Reading Two (Pages 80-157): Writing Style and Symbols

Cormac McCarthy’s writing as an author is generally matter of fact and lacks the use of descriptive detail. Consequently, readers of his books are forced to base their perceptions of his characters solely off of their analysis of the characters’ speech and actions. For instance, the receptionist at one of the hotels that Moss stays in is only ever referred to as “a woman sitting at a desk watching the television,” (82) meaning that the reader has to analyze how she interacts with Moss as he checks in if they hope to have any understanding of her character. However, the lack of descriptive detail in McCarthy’s writing does also place additional emphasis on what little imagery he does choose to use, thereby further illuminating changes in Moss’ character as well as the presence of symbols and motifs.

The simplicity of McCarthy’s use of detail improves the reader’s sense of changes in Moss’ character throughout the book. After all, when Moss is first introduced it quickly becomes evident that he is a simple and easy-going man, with the limited amount of detail in McCarthy’s writing from Moss’ perspective reflecting these characteristics. However, after choosing to take the suitcase full of money and accept the challenge of escaping Chigurh Moss is shown to grow more focused on his surroundings as he becomes more distressed by the risk of being killed. This point is for instance well evidenced by Moss’ attention to objects like “the pale white globes on the streetlamps” (89) later in the book that he would have previously ignored as a man who values his time away from human civilization. In conclusion, McCarthy’s writing style indirectly contributes to the characterization of Moss’ character.

The lack of attention that McCarthy generally pays to descriptive details including presence of light and color cause these details to become all the important when they are finally mentioned. In fact, in the book’s first three chapters McCarthy makes mention of color in only a handful of isolated instances. Consequently, the reader’s attention is immediately grabbed when McCarthy then goes out of his way to describe a restaurant as having “white tablecloths and waiters in white jackets” (85) at this point in the book in order to make the motif of white all the more apparent. As is typical in literature though, this motif is intended to signify purity as it relates to Moss’ character in this case, with the placement of this passage after Moss’ demonstration of his commitment to his wife supporting this conclusion. Similarly, McCarthy uses the motifs of light and darkness to contrast the morality of Moss and Chigurh’s characters as seen when Moss watches “two columns of dark intersect the bar of the light beneath the door” (110) while Chigurh stands outside his hotel room. Therefore, McCarthy’s writing style enhances his use of motifs to characterize Moss as virtuous and respectable and portray Chigurh as malicious and unethical.

After having already watched the movie adaptation of No Country for Old Men I am interested to see how the book’s plot progresses past this point in my reading. After all, while the movie remains true to the book based on what I have already read thus far, the majority of the movie’s events have been covered in the half of the book that I have now finished. Consequently, I have a lot of anticipation for the reading that remains because I do not have a clear expectation for what is to come.