Animals in the Fiction of Cormac McCarthy

by Wallis R. Sanborn

The works of Cormac McCarthy have been critically studied as literature of the South and of the Border Southwest. Largely ignored is the omnipresence and presentation of animals in McCarthy's works. Yet the abundant representations of animals depict a part of the ceaseless battle for survival that is inherent in many of his writings. McCarthy's animals exist within the framework of a fictional natural world driven by biological Wild animals prey upon feral and domestic animals, horses exist as warriors, and the hunt is a ballet between man and hunting hound. Proximity to humans results in mistreatment and death, while distance results in survival and fitness. McCarthy also utilizes animals as harbingers of specific events; for example, hogs are so frequently a precursor of human death that McCarthy's narrators and characters wonder whether hogs are joined to the devil for evil purposes. The first chapter here examines animal presentations in The Stonemason, The Gardener's Son and two short stories, "Bounty" and "The Dark Waters." The following nine chapters focus on one text, one type of animal--feline, swine, bovine, bird and bat, canine, equine, lupine, and hound--and one particular thesis. Each chapter also briefly examines the specific animal as it exists in other McCarthy works.

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2006

Reviews

[Dvdlynch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good insights here but the lazy production values lose it a star. If you're an academic and you publish a book you expect the general public to pay money for at least have the decency to fix your typos. Giving your work to an editor for a once-over wouldn't hurt either.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sanborn had revealed many of his ideas on McCarthy when I was in his Western Lit class, but this book gives so much more detail and understanding of Mccarthy's symbolism & makes Mccarthy's books so much more interesting.