literature 30.2 (Summer 1995): 179-194. Rpt. inContemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 204. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 May 2014.
Cormac McCarthy's brilliant descriptions of the landscape of the desert southwest in Blood Meridian can be seen to have a dual purpose. In one sense they are the lone highlight of a novel filled with gruesome realities. In analyzing the setting's features and connections to the novel's plot and theme, the reader can see that the setting is an element vital in plausibility of the plot and the understanding of the novel's underlying meaning.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
McCarthy’s use of biblical allusions help to create a setting in which all the characters have more complex parts to play than what it seems like at first glance. The allusions also create the tone, which is somber, and almost dream like. The protagonist had his “palms up” while sleeping, which could mean that he fell asleep as he was praying, or in other words pleading. Yet when he woke up “it was still dark”, this creates a hopeless ton because even after all of the begging, the world he woke up to was a dark one. When the wolf dies, the protagonist imagines her “running in the mountains” with different
It is often that people consider Filippo Brunelleschi as the most established and influential Architect during the Renaissance era. For others, making a simple mistake of giving him credit for the design and build of the entire Florence cathedral instead of the dome itself. It’s certain that Brunelleschi complete the great dome, but what if the dome was unsuccessful and the classical information was lost. Brunelleschi in this situation couldn’t solve the problem without the research on classical Rome architecture to help him out, for example, harmonious form, mathematical proportion, and unit of measurement based on the human scale. For instance, if all the elements of the ancient information were lost forever, and to never see again. Just picture the Santa Maria De Fiore without a dome structure. The greatest accomplishments in engineering history and form to never exist. This drawing is a drawing is a depiction of that reality being presented. The unfortunate part about this, it was true for Florence to experience a dome-less cathedral in any type of weather before the contest for a commission that Brunelleschi won. During the time, many centuries ago Florence, Italy was a city of visionaries like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo flourished here in an atmosphere that celebrated imagination and innovation. Florence was very big on outshining the competition with visible landmark. The decision on picking the cathedral was simple because of the embarrassment of a big whole open in the structure that couldn’t be done.
Filippo Brunelleschi, who was know as something of a genius, and had worked in gold, painting, metal, sculpture, and other mediums, responded to the call for designs with a unique dome that would be a dome inside of a dome. The design was radical and beautiful, and was chosen by the town fathers.
"Overview of John (Anthony) Burgess Wilson." DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
... 1959; Nagel, 1971). Some are able to bear the burden of absurdity. Others still feel “that nostalgia for unity, that appetite for the absolute illustrates the essential impulse of the human drama” (Camus, 1955). If scientific discovery can be used as a barometer for the zeitgeist of any particular moment, then the struggle between science and creationism is an indicator of a shifting paradigm. Science is alienating those who need a greater purpose and meaning in life. The threat is a personal one. To teach creationism is not only an infringement on religious freedom, it is also the promotion of intolerance and an advocacy for being afraid of existence. Religion is always there for those who need it. Science is there for those dedicated to truth and knowledge and are comfortable with facing the painful, anxiety-producing endeavor of exploring the unknown.
Considerable care and effort are needed to help students understand the difference between the methodology of science, with its naturalistic operational assumptions, and the naturalism as a worldview. (Anderson 89)Schools should not neglect teaching creationism when students are able to benefit from being informed about both beliefs of evolution and creationism. It is relevant as long as religious views are not infringed upon them.
In this analysis, we will be looking at just how Flannery O'Connor accomplished this seemingly impossible task, non-didactic Christian fiction, by examining elements of faith, elements of style, and thematic elements in her writing. While secondary sources are included for perspective, I have focused primarily upon Miss O'Connor's own essays and speeches in my examination of the writer's motivations, attitudes, and technique, most of which are contained in the posthumous collection Mystery and Manners. Unlike some more cryptic writers, O'Connor was happy to discuss the conceptual and philosophical underpinnings of her stories, and this candor is a godsend for the researcher that seeks to know what "makes the writer tick."
Moore, Randy and Jay Hatch and Murray Jensen. “Twenty Questions: What Have the Courts Said about the Teaching of Evolution and Creationism in Public Schools?” Bioscience August 2003: EBSCOhost, Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 29 September 2004
The place of evolution in public schools is embedded in the cultural conflicts of American politics. This debate has been the center of the "culture wars" since the Scopes trial in the 1920s and remains to be a point of contention today. A 2005 poll reports that 38% of Americans would prefer teaching creationism instead of evolution, so divide is clearly significant (Berkman 485). The issue continues to spark questions of what "common" means in the context of separation of church and state. To the extent that evolution is similar to other "morality policies," the battle has symbolic meaning for the mass public as well as strong implications for the power of science as a "social institution" (486). The trouble with the battle between secularists and creationists today is that it is often seen as a divide between religion and science. Failing to acknowledge any validity in the creationist argument reveals ignorance and further polarizes the nation. At the surface level, separation of church and state is simple enough: remove creationism entirely from public schools to avoid conflict. However, the moral implications are far deeper.