Conflicts Bbetween Traditional And Modern Societies In No Country For Old Men

Cormac McCarthy is acknowledged as one of the most outstanding contemporary novelists in American Literature. Since the 1965 when his first work The Orchard Keeper came out, McCarthy has published ten novels, most of which concern with his meditation on American history and his anxiety about the existence predicament of contemporary people. His No Country for Old Men was published in 2005. This novel is set in the America-Mexico border area of 1980s and mainly tells a story about a chase among the three protagonists. Through the view of an old man, the novel discloses the chaotic situation of the postmodern western society, which sharply contrasts with the traditional one. This novel is a realistic reflection of American society in 20th century. It expresses McCarthy’s concern over the historical and social problems. This thesis will discuss the conflicts between the traditional and modern societies in No Country for Old Men. Furthermore, the thesis will probe into the causes of the conflicts and eventually explain McCarthy’s genuine intention of presenting the conflicts in the novel.This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter is to introduce the life, literary career and achievements of Cormac McCarthy as well as the substance and features of No Country for Old Men. This chapter also gives an outline of the researches on McCarthy from home and abroad, and the method and structure of this thesis.The second chapter focuses on the analysis of the conflicts between the traditional and modern societies in the novel.First, the conflicts in value include the money-worship’s attack on the traditional spirit and the changing attitudes toward the war. Next, in social code, law as the traditional social strength is suppressed by violence, and the premise of political choice shift from ethical orientation to political campaign. At last, this chapter discusses the different familial ethics in the traditional and modern societies from the aspects of raising children, life of old men and marriage respectively.The third chapter regards the cause of the conflicts as the degeneration of modern society and discusses it from both the social and psychological perspectives. Socially, the rebellious sixties bring a series of social problems that challenge the traditional social order. The Vietnam War ceases but its shadow still haunts the modern people, which aggravate the social problems. And the disorder of the borderland directly corrupts the modern society. Psychologically, the pathological humanity is the primary reason for the detrimental changes of the modern society. The consumption alienation magnifies people’s desire for money and hence greed and corruption become rampant in the society. The impact of consumption alienation penetrates into the political domain as well. People are manipulated by political campaigns under its influence. And the absence of religion in modern society is also an interior reason for the degeneration of modern people.The fourth chapter concentrates on the analysis of McCarthy’s genuine intention of presenting the conflicts in No Country for Old Men, regarding it as McCarthy’s reflection on history, which involves his appreciation of the traditional western culture and the pioneering spirit as well as his reflection on the historical burdens. First, the thesis discusses the subsequent social and individual tragedies of the conflicts in the novel. Through the display of the tragedies, McCarthy’s criticism of the modern society has been shown. Next, through the disintegration of the traditional elements of the West, McCarthy demonstrates his lamentation on the loss of the West and his doubt about the modern civilization. Meanwhile, McCarthy recognizes that the traditional society has been romanticized. The problems that cause the conflicts don’t newly emerge in the modern society, but a legacy left by history. Through the reflection on the burden of history, McCarthy inspects the effects of history on shaping the modern society.The fifth chapter is the conclusion part that summarizes the thesis on a whole. The novel No Country for Old Men employs the modern tragedies and the historical burdens at the same time to evoke people’s meditations on the existence predicament and social evolvement. The criticism of contemporary western society, the concern over American history and the apocalyptic feature in No Country for Old Men all demonstrate the anxiety about the social reality. Also, the narration of the novel is based on the real history of America, which makes the novel both fictional and historical. The American West in the novel is the mirror of the entire real American society, which endows the novel unique realistic significance.