Cormac McCarthy and the Myth of American Exceptionalism

by John Cant

This overview of McCarthy’s published work to date, the short stories he published as a student, his novels, stage play and TV film script, locates him as a icocolastic writer, engaged in deconstructing America’s vision of itself as a nation with an exceptionalist role in the world. Introductory chapters outline his personal background and the influences on his early years in Tennessee whilst each of his works is dealt with in a separate chapter listed in chronological order of publication.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2007

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't read the chapters on the McCarthy books I haven't read, such as Suttree, which is really mentioned throughout this book. Perhaps that is Cant's favorite, so this is a lop-sided review. I picked this book up mainly because the title addressed what I thought was one of the major themes of McCarthy's "The Road" - American Exceptionalism. In that book, the hero is a man who exhibits exceedingly exceptional qualities, and is therefore one of the few survivors left in a post-apocalyptic America. That impression led me to believe that McCarthy was a proponent of such exceptional characteristics, as if rugged individualism would be the ultimate saving grace for all of us. Yet, "No Country for Old Men" showed the exact opposite, with the rugged individuals trying to escape the inescapable, that scary man with the awful haircut - aka Death. So it's really interesting to see the glaring contradictions in just one writer's oeuvre - actually in the span of just two or three years since those two books were written back to back. Very intriguing!

Cant's study of McCarthy is pretty dry (it is an academic study after all), and his argument regarding a supposed critique of American Exceptionalism in "The Road" is barely existent and what is argued is comically weak. It seems as if Cant's real interest lies in uncovering McCarthy's Oedipal themes, which he mentions throughout this study. On that subject, Cant's readings seem much more legitimate and impassioned. Overall, this book left me confused as to why Cant nominally takes on AE when his interests seemingly lie elsewhere. In any case, it made me want to read more McCarthy and pay closer attention to his use of American mythology. Maybe I'll come back to this one after I've read all the novels.