Deviancy of Morality and Self: Egotism and Brutality against the example of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian
| Thesis title in Czech: | Deviace morálky a osobnosti: egoismus a brutalita proti příkladu Krvavého Poledníka od Cormaca McCarthyho |
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| Thesis title in English: | Deviancy of Morality and Self: Egotism and Brutality against the example of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian |
| Key words: | jižanská gotika|extrémní násilí|brutalita|zlověstné postavy|Cormac McCarthy|Krvavý poledník|gotické subžánry|morální perspektiva|soudce Holden|literární kritika|teologické aspekty|Satan|morální hledisko|morální zákony|existencialistická filozofie|nihilistická interpretace|životní filozofie|americká koloniální expanze|kolonizace Západu |
| English key words: | Southern Gothic|extreme violence|brutality|sinister characters|Cormac McCarthy|Blood Meridian|gothic sub-genres|moral perspective|Judge Holden|literary critics|theological aspects|Satan|moral standpoint|moral laws|existentialist philosophy|nihilistic interpretation|life philosophy|American colonial expansion|Western colonization |
| Academic year of topic announcement: | 2021/2022 |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's thesis |
| Thesis language: | angličtina |
| Department: | Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK) |
| Supervisor: | prof. PhDr. Martin Procházka, CSc. |
| Author: | hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept. |
| Date of registration: | 18.11.2021 |
| Date of assignment: | 18.11.2021 |
| Administrator's approval: | not processed yet |
| Confirmed by Study dept. on: | 24.11.2021 |
| Date and time of defence: | 04.09.2023 09:30 |
| Date of electronic submission: | 31.07.2023 |
| Date of proceeded defence: | 04.09.2023 |
| Submitted/finalized: | committed by student and finalized |
| Opponents: | doc. PhDr. Mariana Machová, Ph.D. |
| Guidelines |
| Cormaca McCarthyho) The Southern Gothic genre is most profoundly known for its explicit display of extreme violence, brutality and sinister characters. Critics often compare these monstrous visuals and narratives with the figure of Satan, however with closer observation the overlapping ego-centric notions of narcissism, psychopathy and nihilism become more plausible and coherent with the savagery of the Southern Gothic. This thesis will intend to outline the figurative and literary importance of the Satanic narrative presented on the model of Cormac McCarthy’s 1985 novel Blood Meridian and together with Irving Malin’s conception of Southern Gothic explore the narcissistic tendencies of the novel’s characters. Namely, the thesis shall observe the personality of Judge Holden’s character at its centre. While considering Holden through having a narcissistic personality posing as a god-like figure, the thesis shall in turn contrast the character of the ex-priest Tobin. The ex-priest, who ironically also represents a biblical and morally indisputable figure, shall be investigated in the thesis, through questioning the integrity of his persuasive methods he uses in his conduct towards the kid. Research questions: · How is the figure of Satan and the Satanic narrative portrayed and obscured in the genre of Southern Gothic? · What are the shortcomings of a purely theological analysis of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian? · Analysis of the overlapping ego-centric ideologies of the Dark Triad through the example of Irving Malin’s paradigm. · Exploration of Judge Holden’s character from the perspective of Nietzsche’s philosophical concept of the Übermensch. · Dismissal of the Biblical connotation to the characters of Holden and Tobin and their mutual characteristics and influences over the kid. Primary literary works to be discussed in the thesis: Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian Preliminary structure of the thesis: · Existence of Satan in the Southern Gothic genre · Malin’s theory of narcissistic characters in Southern Gothic · Blood Meridian and its portrayal of the narcissistic personality style · Other possible interpretations of Judge Holden’s dubious character · Questioning of Tobin’s professed morality |
| References |
| Bibliography: Baillie, Eva Marta. Facing the Fiend: Satan as a Literary Character. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2014. Malin, Irving. New American Gothic. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1962. Palmer, Louis H. “Southern Gothic and Appalachian Gothic: A Comparative Look at Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy.” Journal of the Appalachian Studies Association 3 (1991): 166–76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41445610. Sepich, John and Edwin T. Arnold. Notes on Blood Meridian: Revised and Expanded Edition. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 2013. Walonen, Michael. “Old Nick Crossed the Mississippi: The Figure of the Devil in Late Cold War Era Novels of the American West.” European journal of American studies 9, no. 2 (2014): 1-21. https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.10335 |