No More Heroes

Narrative Perspective and Morality in Cormac McCarthy

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American
Cover of the book No More Heroes by Lydia R. Cooper, LSU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lydia R. Cooper ISBN: 9780807139790
Publisher: LSU Press Publication: May 3, 2011
Imprint: LSU Press Language: English
Author: Lydia R. Cooper
ISBN: 9780807139790
Publisher: LSU Press
Publication: May 3, 2011
Imprint: LSU Press
Language: English

Critics often trace the prevailing mood of despair and purported nihilism in the works of Cormac McCarthy to the striking absence of interior thought in his seemingly amoral characters. In No More Heroes, however, Lydia Cooper reveals that though McCarthy limits inner revelations, he never eliminates them entirely. In certain crucial cases, he endows his characters with ethical decisions and attitudes, revealing a strain of heroism exists in his otherwise violent and apocalyptic world.
Cooper evaluates all of McCarthy's work to date, carefully exploring the range of his narrative techniques. The writer's overwhelmingly distant, omniscient third-person narrative rarely shifts to a more limited voice. When it does deviate, however, revelations of his characters' consciousness unmistakably exhibit moral awareness and ethical behavior. The quiet, internal struggles of moral men such as John Grady Cole in the Border Trilogy and the father in The Road demonstrate an imperfect but very human heroism.
Even when the writing moves into the minds of immoral characters, McCarthy draws attention to the characters' humanity, forcing the perceptive reader to identify with even the most despicable representatives of the human race. Cooper shows that this rare yet powerful recognition of commonality and the internal yearnings for community and a commitment to justice or compassion undeniably exist in McCarthy's work.
No More Heroes directly addresses the essential question about McCarthy's brutal and morally ambiguous universe and reveals poignant new answers.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Critics often trace the prevailing mood of despair and purported nihilism in the works of Cormac McCarthy to the striking absence of interior thought in his seemingly amoral characters. In No More Heroes, however, Lydia Cooper reveals that though McCarthy limits inner revelations, he never eliminates them entirely. In certain crucial cases, he endows his characters with ethical decisions and attitudes, revealing a strain of heroism exists in his otherwise violent and apocalyptic world.
Cooper evaluates all of McCarthy's work to date, carefully exploring the range of his narrative techniques. The writer's overwhelmingly distant, omniscient third-person narrative rarely shifts to a more limited voice. When it does deviate, however, revelations of his characters' consciousness unmistakably exhibit moral awareness and ethical behavior. The quiet, internal struggles of moral men such as John Grady Cole in the Border Trilogy and the father in The Road demonstrate an imperfect but very human heroism.
Even when the writing moves into the minds of immoral characters, McCarthy draws attention to the characters' humanity, forcing the perceptive reader to identify with even the most despicable representatives of the human race. Cooper shows that this rare yet powerful recognition of commonality and the internal yearnings for community and a commitment to justice or compassion undeniably exist in McCarthy's work.
No More Heroes directly addresses the essential question about McCarthy's brutal and morally ambiguous universe and reveals poignant new answers.

More books from LSU Press

Cover of the book Chickasaw, a Mississippi Scout for the Union by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Time Beginnings by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Robert W. Tebbs, Photographer to Architects by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Soldier of Southwestern Virginia by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book The Angelic Mother and the Predatory Seductress by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Wendell Phillips by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Campbell Brown's Civil War by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book This Scribe, My Hand by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book The Papers of Jefferson Davis by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Segregated Soldiers by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Breach by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book The American South and the Great War, 1914-1924 by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Earl K. Long by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book In Many Wars, by Many War Correspondents by Lydia R. Cooper
Cover of the book Girocho by Lydia R. Cooper
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy