Cormac McCarthy,the veteran American writer,is often questioned as being obsessed with darkness and nihility because of the lack of definite redemption in his works.However,if“Border trilogy”,the representative work...Cormac McCarthy,the veteran American writer,is often questioned as being obsessed with darkness and nihility because of the lack of definite redemption in his works.However,if“Border trilogy”,the representative work of his western novels,is put under the framework of postmodern poetics proposed by Linda Hutcheon,it will be found that redemption is hidden in the narrative structure.And the author structures the narration by dual coding strategies,such as parody,paradoxical irony and metafiction to make works conspire with the history and realty while criticize it at the same time.It is the complicitous critique.This symbiotic contradiction makes some accepted ideas problematic and urges the reader to seek justice and redemption in the tension of paradox.Therefore,redemption is coming in seeking.展开更多
The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy＇s own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner＇s writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, w...The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy＇s own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner＇s writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, which is evocative of the name of perhaps the best known Faulkner villain Thomas Sutpen. This supposition in turn leads to an argument that in his 1979 novel McCarthy does indeed reverse the life story of Thomas Sutpen by making Suttree descend down the very path that Sutpen ascended a century and a half before him, i.e., from the ranks of Southern aristocracy to the scum of the earth, and in defiance of the same ideology that Sutpen went to great lengths to embrace. Thus, an intertextual and comparative approach to McCarthy＇s novel not only in the context of Faulkner＇s Absalom, Absalom! but also his Light in August （cf. Joe Christmas） and The Sound and the Fury （cf. Quentin） as well as Ellen Glasgow＇s short story ＂Jordan＇s End＂ demonstrates that what Cormac McCarthy actually does in Suttree is to demythologize the South, complete with its aristocratic pretensions （＂doing pretty＂）, dubious morality （incest） and fear of miscegenation （obsession with time and the double）. Moreover, in doing so, he defamiliarizes it by reducing it to its Other （poor whites and African Americans）, whose authenticity, liveliness and charitability defy the affectation, lifelessness and decadence of the aristocratic South.展开更多
This essay makes a tentative interpretation of Cormac McCarthy＇s novel The Road as an Entwicldungsroman. The growth or personal development of the boy is demonstrated in the following four perspectives, namely, acqui...This essay makes a tentative interpretation of Cormac McCarthy＇s novel The Road as an Entwicldungsroman. The growth or personal development of the boy is demonstrated in the following four perspectives, namely, acquisition of knowledge, learning of survival realities, overcome of fear, and development in ethics. The conclusion is that the boy has indeed made progress in personal development in many aspects, but we are not supposed to overestimate his growth, since he is only a growing boy instead of a mature man, therefore, it is more advisable to deem this novel as an Entwicklungsroman instead of a Bildungsroman.展开更多
Cormac McCarthy is one of the most intelligent and extraordinary writers in American history. No Country for Old Men continues his everlasting theme — violence and brutality. By using Lacan's Phallus theory, this...Cormac McCarthy is one of the most intelligent and extraordinary writers in American history. No Country for Old Men continues his everlasting theme — violence and brutality. By using Lacan's Phallus theory, this paper intends to explore the symbolic meaning of"the bag of money"which runs through the whole story, namely, phallus. The unique characteristic of phallus decides the tragic ending of three protagonists.展开更多
文摘Cormac McCarthy,the veteran American writer,is often questioned as being obsessed with darkness and nihility because of the lack of definite redemption in his works.However,if“Border trilogy”,the representative work of his western novels,is put under the framework of postmodern poetics proposed by Linda Hutcheon,it will be found that redemption is hidden in the narrative structure.And the author structures the narration by dual coding strategies,such as parody,paradoxical irony and metafiction to make works conspire with the history and realty while criticize it at the same time.It is the complicitous critique.This symbiotic contradiction makes some accepted ideas problematic and urges the reader to seek justice and redemption in the tension of paradox.Therefore,redemption is coming in seeking.
文摘The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy＇s own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner＇s writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, which is evocative of the name of perhaps the best known Faulkner villain Thomas Sutpen. This supposition in turn leads to an argument that in his 1979 novel McCarthy does indeed reverse the life story of Thomas Sutpen by making Suttree descend down the very path that Sutpen ascended a century and a half before him, i.e., from the ranks of Southern aristocracy to the scum of the earth, and in defiance of the same ideology that Sutpen went to great lengths to embrace. Thus, an intertextual and comparative approach to McCarthy＇s novel not only in the context of Faulkner＇s Absalom, Absalom! but also his Light in August （cf. Joe Christmas） and The Sound and the Fury （cf. Quentin） as well as Ellen Glasgow＇s short story ＂Jordan＇s End＂ demonstrates that what Cormac McCarthy actually does in Suttree is to demythologize the South, complete with its aristocratic pretensions （＂doing pretty＂）, dubious morality （incest） and fear of miscegenation （obsession with time and the double）. Moreover, in doing so, he defamiliarizes it by reducing it to its Other （poor whites and African Americans）, whose authenticity, liveliness and charitability defy the affectation, lifelessness and decadence of the aristocratic South.
文摘This essay makes a tentative interpretation of Cormac McCarthy＇s novel The Road as an Entwicldungsroman. The growth or personal development of the boy is demonstrated in the following four perspectives, namely, acquisition of knowledge, learning of survival realities, overcome of fear, and development in ethics. The conclusion is that the boy has indeed made progress in personal development in many aspects, but we are not supposed to overestimate his growth, since he is only a growing boy instead of a mature man, therefore, it is more advisable to deem this novel as an Entwicklungsroman instead of a Bildungsroman.
文摘Cormac McCarthy is one of the most intelligent and extraordinary writers in American history. No Country for Old Men continues his everlasting theme — violence and brutality. By using Lacan's Phallus theory, this paper intends to explore the symbolic meaning of"the bag of money"which runs through the whole story, namely, phallus. The unique characteristic of phallus decides the tragic ending of three protagonists.
