Violence has always been conspicuously present in the American nation, its culture and literature. Considering the immoderate abundance of violence in current entertainment industry, it would seem natural for the emotions to be dulled and able to process any abhorrent excess of violence; the reactions that both Blood Meridian and The Road by the American author Cormac McCarthy have gathered are thus all the more surprising. Face to face with the novels' unspeakable evil, many readers do recoil in horror and the pervasive violence of McCarthy's writings has provoked a wide range of critical perception. The novels may differ significantly in the setting − Southwestern United States of the 19th century in Blood Meridian as opposed to post-apocalyptic future of The Road - but the apparent gulf between both groups of characters and mainly between them and the reader is only another ruse of McCarthy's scheme, whereby he unveils uncomfortable truths about humankind. Although his meticulous study of sources might support the inevitability, even a penchant for bloodshed and carnage in specific conditions, it would be erroneous and contrary to McCarthy's portrayal to imply that it is anomalous rather than representative. The hostility in the novels should not be understood as a feature of a particular region or...

In both Outer Dark and Child of God, McCarthy does a masterful job of blending the elements of Appalachian Gothic to present a novel that is darkly suspenseful and grimly thought-provoking. Outer Dark focuses on the complex incestuous relationship between a brother and sister and their interaction with others. The novel follows the two on a journey through the wilderness where they must cope with the unknown qualities of that wilderness, as well as the guilt stemming from their own behaviors. In Child of God, McCarthy explores the grotesque nature of a life lived in isolation and poverty in the mountains. This novel focuses more on an individual descent into the gruesome depths that illustrate the main character’s depravity. In these two novels McCarthy examines the darker side of life in Appalachia, and forces readers to question the purpose and meaning for the characters’ lives and actions.

On its surface, Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men appears to be a thoroughly grim and even fatalistic novel, but read in conjunction with W.B. Yeats' "The Second Coming"—a work with which the novel has a number of intertextual connection—it becomes clear that there is a distinct optimism at the heart of the novel. Approaching McCarthy's novel as an intertext with Yeats' poem illuminates an apparent critique of eschatological panic present in No Country for Old Men, provided mainly through Sheriff Bell's reflections on the state of society.

Recollecting the history of the United States, which is inextricably entangled with westward expansionism (Manifest Destiny) and the construction of borders, is also a complex and troubling reexamination of the American identity itself. This is evident in critical perspectives that analyze our violent past and the narratives that continue to govern not only contemporary culture but also the academic sphere as Native scholars have been proposing over the last twenty years. However, what remains vital to this conversation is how to better include the narratives and voices from both native peoples and Mexicans—especially in the southwest borderlands—which also counteract the dominant narratives mentioned above. However, these alternate narratives can be affirmed and authorized as crucial histories by utilizing Baudrillard’s notion of simulacra and at the same time, act as a form of resistance. By reevaluating three crucial moments in The Crossing, Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation, and employing a heuristic I will call the rhetoric of violence, I hope to highlight the importance of such marginalized narratives and the voices that occupy them in American history.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 239-250). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3024517.

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In this thesis, I argue that the question of ethics, despite claims to the contrary, is a central concern in Cormac McCarthy’s fiction. My principal contention, in this regard, is that an approach that is not reliant on conventional systems of meaning is needed if one is to engage effectively with the moral value of this writer’s oeuvre. In devising such an approach, I draw heavily on the ‘immoralist’ writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. The first chapter of the study contends that good and evil, terms central to conventional morality, do not occupy easily definable positions in McCarthy’s work. In the second chapter, the emphasis falls on the way in which language and myth’s mediation of reality informs choice. The final chapter focuses on the post-apocalyptic setting of The Road, in which normative systems of value are completely absent. It argues that, despite this absence, McCarthy presents a compassionate ethic that is able to find purchase in the harsh world depicted in the novel. Finally, then, this study argues that McCarthy’s latest novel, The Road, requires a reconsideration of the critical claim that his work is nihilistic and that it negates moral value.

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This essay is working on exploring what it is that motivates the man and the boy to survive despite the harsh reality they live in. The purpose of the essay is to show four main factors for motivation: morality, religion, society and paternal love. The first factor is the fundamental inner voice of morality which tells them why they should do something. In order to be able to productively discuss the topic of moral motivation I will introduce W.D. Ross's theory of Pluralistic Deontology as a means to find a framework in which to discuss this aspect of the novel. The second factor discussed is religion, which somewhat functions in the same way as morality does but seems to be more of a driving force, primarily for the man. The third factor is society in the sense of how it motivates one to take certain actions. I will use Thomas Hobbes’s idea of the state of nature, but also make it clear how, specifically, a postapocalyptic scenario affects the protagonists. The fourth factor and also the overarching factor discussed is paternal love. This factor is inter-located throughout the whole essay. Probably the most significant phrase from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is “carrying the fire” (79). It is a central focal point in the man and the boy's overall interaction. The importance of the phrase cannot be stressed enough and does, without a doubt, carry a significant meaning for them both. However, we never really get an explanation to what the phrase really means, which inevitably invites the readers to draw their own conclusions as to what the phrase conveys. It remains ambiguous throughout the novel but in terms of motivation it has to do with surviving and/or the upholding of values remembered from the pre-apocalyptic society. As I address the phrase this meaning it also becomes possible to see that there are motivating factors for both the man and the boy that affect their morale to keep the fire going. This essay will investigate three possible motivating factors found in the novel, and, in addition to this, an overarching factor that can, arguably, function as connection between the other three factors.

This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the ways in which the Internet supports the consumer decision process of potential customers in an online car retail environment. The thesis is mainly focused on how this can be done in South Africa. A case study approach was adopted in investigating the case of McCarthy Call-a-Car. Interviews were carried out with McCarthy Call-a-Car employees and documents and the Call-a-Car website, were analysed. It was revealed that Call-a-Car focuses on using the Internet to support customers in the pre-purchase phase only. The purchase and post-purchase phases are carried out offline at its dealership network and Club McCarthy respectively. The findings showed that Call-a-Car views the Internet as a marketing tool that provides convenience to customers searching for product information in the pre-purchase phase. The interviews revealed that due to Call-a-Car's strategy, as well as practical problems of selling online, the customer will still have to visit a dealership to conclude a purchase and for post-purchase support. From this research it appears that there are three main issues arising out of Call-a-Car's usage of the Internet in the customer buying process: firstly, the research revealed that instead of cutting out the middle-man, the Internet has created new types of intermediaries called "cybermediaries" and that Call-a-Car is one such intermediary. Secondly, it was revealed that trust is crucial in the online environment and that Call-a-Car builds trust through branding. Thirdly, the Internet has not affected prices online, despite theoretical estimations that the Internet would induce lower prices. The main recommendations for future research are empirical studies to investigate if the cybermediary model is unique to the car industry and whether this business model could be applied to other look and feel industries such as real estate. Future studies could also investigate the mechanics of trust-building and brand-building in the online environment and finally, studies from the customer perspective considering what Internet tools the customer would like to see online to support them during their buying decision process.