American Author Thesis
Now that you have written your essay, we ask that you reflect on the reading portion of the experience and write 100-150 words about your author.
Think of what you write as advice for someone next year and beyond, someone who (like you were doing last fall) is thinking about choosing your author - and maybe even the same three books - to read for the assignment.
11 comments:
Blood, butchery, barbarity, violence – these words encompass the work of Cormac McCarthy…in a very, very, very minute nutshell. You see, reading McCarthy is as good as searching through a pile of garbage. And that’s a good thing! Of course, many people would simply see a putrid pile of garbage, but the trained eye can spot the misplaced hundred-dollar bill lying in the corner of the pile. In terms of McCarthy, this means looking past his works’ gruesome details to find the literary genius. So, one could read McCarthy for his bleak view and portrayal of humanity, OR for his unique interpretation of America. Now you may find yourself wanting more about the very nature of this “interpretation,” but let me tell you, the potential reader, one thing: as McCarthy may write through his dialogue, I aint gonna tell ya but lemme say that youll have to dig as deep as you will your own grave. (Note the absence of quotation marks, commas, apostrophes, correct spelling, etc.) In conclusion, if you so choose this author, welcome to the ambiguous, tempestuous, highly irregular, and lastly insane world of Cormac McCarthy. (also, don’t read Child of God…you will have nightmares)
I enjoyed reading McCarthy, his stories were interesting and full of potential themes. In No Country, the sherrif's monologues provide a basis for pieces of evidence. The other novels I read, Blood meridian and All the Pretty Horses were not such a hassle to read. Blood meridian was, well, bloody. And All the Pretty Horses also had an exciting story line. The last book I read was the most stagnant, The Road. However the setting and the father son relationship is interesting enough to keep you awake. While not being profoundly religious, I found my self able to connect with some of the ideas that religion is losing prominence in modern culture. When going through my evidence I found it fairly easy to choose a theme to trace through the works.
Sean(dubé)
I chose McCarthy based on my parents’ suggestions and the posts by former students who read him. The books I read were The Road, Child of God, Blood Meridian and the Border Trilogy. McCarthy’s novels tend to be fast paced and exciting, with a lot of action so they are not at all dull to read. The part of the reading I found most difficult was that McCarthy’s characters and settings can be hard to identify with because they have little to no similarity to the life and people in suburban Massachusetts in the 21st century. McCarthy usually sets his novels in desolate areas like post-apocalyptic wastelands and the plains of Mexico. Despite that though, I would absolutely recommend McCarthy, because his books are enjoyable to read and are not hard to connect together through shared themes, making for a very manageable paper.
Chris (Anderson)
Cormac McCarthy is not like many other novels. His unstructured plots, use of made up words, and removal of most grammar in his novels all lead to him being a unique, but also difficult, author. This lead to his books being a great read, but only if you consider yourself a strong reader. His novels are the first time where I have struggled with the reading more than the writing. Some of his most rewarding novels include The Sunset Limited and No Country for Old Men. Blood Meridian is also a great read, but beware of its hazy plot and complex language. Finally, his novels often are gory and violent. I will let you decide if that is a good thing.
I would recommend Cormac McCarthy for Author Thesis. My favorite book of his by far was The Road. It is a post-apocalyptic story about a father and son attempting to survive a desolate Earth. McCarthy’s other books however, are set in the 20th century, in the Midwest. They are often set along the border of Mexico and Texas. I read the entire Border Trilogy, which is about crossing the border into Mexico. Lastly, I read The Orchard Keeper. The Orchard Keeper touches on similar themes of family dynamics as well as loss, both common in McCarthy’s books. I would recommend McCarthy’s books to those who enjoy vivid descriptions of nature and characters. I would not recommend Cormac McCarthy’s books for those that cannot handle violence, as it included to some degree in all the novels. Overall, Cormac McCarthy is an enjoyable author, and would make a good Author Thesis choice.
