Cormac McCarthy is a well-known contemporary American writer, famous for books in the style of Gothic and Western. Over the past few decades, his works confidently lead in the tops of the most famous works written in English. An indicator of the author’s popularity is the fact that his works are filmed, and he received numerous prestigious awards as the creator of a unique new adventure genre in a modern style.
early years
Cormac McCarthy was born in 1933 in the family of a lawyer. He graduated from a Catholic school and college in Tennessee. For several years he served in the American army, and after demobilization he continued his studies at the university. It was at this time that he made his debut as an aspiring writer with several stories that received positive reviews. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he was working on his first major novel. A talented author is paid attention to, and Cormac McCarthy receives a number of prestigious scholarships that allow him to devote himself entirely to a literary career. He has the ability to travel and devotes all his time to writing novels. In 1965, his work “The Keeper of the Garden” was published, which secures the glory of the original master of the word.
1960-1970s
Cormac McCarthy became known as the author of heavy novels permeated with the theme of violence and sin. It was in this spirit that the work “Darkness Outside” was written, in which the main features of his work were already outlined: gloomy colors and a dramatic plot. In 1979, the novel "Sattree" was released, the distinguishing feature of which is the presence of autobiographical elements in it, as well as a share of humor. Many readers liked it. The author tells about a man who managed to break out of everyday life and gray everyday life and achieve some success in life. In this story, features of the biography of the novelist are guessed.
New success
Cormac McCarthy, whose books are popular with the modern reader, became famous with the publication of his new work, The Bloody Meridian in 1985. The story is dedicated to scalp hunters. This was a new level of the genre for the writer: Western in its specific processing. The novel is extremely cruel. It is partially based on real events: the author talks about a terrible gang that killed not only the Indians, but also ordinary riders on the border of Texas and Mexico. The figure of a judge stands out especially in the plot, in the mouth of which the author lays down his main idea that a person is belligerent by nature and that evil is an integral part of society.
The writer does not justify violence, but tries to find at least some explanation for the terrible incidents that shocked the young American state in the first decades of its formation.
So, one of the recognized authors of the western was Cormac McCarthy. The Bloody Meridian, reviews of which say that history shocked readers with its cruelty, is a novel that determined the future career of its creator.
Novel and film adaptation
The style of the author is extremely original and original. He does not make punctuation marks and gives the reader a continuous narrative without any semantic accents, ideological digressions and emphasis. Some readers are perplexed by this, but most admit that, despite the specific style of presentation of events, the text is easy to read.
Cormac McCarthy became famous for creating hard westerns. “The Old Men Can't Be Here” is a novel which, by the general admission of the public and critics, has become one of his most read works. The story is about the struggle of old and young forces in American society. At the center of the story are bounty hunters, sheriffs, their relatives and victims. The author again satiated the plot with cruelties and scenes of violence. The composition is dynamic: chases, pursuits, interspersed with heavy psychological dialogues and showdowns, do not allow the reader to relax. According to the book, the film of the same name was shot, which was nominated for an Oscar in various categories.
Utopian romance
Another famous work of the author was the work "Road." The book (Cormac McCarthy, when writing it, slightly changed the style of narration) differs from the above works by the author in that the action is not the main thing in it. This time, the author tells of a conditional future in which humanity survived a terrible catastrophe and degenerated into terrible humanoid creatures. They have literally become savages who systematically kill their own kind. The main characters - a father and his little son wander along an empty road, it is not known where and why. The plot almost completely lacks descriptions of nature and the characters themselves, which gives an even darker tone to the narrative. The author shows that these two lonely people still have remnants of humanity: they do not kill anyone and just fight day after day for their existence. Their relationship is surprisingly touching and simple and gives the plot a touch of sincerity and warmth.
Grades
Cormac McCarthy showed himself as the author of various subjects. “The Road,” reviews of which were generally positive, is a work that differs from the novelist’s westerns in a measured and unhurried, but at the same time frighteningly slow development of the plot. Readers note the peculiar style of the writer, which for some seemed difficult to understand, but most indicate that the original language as a whole meets the general idea. Readers credit the writer for so skillfully conveying the sharp contrast between the terrible world of disfigured humanity and these two travelers, who, it seems, alone have retained their human appearance. Many liked the scene with the dog when the father did not kill the animal for the sake of the son, although they both starved on the road, and it could serve as food for them. In general, a significant portion of readers consider the novel relevant for modern times.
Statements
Cormac McCarthy, whose quotes speak of his outstanding mastery of the word, wrote in a very peculiar language that makes his works so recognizable. The dialogues of his heroes are distinguished by vitality and truthfulness, and at the same time some severity, which is explained by the general style of his work.
For example, the phrase “Yes, you will forget what you want to remember, and you will remember what you want to forget” is deeply symbolic in meaning, not only in the context of the novel, but in the general sense in general. With these words, the author noted one of the characteristic features in human nature, which suggests that he is a master of psychological analysis.
His other quote, “Today no one wants to live and does not want to die,” has philosophical meaning and, in principle, approaches not so much the utopian reality created by the novelist in the work “The Road”, but rather to modern reality.
Features of creativity
The writer's works are quite popular at present, despite the fact that they are written in a gloomy spirit and contain a large number of scenes related to violence and cruelty. Nevertheless, many readers find a kind of outlet in them. Some see in the works echoes of the modern world, despite the fact that the action of novels often takes place either in a conditional space or in the past. The interesting facts of his work include, first of all, his peculiar style without punctuation, complexity and simplicity of constructing sentences at the same time.
Another curious fact related to his life relates to the character of the author himself. It is known that he does not like to give interviews about his works, so his novels are often interpreted in different ways. Perhaps that is why his works attract directors who willingly take his stories as the basis of the script.