Nor can those instruments exist outside their own history” (287). As one of his characters reminds us in Cities of the Plains: “The story of the world, which is all the world we know, does not exist outside of the instruments of its execution. It would be quite impossible to argue that McCarthy has completely left behind his role as revisionist historian and novelist of the American West, but it would be equally misleading to posit that that role has not been somehow altered by circumstances that have so deeply affected the nation as a whole. To put it briefly, it is my intention in the following pages to examine how these two interests are brought together in his latest novel, since it is quite unlikely that his recent work has remained unaffected by such key historical events as the 9/11 terrorist attack or the ensuing “wars on terror.”ġThe object of this article is to establish how new factors in the experience of contemporary America such as hegemonic ambitions and global fear may have left a profound imprint on the fiction of an author so far mostly associated with a concrete regional tradition (see Wallach). According to Brewton, “to understand how the works display this influence requires situating McCarthy’s novels afresh in the historical contexts” (122). For others, on the other hand, McCarthy’s work has always been closely connected with compelling contemporary affairs that inevitably influence both his artistic production and our outlook on that reality. Hence, it is not surprising that several scholars should uphold the opinion that he writes novels which, although referring us to quite definite historical moments of the region’s past, convey a sense of estrangement and self-absorption not easy to deal with (Eddins). As a result of the swiftness with which the author moves from the aesthetics of naturalistic representation to a post-structuralist challenge of the narratives on which the culture of the American West has rested, the reader cannot be sure of where the boundaries of the interpretative task lie. There is little doubt that behind the apparent crudity of McCarthy’s fictional representations, one comes across all kinds of enigmatic parables and philosophical depths that problematize their status as mere re-renderings of the elements of violence and death that have characterized the genre (Slotkin Giles). Introductionĭespite repeated claims that Cormac McCarthy’s fiction is best studied as part of the literary tradition of the American Southwest, some recent criticism (Messent Rothfork) has shown that in fact his engagement with the themes and myths of the region is far more complex than it may initially seem. If the version of history given in these texts remains largely consistent and resists the cultural norm, their treatment of other Western motifs is peculiarly double-edged. I suggest that the tensions, complications, revisions and interrogations that McCarthy brings to his generic base constitute something of an endorsement of, but more of a challenge to, traditional American values and beliefs. 1 The research carried out for the writing of this essay is part of a research project financed by (.).
Still, the second half of the article reveals that, despite all these departures from his previous aesthetics and philosophical wanderings, there are also a number of elements in The Road that speak of his commitment to some values and myths that have contributed to his reputation and fame.
The denouement of the story also strikes those familiar with his fiction as unusual. In spite of his deadpan naturalism and rather laconic language use, the author manages to keep his readers on their toes thanks to the novel’s much accomplished suspense concerning the fate of the two protagonists.
By comparing The Road to some of his earlier fiction, the article attempts to establish where those elements of discontinuity become most apparent. Most likely influenced by some recent events that have deeply shaken the country and others affecting his personal life, McCarthy can be seen to abandon the landscapes and vernacular rhythms that had become the staple of his artistic performance. Apart from the fact that the Rhode Island-born writer embarks for a first time in his long career on a popular sci-fi sub-genre such as the post-apocalyptic novel, the book exhibits a number of thematic, structural, and stylistic patterns which differ quite radically from those found in his earlier novels. This article argues that Cormac McCarthy’s latest novel, The Road (2006), marks a clear departure from the interests and aesthetics he showed in his earlier works of fiction.
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