The Crossing Sparknotes

Summary
The story begins with a focus on Billy Parham, a homesteader’s son living in New Mexico. Their area begins to have trouble with a she-wolf that traveled up from Mexico and is killing cows from multiple ranchers. Billy and his father set off to capture or kill the wolf, but it becomes a difficult task since the wolf discovers and disables any trap they lay. Eventually, Billy makes one more attempt to capture the wolf by laying the trap in the ashes of a fire. The wolf is caught and her leg injured. BIlly realizes that she is also pregnant. Instead of killing the wolf, however, Billy decides that he will relocate her to Mexico. He manages to muzzle her and begins the long trek. He runs into many incredulous farmers, but eventually enters

the mountains with the wolf in tow.
They succeed in reaching the Mexican border, by they are caught by a patrol when they attempt to ford a deep river. The wolf and Billy are taken to a town and locked up. Once Billy explains his situation, he is released, but the wolf is sold to a fair. THe wolf is eventually taken to a dog-fighting ring. Billy attempts to save her, but is threatened by those in charge of the ring. He leaves in defeat, but then returns to try again. He arrives in time to see the bloodied and weakened wolf be shot by the man in charge. Billy then gives the man his rifle in exchange for the wolf’s body, which he buries in the mountains. After burying the wolf, he sets off on a seemingly endless wandering journey.
He wanders through Mexico, then back through the United States, taking odd jobs to survive, but surviving without a purpose. It takes over a year of wandering before he returns to his home, only to find his parents killed by Indians and his brother wanting to escape. Together they travel again to Mexico to try to recover the family horses that were stolen from their farm. They steal back one horse that they found in a town, and later save a young girl who was waylaid on the road by a group of men. They locate and steal a group of their horses from a group of herders that were sold the animals, but the boys are attacked by the ranchers; they resist and one man’s back is broken by his horse, causing the boys to become legends in the area. The issues continue when the men pursue them and end up shooting Boyd and taking back all of the horses except the one Billy rides in his escape with Boyd. Boyd is taken to anearbyvillage by some farm workers, where he is treated. With the help of a local doctor, he survives the wound. Billy decides that he doesn’t belong with Boyd anymore, who has changed, so he travels again to the United States, where he tries unsuccessfully to enlist in the army because of a heart murmur. After a few years of wandering, he returns again to Mexico, only to find that his brother was killed in a fight years ago. Billy locates Boyd’s remains and exhumes them to take back to their childhood home. As he travels, Billy is robbed by highwaymen who stab his horse and steal all he has. After some travelers help him heal his horse, Billy returns home, buries his brother and is left with an empty home and an empty purpose.

Researchable Questions:
Which war was happening during this novel that Billy was trying to enlist in?
In the novel, Billy tries three times to enlist in a war that is mentioned in the novel while he is back in the United States. Based on the time period of the book, the dreaded war was in fact World War II (Spencer para. 6). Despite the desperate need for soldiers, Billy is rejected all three times on account of a heart murmur. This likely saved his life since the death rate of the war was high. This inability to join the army furthers Billy’s tale by making him travel one last time to Mexico in search of his brother rather than serve in WWII.

2. When the wolf is first being hunted, Billy and neighbors discuss ways of trapping wolves, which hasn’t been done in a long time due to the rarity of a wolf in the area. When did the Mexican wolves die out?
The Mexican grey wolf once lived in parts of Texas, New Mexico and Northern Mexico. Muchlike in the story, these wolves were trapped or killed to protect livestock. “The last wolves were recorded in Arizona, New Mexico and in Texas in 1970” (West para. 2). The book shows this dwindling population since Billy traps one of the last wolves seen in the area. This information about the decline in wolves in the south is shown in the surprise of the people in New Mexico that there is another wolf from Mexico. This also shows that Billy’s act of returning the wolf to Mexico was saving is because of the trapping and killing of wolves across the southern United States.

3. Billy encounters a group of gypsies near the end of he book who help him and heal his wounded horse. When did gypsies like these first enter Mexico?
Gypsy immigration to Mexico began in the late 19th century, and the first wave lasted until the early 20th century and “some had faced persecution throughout their long history as wanderers, mystics, and musicians” (Carey para. 2). These characteristics are shown in the book; the gypsies help Billy to heal his horse, and by their dialogue, it is shown that they enjoy their freedom as they travel. They are also viewed as drifters and lowlifes in the book; looked down on by most. Their history of being travelers and free spirits connects them to Billy - much like them, he has no set home, rather, his home travels with him and he never settles for long. Both Billy and the gypsies are creatures of movement, traveling wherever fate may carry them.

