Rest in Pepperoni, Wells
Unfortunately, as of this past quarter of the book, Wells past away. He had his brains plastered on the wall, courtesy of his good friend Chigurh. Aside from my favorite character dying, a lot of tension is being built up. Moss seems convinced that he will end up having to kill someone, most likely Chigurh based on their last encounter (in which both of them ended up wounded). Quite frankly, I figure that Chigurh will end up killing Moss; he seems considerably more confident in his ability, beyond the superficial way that Moss is of his own. Perhaps his confidence isn't necessarily superficial, but he certainly seems to be confident because he would otherwise have to deal with the anxiety of having a giant target on the back of his head.
As we already know, McCarthy isn't one for rich description. This is especially notable with the time, in which we may be told it's night or day, or when a character goes to sleep, but very little of the actual numerical time is mentioned. This seems to be playing into two things: one, the theme of description through actions, and two, McCarthy is in a way making us feel like we are in Moss's shoes. For him, time isn't exactly relevant, as it only indicates when he needs to sleep. Most of the day so far is him just running from the Mexican cartel and Chigurh, so taking note of the actual time isn't a high priority. For me, at least, I hadn't even kept track of the number days he'd been on the run until he took note of the last time he brushed his teeth (206).
Although it was very evident that Chigurh is a psychopath, we have a greater understanding of just how much of a psychopath he is. More specifically, throughout the book he continually kills people, regardless of necessity. Often times, it's purely just because they've interacted with him, regardless of the type of interaction. Some particularly notable times we see this happen are: at the gas station, in which he rests the fate of the owner of said station on a coin flip, at the hotel, in which he kills the clerk before the shootout in the street and most recently when he kills Wells. All these people had no intention of ever harming Chigurh - even Wells, who had the most incentive to do so. What's even more interesting is how Chigurh made Wells consider the entire situation. Despite the fact that he knew he was about to have the wall behind him get painted with his own brains, Wells was asked to consider how he had arrived to this destination, in a figurative sense. This is the first time we have seen this come up in the novel, however it seems as though Chigurh has rehearsed this.... Purely due to the fact that he held no regard to what Wells was responding with, as if he were a computer who was seeking inputs and nothing else. It could very well be that this is a regular thing he performs with certain people, almost like a hunter skinning their preferred prey with their favorite knife.
As we already know, McCarthy isn't one for rich description. This is especially notable with the time, in which we may be told it's night or day, or when a character goes to sleep, but very little of the actual numerical time is mentioned. This seems to be playing into two things: one, the theme of description through actions, and two, McCarthy is in a way making us feel like we are in Moss's shoes. For him, time isn't exactly relevant, as it only indicates when he needs to sleep. Most of the day so far is him just running from the Mexican cartel and Chigurh, so taking note of the actual time isn't a high priority. For me, at least, I hadn't even kept track of the number days he'd been on the run until he took note of the last time he brushed his teeth (206).
Although it was very evident that Chigurh is a psychopath, we have a greater understanding of just how much of a psychopath he is. More specifically, throughout the book he continually kills people, regardless of necessity. Often times, it's purely just because they've interacted with him, regardless of the type of interaction. Some particularly notable times we see this happen are: at the gas station, in which he rests the fate of the owner of said station on a coin flip, at the hotel, in which he kills the clerk before the shootout in the street and most recently when he kills Wells. All these people had no intention of ever harming Chigurh - even Wells, who had the most incentive to do so. What's even more interesting is how Chigurh made Wells consider the entire situation. Despite the fact that he knew he was about to have the wall behind him get painted with his own brains, Wells was asked to consider how he had arrived to this destination, in a figurative sense. This is the first time we have seen this come up in the novel, however it seems as though Chigurh has rehearsed this.... Purely due to the fact that he held no regard to what Wells was responding with, as if he were a computer who was seeking inputs and nothing else. It could very well be that this is a regular thing he performs with certain people, almost like a hunter skinning their preferred prey with their favorite knife.
Sorry about your favorite character's death. How do you see his death as relating to a possible thematic idea of the novel? If an author has a character we like die (as Morrison did with Pilate in Song of Solomon), often there's a meaning behind their deaths.
ReplyDeleteYou mention that a theme of the novel is "description through actions." Do you see this as a theme with a capital "T" or more of a motif/stylistic element of the book?
Make sure you're hitting all of the requirements for the blog post assignments.
At first glance, McCarthy's deprivation of description can seem like a lazy writing style, however it is the exact opposite, not in that there is more description but rather that no description is necessary. That being said, it's certainly more of a writing style than a theme. It could be relating to a regular theme in the novel, in that the world is very bleak and unforgiving. We see this in the brutal and remorseless killings of people, both innocent and guilty of crime and how the outlook for most characters has yet to be positive.
DeleteI haven't even read the book and I am already mourning Wells.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy's choice of details seems to be immensely important to his characterization, but are there other ways that it plays into bigger themes of the book? For example, the little things you say McCarthy mentions (eg. the exact number of days it has been since Chigurh last brushed his teeth). But are there other things that are mentioned that maybe make you questions his actions or make you unsure about his character?
I'm glad to see that you're working to cope with Wells' death considering that he was your favorite character. Admittedly I don't think I shared the same love for him that you expressed in previous blog posts but I still hated to see another life be lost at the hands of Chigurh nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteLike you I did chose to discuss some of the thematic ideas that McCarthy develops in our most recent reading though and as a result I found myself addressing the topic of the passage of time as well. However, while I appreciate the fact that you chose to dedicate some of your post to directly focus on this topic I think that the passage of time also plays a major role in the development of the book's deeper meaning regarding the subjects of life and death. After all, while the significance of McCarthy's commentary may not be evident to all readers at first, the lack of emphasis placed on the passage of time I think helps indicate that said commentary transcends the confines of Moss' story.