Landscape Writing And The American Spirit

The Crossing is the second volume of the Border Trilogy written by Cormac McCarthy(1933-),a contemporary American writer.Characterized by abundant delineation of landscapes,this novel depicts the development of the American West and the spiritual changes in Americans engendered by the transition.Landscape is an important concept of cultural geography,which is devoted to exploring the interrelationship between culture and landscape.Cultural geography,represented by Mike Crang,highlights landscapes' symbolic meanings.Landscape is a series of complex structures and concepts,which trigger people's perception of the environment and affect their interaction with it.Mike Crang points out that landscapes can be considered as interpretable “texts” that can be read,which tell both the inhabitants and us stories about the people — about their beliefs and identity.Different facets of the American spirit are in accordance with varying landscapes presented in the novel.As such,landscapes in The Crossing can be conceived of as “texts” to interpret several aspects of the American spirit.This thesis endeavors to explore the decline,reconstruction and evolution of the American spirit revealed by border landscapes,Western landscapes and political landscapes.Firstly,this thesis discusses the decline of the spirit of the wild and the sense of mission represented by the dilapidated border landscapes.The spirit of the wild originated in the wilderness.The wolf,the representative of the wilderness is abused to death,reflecting the decline of the spirit of the wild.As an instrument of cultural power,the derelict scene of church metaphorizes the loss of the sense of mission.Secondly,this thesis elaborates Western landscapes' contribution,here refers to the wilderness,to the reconstruction of Billy's hardy spirit and capacity of self-reliance.Ranch and manor are the places of living and working for cowboys where are endowed with emotions and memories.Thus,these places become a center of meaning and concretion of value comprised of experience.Lastly,this thesis analyzes the evolution of the American spirit demonstrated in the political landscapes — the pursuit of pragmatism,justice and freedom.Industrialization has changed the conveyance in the West.Railway and automobile have become the manifestations of pragmatism.In the novel,Billy's younger brother,Boyd,sacrifices his life in the righteous act of upholding justice and is buried in the cemetery.Hence,the cemetery becomes a witness to Boyd's pursuit of justice.The setting of the novel is around the World War II.At that time,the gold star is a symbol of honor awarded by the U.S.government to those soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the war.Accordingly,the gold star bears testimony to the pursuit of freedom.This thesis concludes from the above analysis that McCarthy aims to demonstrate the American spirit's decline,reconstruction and evolution,and eulogize the vitality of the American spirit through Billy's perception and interaction with border landscapes,Western landscapes and political landscapes.Nevertheless,the landscape writing portrayed in the novel is only McCarthy's subjective expression from the standpoint of the plunderers,inasmuch as the limitations of McCarthy's identity as a white writer.Thus,the American spirit that McCarthy extolled in the novel is required to be judged with an impartial attitude.