Bravo Quarter Rose~

I really enjoyed Quarter Rose's Idea prompt:

How does McCarthy's portrayal of the modern western myth compare and contrast to the typical idea associated with the "American western myth?"

I really was impressed with the depth of this prompt. I would begin with the oddly uneventful opening and then expand upon the anticlimactc death of Blevins. These would be two examples contrasting the typical western myth. However, the novel did portray a man's search for his love, Alejandra. This would be a similarity between the two.

"He thought about Alejandra and he remembered her the first time he ever saw her passing along the cienaga road in the evening with the horse still wet from riding it in the lake."

“He rode with the sun coppering his face and the red wind blowing out of the west across the evening land and the small desert birds flew chittering among the dry bracken and horse and rider and horse passed on and their long shadows passed in tandem like the shadow of a single being. Passed and paled into the darkening land, the world to come.”

I thought this was the perfect image to represent the final lines of the novel. It shows a beautifully red sunset with three horses silhouetted in the foreground. For me, it shows promise of an optimistic, unknown future. (:

Food for Thought. (:

Ironically, I just finished a game of 20 Questions before starting the assignment. (:

Setting

1. Consistantly, there are beautiful passages depicting the scenery around the travelers. What effect do these passages have?

2. Why is the setting of the desert so important?

Characters

3. Based on what we know about John Grady's parents and upbringing, is it a surprise that he turned out the way he did?

4. How are Rawlins and Blevins alike, even though they do not get along?

5. How could John Grady be a Christ figure?

6. Why do Rawlins and Blevins not get along?

7. What is Blevins's real name?

8. Why does a man try and buy Blevins?

9. Mary Catherine Barnett. What's her significance?

10. What's the deal with Blevin's horse?

Action

11. What is the significance of the boys separating from each other?

12. Where are Rawlins and Grady at the end of Part I?

13. What's with the thunderstorm and lightning?

14. Do you think it is odd that their ride has been relatively conflict free? It is the Wild West after all.

Style

15. What's the deal with the lack of quotation marks?

16. How does McCarthy use local color in his novel?

17. What purpose do the longwinded sentences serve?

18. Does this novel follow a quest pattern? If so, how?

19. How is the stereotypical West being depicted?

20. Why do you think McCarthy is being so ambiguous?

All the Pretty Horses: Western Parenting

One character that I found interesting in ATPH was Grady's mother. She is only thirty six and longs for a life of adventure outside the ranch. I'm really surprised by the extent to which McCarthy goes when describing the Western stereotype. It seems a bit overdone. Grady's mother also wants to try her hand in acting. I guess this hasn't changed since Grady's time; even today many people find it exciting to become involved with the show biz. Anyway, Grady's mother also doesn't speak of his father, and later Franklin reveals that the two have been offically divorced. I thought the scene where Grady bids farewell to his father is also interesting. I thought it was cute the way Grady has difficulty saying goodbye.  (:

~xE_Ax

So I've been doing my research...

I looked up some facts about McCarthy/ATPH. Here are some of the interesting ones I've found:

1. ATPH is part of the Border Trilogy. The second and third books are The Crossing and Cities of the Plain respectively.
2. The movie ATPH stars Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz. It's supposed to be terrible.
3. The book (published in 1992) won many awards such as U.S. National Book Award as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award. This was due to the romantism that McCarthy decided to put into ATPH. His previous works were supposed to be very bleak.
4. He wrote No Country for Old Men.
5. McCarthy is said to be very secluded and isolated. He lives in Santa Fe currently.
6. The Road was featured in Oprah's Book Club. Due to this, McCarthy gave his first interview on the Oprah Show in 2007.

These are a few interesting tid bits I found. Hope you enjoyed them! (:

~xE_Ax

No Commas, No Quotation Marks, No Interest.

Right now, I have read a whopping 7 pages in All The Pretty Horses (ATPH)  by Cormac McCarthy and quite frankly, I'm feeling a mix of confusion and irritation.
I think these feelings started with the monster sentence on pages 1 and 2 and the lack of quotation marks on the second page. Although I do applaud McCarthy for his unconventional take on the rules and conventions of grammar, I have to admit I am getting rather frustrated with it.
So if you haven't noticed, I'm not liking the book so far, but you never know - I may start liking it; I'm only on the 7th page.

Anywhoo... there is one paragraph that intrigued me. The first full paragraph on page 7 gave a snapshot into the cliched life of a Westerner. Out of all of the mystery protagonist's grandfather's siblings, the grandfather was the only one to live past 25. The ones who unfortunately died seemed to die rather violent deaths (i.e. by drowning or shooting). I loved the line "They seemed to fear dying in bed." It made me giggle a bit. I guess it just highlights the "rough and tough" nature of the Wild West. I suppose it could also suggest that the Western life was a competition where one had to "out-tough" the other; if someone "died in bed," then that person probably had the stigma of taking easy way out by not putting themselves on the edge. I also enjoyed the inventive use of the word "borning, " which, after I looked on Marriam-Webster, isn't actually a real word. Lastly, I like the last two sentences of the paragraph. "... Cole. John Grady Cole." I found it entertaining because I was reminded of "Bond. James Bond." From McCarthy's writing style, I always think he is an 19th century writer. I don't know why. But the way he referenced James Bond kind of reminded me that he is still very much alive today.

These are my thoughts so far in the book.  Hopefully after I read a bit more my thoughts will change. (:

~xE_Ax