Date of Award
4-23-2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Jonathan Lauer
Abstract
The novels of Wendell Berry and Cormac McCarthy appear incredibly disparate at first glance. Berry glorifies communal traditional living, while McCarthy explores the cruel realities of life in isolation. Some readers accuse Berry of creating an unrealistically utopian oeuvre, while others criticize McCarthy for glorifying violence and underestimating human goodness. Though they undoubtedly occupy extreme (contestably contrary) aesthetic positions in their prose, their moral and ethical imperatives frequently overlap. Both men respond powerfully to the modern-day myth of cultural determinism and materialism embedded in the American episteme, and both engage the concepts of place and belonging in their works.
Recommended Citation
Yaegle, Ray, "The Novels of Wendell Berry and Cormac McCarthy: Persons Attempting to Find a Motive in these Narratives will be Prosecuted" (2010). Honors Projects and Presentations: Undergraduate. 77.
https://mosaic.messiah.edu/honors/77