If you choose Cormac McCarthy as your author, I can guarantee that you will not be bored. My initial reason for picking him was because of the rather violent impressions that he left on previous readers. I chose to read The Road (the story of a father and son surviving the apocalypse), All the Pretty Horses (a surprisingly violent western/cowboy novel) and Child of God(A book that follows the nature of a necrophilic serial killer). Throughout all of these books I observed multiple different themes such as love, survival and gore. These themes seem rather contradictory, but after reading the book, they somehow come together in a twisted-ly beautiful way. Warning, do not choose Cormac McCarthy if you have a weak stomach.
Personally, I would highly recommend Cormac McCarthy as a viable choice to someone’s Author Thesis. His books are both fun to read and full of many connecting themes. I read The Road, No Country for Old Men, and Blood Meridian had themes that worked hand in hand with one another. I would warn any reader that McCarthy’s books are gory, depressive, and can be found offensive. Most of McCarthy's books take place in a southwestern setting with time periods that vary from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. I would recommend you to have an interest in that area and time setting if you choose Cormac McCarthy as your author as it comes up a lot. Finally, I would warn anyone before reading that McCarthy’s writing style can be aggravating at some times because of his lack of using commas, punctuation, and letting the reader know who is speaking. Throughout the reading and writing processes I found that McCarthy’s pros outweigh his cons and enjoyed choosing him as my author.
I would definitely recommend Cormac McCarthy for author thesis. His books were all very interesting and held similar themes such as companionship, regeneration through violence, and survival. My favorite book of his was definitely The Road which is a post apocalyptic story of a father and son trying to survive. It is a very well written and beautiful book that will definitely have you starting to tear up at some points. I also read Blood Meridian and Child of God and I enjoyed them both although I would have to say Child of God was by far my least favorite. Not because of its gory and disturbing content(it is about a necrophiliac serial killer), but because I had a very hard time connecting it to the other two books I read and the violence often seemed unnecessary at times. I would also recommend Blood Meridian which was an amazing book about a boy on his own in the mid west during a time when Native Americans were being murdered for their scalps and there was a deep hatred for Mexicans. It is widely considered to be his best book and a classic American masterpiece. Overall, McCarthy is an amazing author and has many themes throughout his books that would be great to use for author thesis.
I would strongly suggest in choosing Cormac McCarthy for author thesis. All of his books keeps you on the edge of your seat through every single chapter, sentence, and even word. My favorite book of his by far was No Country for Old Men which is a survival of the fittest story where the main character, Llewelyn, seems to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time often. The book is well written throughout with nothing not being settled at the end. McCarthy is a very unpredictable author in his writing which helps him keep you reading. The othe book that I read was The Road, which took place in a post apocalyptic time where a father and son find themselves battling through nature and other people to help get to a safe haven. McCarthy is a very good author and he'll please you through every word throughout his books.
I would highly recommend Cormac Mccarthy for the American Author Thesis project. Of the two books I read, No Country For old Men and the Road, both kept me entertained for the whole project. Reading books that I actually enjoyed made the whole process so much easier and helped me keep up with the deadlines and requirements. No Country for Old Men is about a man who finds a suitcase full of money and tries to get off clean with it. During the whole novel men are after him, but one particular person, Chigurh, stands out more than others. The Road was a post-apocalyptic world in which a boy and father struggle to survive. Out of the two books I preferred No Country for old men, yet thought both were great. Overall, McCarthy's books are very entertaining and can connect in multiple ways.
For my Author Thesis, I read Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Overall, I was happy that I chose McCarthy because I loved reading his books. The books I read by McCarthy are all among my top ten favorite books of all time and I highly recommend reading them even if you do not choose him as your author. His books are exciting and action packed, while still containing the most vivid descriptions of breathtaking landscapes and settings. Yet, I must warn you that McCarthy’s books are extremely bloody and graphic as well as very challenging. So, if you are squeamish or are not willing to have a dictionary near you to look up words pretty often, then I would suggest choosing a different author. However, I hope you embrace the challenge and choose McCarthy as your author, you will not regret it!
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