Character Analysis
Boyd is Billy’s younger brother, and although he isn’t very prominent in the beginning of the story, he proves himself to be a vital character. Boyd enters the journey with Billy after their parents are killed and Boyd feels a desire to retrieve their family’s horses and find a new purpose in life. While young, Boyd is willing to travel beyond his comfort with his brother, enduring hardships beyond what a 14 year old normally doesn’t. This shows an uncommon resilience in Boyd, which continues throughout the book. While at first he seems helpless, Boyd ends up playing a huge part in the boys’ survival, but ends up shot. This is where Boyd becomes less of a person and more of a legend. After the wound heals, Billy returns home, but Boyd remains with the girl they saved. By choosing to stay behind, Boyd is showing that he has changed and has no desire to just be the younger brother anymore, but to live his own life.
Even though McCarthy moves away from Boyd’s story, we still see glimpses of his development. Billy doesn’t return until his brother is long dead, but Boyd isn’t truly his brother anymore. When Billy asks a man about his brother, the man tells about a tale he heard “before [Billy’s] brother was even born” (McCarthy 386). Boyd became a part of an old legend, woven into the tales of the land. This shows that while Boyd is still just a brother in Billy’s eyes, he is a legend to many others. This absorption into nature shows how insignificant and short human life can be, but also how lasting the memories that remain are. Much like Billy’s parents, Boyd’s life was short, but his memory drove Billy to complete one more task, much like the earlier retrieval of the family horses. Even though Billy removed the physical remains of his brother to take home, Boyd’s life remained in the hearts and minds of any who heard his story. Boyd’s character may not have been very large, but it showed the power of brotherhood, determination, and hope.

Quote Analysis
“So everything is necessary. Every least thing. This is the hard lesson. Nothing can be dispensed with. Nothing despised. Because the seams are hid from us, you see. The joinery. The way in which the world is made. We have no way to know what could be taken away. What omitted. We have no way to tell what might stand and what might fall.”
― Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing
This quote from The Crossing really shows the spirit of the novel.

Despite the initial idea that this story will have a happy ending for Billy and the wolf, life and its trials change the ending dramatically. McCarthy said in the quote that “Nothing can be dispensed with”. This is a vital lesson of the story; every hardship and issue that had to be faced led to another vital step in Billy’s journey. Without the death of the wolf, he would not have wandered and met the people he did. He may have returned home sooner and been killed alongside his parents. Later on, if his family hadn’t have died, he would not have traveled again into Mexico, where he would save a young girl, learn even more, and lose his brother. While the events that took place were not pleasing, they were necessary. That’s what this quote is trying to teach; that every step in life, good or bad, must take place to reach the end goal. “We have no way to tell what might stand and what might fall” (McCarthy). This is entirely correct. If Billy had known what was in store for him and his brother in Mexico, they may not have ever traveled there. They didn’t know the outcome, though, and even though the end wasn’t appealing, it was necessary for both of them to just live their lives and face whatever came their way. This quote is mainly showing that life can’t be predicted, only lived, and The Crossing on proves

this.

Literary Analysis
In the literary criticism collection, Notable American Novelists by Carl Rollyson, The Crossing is described as “unconventional in word and deed” and filled with “an imaginative succession of contrasts and conflicts” (Rollyson 824). The author sees The Crossing and the rest of its trilogy as a series that successfully combines cultures, languages and morals into a complex manner that is both mystic and realistic. Rollyson writes that the characters of the story do not change, rather they become a part of the landscape and nature they are in.
This novel is definitely unconventional, and the way that McCarthy juxtaposes multiple cultures is fascinating.

He succeeds in showing multiple aspects of the story and characters throughout. However, I disagree with Rollyson on his final point. While the characters do, in fact, begin to take on aspects of their landscape, the characters do change by their own powers as well. Billy began the novel as a young boy who just wanted to save a wolf and journey a little. Because of the journeys that he chooses to take, he becomes beaten down by life, but he also interacts with others who teach him and help him. While he doesn’t have many pleasant experiences, he learns more about the world and becomes a

man.
Boyd also changes himself in the novel; he starts by just listening to whatever Billy says, but as Boyd gains more freedom and knowledge, he finds a path for himself in Mexico that he chooses to live without Billy. Nature didn’t make that choice, Boyd did. While Rollyson makes good points about the content of the novel, I believe that the characters, not nature, change themselves.
In a criticism by Michael Wood, he rites about issues he has with McCarthy’s writing, saying that he has many overused tics and habits that make the novel detestable at times. Despite his dislike for McCarthy’s style, Wood says that “The relationship between the brothers is beautifully done” (Wood para. 13). He compliments the unconventional yet realistic loyalty and love the brothers have for each other. Wood also admires the transcendence of Boyd from child to legend.
I have to disagree with Wood’s opinion on the style of the book. While some comparisons or habits may be overused, they don’t destroy the meaning of the novel. The habits actually seem to add another layer of character and emotion to the novel. The relationship between the two brothers is a fascinating piece of the book, and it helps to show the change in the characters that Rollyson failed to see. Through their relationship, the two boys learn and grow. While both Rollyson and Wood make legitimate claims about the book, I disagree with some of their claims.