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Violence in literature
Violence in mid 20th century literature
Violence in literature
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In the article The Changing Landscape of Violence in Cormac McCarthy’s Early Novels and the Border Trilogy. by Vince Brewton, the author explains the effects of violence and the cultural context in which the work was written on the novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Brewton points out the McCarthy experienced two wars during the writing of his early work and the Border Trilogy, the Vietnam and the Gulf War respectively. These events greatly affected McCarthy’s “aesthetic of violence”. The author remarks that the violence in the early works of McCarthy is random and most likely going to happen again. This is contrasted with the violence of the Trilogy, which represents a thematic element in the story and is high point of tension.
Brewton also notes what he sees as formal and informal violence, the former being controlled by rules and the other being random or senseless.
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
McCarthy laments the “swiftness of the tempo of communist victories and American defeats” (McCarthy, 2) in the progression of war. By contrasting the victories of the communists and defeats of the Americans, McCarthy presents the American audience with knowledge of an aggressor challenging traditional American superiority and thus far succeeding, thereby eliciting feelings of shared scorn for the perceived lower-class belligerents, the communists, and generating unified sympathy and nationalism behind their own countrymen. Further juxtaposition is used by McCarthy to express the nature of the internal communist infiltrators in America. He describes the “ones who have been the worst [traitors]” (2) as being “bright young men who are born with silver spoons in their mouths” (2). McCarthy appeals to the everyman in America, instilling feelings of disdain for the elite bourgeoisie who have seemed to leech their nation of resources and then turned on a whim to become communist traitors to their own great nation. Further juxtaposition of this bourgeoisie element to its unexpected downfall to communism
McCarthy, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. The Border Trilogy ed. Vol. 1. New York: Vintage International, 1993. Print. "He opened the knife quietly against his leg and his belt... John Grady held the spoon in his left hand and gripped the tray. The boy came opposite of him. He passed. John Grady watched him with a lowered gaze. When the boy reached the end of the table he suddenly turned and sliced the tray at his head." (pg.
Cormac McCarthy’s novel All The Pretty Horses depicts the constant search for justice in a world plagued with injustice. John Grady, while never given the justice owed to him, never gives up on his search for a place wherein he can find justice. Through John Grady’s experiences we can more clearly view the idea that, even though you may never find justice in the world sometimes it’s more important to focus on your quest for justice than your outcome.
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, is an incredulous story with no happy ending, where no one attains what they were attempting to achieve in the end. The story begins with a flat tone, but eventually grows to be suspenseful .[It] is set in a world of comparative [regularity], which is not to say it is any less dominated by evil ,any more controlled by rationality , logic or a divine purpose, than that of its predecessors.”(McCarthy) John and Rawlins are seventeen year olds, who have left their hometown to seek a better life,but what John doesn't know is that things will only turn for the worse. Both individuals come across a boy named Blevins ,who will be a very important character throughout the novel. As the story progresses, John will be faced with many poisonous encounters . John will face evil and evil will face him in the wake of the resurfacing of the heinous crimes that Blevins has committed, which leads them to being arrested and tortured atrociously. From having everything he will go to having nothing. Nothing.. This was
In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy reveals the limitations of a romantic ideology in the real world. Through his protagonist, John Grady Cole, the author offers three main examples of a man’s attempt to live a romantic life in the face of hostile reality: a failed relationship with an unattainable woman; a romantic and outdated relationship with nature; and an idealistic decision to live as an old-fashioned cowboy in an increasingly modern world. In his compassionate description of John Grady, McCarthy seems to endorse these romantic ideals. At the same time, the author makes clear the harsh reality and disappointments of John Grady’s chosen way of life.
In All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy uses blood as a unifying concept allowing it to flow within the body of the text; the reader gets a sense that the novel is giving life to someone while simultaneously bringing upon its death. The reality of John Grady exists within the use of blood, connecting his life to the natural beauty and animals through which his character emerges. Blood is essential for the human race; we need it to live, once having bled we learn and if we lose it all, we die. Nonetheless, blood associates us to the world around us; its flow so similar to the flowing waters, its color so alive and “nothing can be proven except that it is made bleed.” (p.230)
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
Depression has a major effect on a person life. The accumulation of hidden emotion could cause difficulty in life. The consequences could be irrational thinking, suffering in ceased emotion or lead to a total disaster. In “Horses of the night” by Margaret Laurence and “ Paul’s case” by Willa Cather, both authors introduce the concept of depression. Although both selections offer interesting differences, it is the similarities that are significant.
Straight, Michael. "The Fanaticism Of Joseph Mccarthy." New Republic 130.26 (1954): 6-8. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Though Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses and William Faulkner’s The Unvanquished are completely different, their style and plot techniques share more similarities than differences. All The Pretty Horses and The Unvanquished both depict the importance of honor in a persons life, whether it be honor through vengeance, honoring family, or honoring the tradition of woman, these two novels teach that honor can create a stronger person.
Many authors are recognized by a reoccurring theme found throughout their works. The author D.H. Lawrence can be classified into this group. He is well known for his reoccurring theme that romantic love is psychologically redeeming. He wrote “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” , a short story that exemplifies this theme quite accurately, in 1922 (Sagar 12). Through excellent use of symbolism in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”, Lawrence renders his theme of romantic love being psychologically redeeming through the emotional development of the two main characters, Mabel and Dr. Fergusson.
Dorothy Johnson in “A Man Called Horse” writes about a young man who was born and raised in Boston. He lives in a gracious home under his grandmothers and grandfather’s loving care. For some reason, he is discontent. He leaves home to try to find out the reason for his discontent. Upon leaving he undergoes a change in status and opinion of himself and others. He begins a wealthy young man arrogant and spoiled, becomes a captive of Crow Indians- docile and humble, and emerges a man equal to all.
“All the Pretty Horses”, a novel written by Cormac McCarthy tells the tale about a man and his friend travelling the plains of Mexico after leaving their homes in Texas. As the novel’s name alludes to, horses are a central theme in the story as they represent manhood and freedom when John Grady, the protagonist, and his friend Rawlins get thrown in jail. McCarthy’s novel became critically-acclaimed which gained him more recognition, as well as a movie adaptation directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Even though Thornton’s adaption has the basics of the novel’s story it does not appropriately grasps its depth. While Thornton’s version stays faithful to the dialogue from the book’s included scenes it does fall short by having an erratic pace, having
The Rocking Horse Winner This story opens up about a mother that has 3 children, a boy and two little girls. The story explains how the mother is a beautiful woman who has no luck. According to the story, “she married for love, and the love turned into lust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her and she could not love them” (151).