Alderman, Rodney L. "Hell in spectacles": Cormac McCarthy's characterization of evil. 2006. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
Cormac McCarthy uses his thought-provoking linguistic structure to question good and evil and how such binary opposites can influence the lives and actions of several characters in his novels. Specifically, I examine one of McCarthy's Appalachian works, Child of God, and two of his "Western" works- Blood Meridian and No Country for Old Men-to assess how McCarthy skillfully intertwines good and evil in many of his protagonists. I further examine how McCarthy uses violence and depravity to challenge readers to examine moral issues that reside in the characters as well as within themselves. McCarthy carefully constructs his evil characters to perform unspeakable acts of depravity while remaining valid characters whose presence still carries a literary and a human message as well. Far from being tales of redemption, McCarthy uses his protagonists' suffering to tell "moral parables." In such parables, the individual's quest for meaning and goodness can be attained through experiencing the harshness of the violence and evil present in modem society.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PS American literature |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of English (defunct, 2024) |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Feb 2026 16:05 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Feb 2026 16:05 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/1315 |
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