Religious and literary motifs in Cormac McCarthy's border trilogy
type: CreativeWork
description: Throughout history, religion and literature have offered patterns that allow people to acquire an understanding of the individual and his or her role within society as well as the universe. In the three novels of his Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain, Cormac McCarthy relies upon specific literary motifs that enable his reader to the greater truths he offers. Although McCarthy utilizes many patterns found in religion and literature of the past, three highly significant patterns in his trilogy are: the journey motif, the hospitality motif, and the dream motif. McCarthy relies upon Biblical and literary motifs in order to take patterns his readers have established and present them within a violent and harsh reality. McCarthy creates major and minor characters in The Border Trilogy that represent all of us and our quest for understanding certain truths about the role of the individual.
abstract: Throughout history, religion and literature have offered patterns that allow people to acquire an understanding of the individual and his or her role within society as well as the universe. In the three novels of his Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain, Cormac McCarthy relies upon specific literary motifs that enable his reader to the greater truths he offers. Although McCarthy utilizes many patterns found in religion and literature of the past, three highly significant patterns in his trilogy are: the journey motif, the hospitality motif, and the dream motif. McCarthy relies upon Biblical and literary motifs in order to take patterns his readers have established and present them within a violent and harsh reality. McCarthy creates major and minor characters in The Border Trilogy that represent all of us and our quest for understanding certain truths about the role of the individual.
author: McCage, Crystal Dawn
language: en_US
keywords: American literature, Literature, Language, literature, and linguistics
date published: 5/30/2000
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:05:01Z
provider: Texas Woman's University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Texas Woman's University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11274/9106