Award Date

8-1-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Committee Member

John C. Unrue

Second Committee Member

Darlene Unrue

Third Committee Member

Joseph B. McCullough

Fourth Committee Member

Margaret Harp

Number of Pages

96

Abstract

While many works exert an influence on Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West, I argue in this thesis that Herman Melville's Moby-Dick stands above them all in importance. I examine some areas where Melville's influence on McCarthy's work can be most notably located. I argue that Melville's importance to McCarthy can be seen in the latter's use of several characters from Moby-Dick in his own novel. I also examine the parallels that arise when one examines the confluences between the two novels' structures, vocabularies, and settings. I also consider how Melville's violent aesthetics influence McCarthy's graphic depictions of bloodshed. The conclusion discusses the benefits of thinking of the novels as complementary texts.

Keywords

Blood meridian; or; The evening redness in the West; Influence (Literary; artistic; etc.); McCarthy; Cormac; 1933-; Melville; Herman; 1819-1891; Moby Dick

Disciplines

American Literature | English Language and Literature | Literature in English, North America

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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