The Significance of Cormac McCarthy

For example, Blood Meridian (1985), which is his fifth novel, appeared top on 100 books that are written in the English language. He has won other awards which include National Book Critics Circle Award, U. S.  National Book Award, and Academy Awards among many other prizes and awards. According to Arnold (15), his literary works mainly cover the topics of life and death and have a major influence on the lives of people. According to McCarthy (15), in the year 1985, the publishing of the novel “Blood Meridian” made Cormac a modern master. Both his growing readership and critics were enthralled by his Border Trilogy. McCarthy’s even broader success followed when his works “The Road, McCarthy” and “No Country for Old Men” were published as the films created from his books made him famous and popular around the world with moviegoers (Christina 1).

According to Christina (2), after completing high school, he joined University of Tennessee but left to serve in the United States military for four years. After that, he returned to the university to officially begin his career in writing by publishing two stories titled “Wake for Susan” and “A Drowning Incident. His life demonstrates that no matter how long it takes; people can still achieve their most desired dreams. According to Christina (2), McCarthy also left the University of Tennessee to join the United States Air Force. This is a demonstration of service to his country and patriotism. Despite his desire to be a renowned writer, he joined the U. S military for four years before returning to UT to focus on his career in writing.

In his writing career, he has demonstrated that stories, even fiction, must have a meaning. In his career, McCarthy ensured that his works argued against or for particular systems of morality. In simpler terms, he interrogated the various moral systems that exist in the contemporary world or those have existed in the past. Over the years he has published novels, it is evident that his motive has been writing stories that could influence the knowledge and the way in which people think and do things in the world. According to Scott (5), McCarthy declared “I do not understand [Proust and Henry James]. Throughout the landscape, they are faced with starvation. When they find food, they encounter an elderly man and the boy insists that they share food with him.

As they move, they find an abandoned campsite and on a spit is a roast infant newborn. However, the man with whom they shared food with condition worsens. The boy’s father condition worsens also and dies after he tells the boy that through prayer, they can communicate and that he must continue on the journey without him. All these themes touch on morality, the nature of evil and good, and consequences. According to Kunsa (57), the themes challenge both critics and readership of the novel on how to ensure that they appreciate their lives and in new ways appreciate the lives of other persons. One of the other themes presented in “The road" include nature versus man. This depicts the co-evolution of ecological and social networks.

The novel and themes give the readers a deeper comprehension of themselves and the world in which they live in. The boy's father, for instance, does not hesitate to shoot the man that tries to attack his young son (McCarthy 20). This does not only signify survival but also the theme of love. The father is willing to do anything to protect his young son. The father goes through thick and thin to ensure that his son survives the ordeals. This is of crucial importance to the readers of the novel because it influences them on the power of not just confidence and strength, but also love. After the four years, he rejoined the UT to work on his writing career. His life and writing career depicts patriotism and demonstrates that in spite of how long it takes, someone can still establish his deep desires.