ENG555: Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy once wrote, "If it doesn't concern life and death, it's not interesting." Not surprisingly, his novels abandon the domestic in favor of the epic. They explore the inevitability of conflict, the nature of evil and our propensity for violence. His characters meet civilization at its margins - in the backwoods of Appalachia or the desolate spaces of the Southwest. McCarthy takes on American myths of rural tranquility or the West as a land of hope and opportunity, examining instead the warping effects of poverty and isolation, and the barbarity of westward expansion. Blood Meridian's demonic villain, the Judge, declares that war is the "ultimate trade" and man its "ultimate practitioner." McCarthy's stories leave us to consider whether the Judge was right, or if redemption is possible in spite of our nature and history. Readings may include Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men and The Orchard Keeper, among others. Writing assignments will include analytical and creative papers.