Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2016 The olitP ical Imagination of Cormac McCarthy Drew Kennedy Thompson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Thompson, Drew Kennedy, "The oP litical Imagination of Cormac McCarthy" (2016). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4394. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4394 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE POLITICAL IMAGINATION OF CORMAC MCCARTHY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Political Science by Drew Kennedy Thompson B.S., Murray State University, 2004 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2009 May 2017 ©Copyright 2017 Drew Kennedy Thompson All rights reserved ii Acknowledgements This dissertation represents the final step in my journey toward my doctoral degree and the completion of my matriculation at Louisiana State University. Given the length of that journey, I am somewhat daunted by the prospect of acknowledging all those who have contributed in some way or another in bringing me to this moment. I would like to acknowledge the LSU Department of Political Science for academic and financial support over the course of my tenure. In particular, I would like to thank Ms. Tara Chustz Landry for her caring attention, making sure I met administrative deadlines and for being there to chat whenever I dropped in. Her warm and friendly presence was a source of comfort during my early years of learning the ropes. I would thank also Ms. Katherine Surek and Ms. Judith Robertson for taking over and filling this same role in later years. I have benefitted also from the willingness of Professors James R. Stoner, Jr., and William C. Clark as department chairs, who have allowed me to support myself through teaching over the years and provided an example of how to be a good boss and mentor. Instrumental in shaping my development as a scholar have been Professors Wayne Parent, Ellis Sandoz, and James R. Stoner, Jr., who have all served on my committees over the years. To them I owe a large debt of gratitude for their guidance and instruction. Whether in seminar, guided readings courses, or casual hallway conversation, they have each been great sources of wisdom, levity, and occasional tough love. I regard them as shining examples of what it is to be a professor. They are a credit to their institution and profession, and I will miss seeing them on a weekly basis. iii I must also acknowledge my friends, old and new. I will begin with the old. While I began to rely on the patience and good humor of Amy Ladley early on in my graduate career, it was not until she completed her doctorate at LSU and moved away four years ago that I began to realize the value of our bond. True friendship can withstand distance, and Amy remains my “first call” whenever I reach moments of indecision in work or in life. Every ready, ever steady, ever witty: Amy’s support as a colleague, editor, and friend has been instrumental in completing this dissertation. She has read every page of it, solving problems I could not see, and assuring me I could do it when my resolve waivered. Friends like Amy don’t come along often in life and this dissertation has improved immeasurably by her involvement. Though less directly involved, I must also express my appreciation to my LSU and political science colleagues: Omar Khalid, Trevor Shelley, Eric Schmidt, Jacob Seigler, Luke Thompson, and others, who were there for conversation and commiseration when wanted or needed. To my Cajun friends in Lafayette: Jonathan and Mikhaela Melançon, Jason Crosby, Adam Cormier, Christian LeJeune, and Alan LaFleur, who brought music back into my life at a time it was sorely missing, and showed me the Louisiana I had been searching for. To my Baton Rouge friends: the triumvirs Keller, Norman, and Qadri; Jason Schroeder and Kelly Kyle; and to new friends Mike Treadwell and Lydia Dorsey, with best wishes for their upcoming marriage; the Drunk Monks trivia team and salon, with particular gratitude to Michel Guidry and James Long; and lastly to the great musicians of Baton Rouge, who very gracefully allowed me to join in their playing and singing; I extend my warmest thanks. To my long-abiding old friends back home in Murray, Kentucky: Brach Crider, Michael and Jessica Flinn; the families Duncan, Hart, and Haverstock; and to Bob Taylor and Debbie Toon, for being there to support me during prolonged research on holidays back home. Finally, to my extended families, Kennedy and iv Thompson, who have never doubted the merit of what I was up to for so long, even if I’ve never been completely able to explain to them precisely what that is. And now for the new friends. For anyone who has gotten to know me over the past five years, my dissertation has hovered in the background like a dysfunctional marriage. And while this Cormac McCarthy fellow must have often seemed like a brutal and capricious taskmaster that I went home to every night, there is one who has known me from the beginning of the affair. Indeed, at our first introduction—and much to the chagrin of our dates that evening—Zack Godshall and I spoke at great length about our mutual love of McCarthy’s prose. Over the tumultuous years to follow, Zack has been a willing and invaluable confidante, and in Jillian Hall he has definitely found a more accommodating “date.” In his thoughtful way he has managed to keep the mystery and romance of the subject matter alive while helping me stay focused, working through the instrumental requirements of the project. Further, it was through my friendship with Zack that I met Brad Pope, Esq., who was to round out our trio. To the Mayor of State Street, as I call him to his annoyance, I am grateful for enumerable conversations on music, politics, and the intrinsic merits of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Any fellow is lucky to name Zack and Brad as his friends, and I count myself the most fortunate of all. I can say only that, in ways they know and in ways they do not, I could not have made it to this point without them. Delivering my “baby” has not been the only labor of love in the past five years. The Thompson family has grown and, if anything, it was the arrival of my niece Molly that brought some needed perspective for me during a critical period. Similarly, the arrival of my nephew Jack this past year coincided with a growing desire in me to put more of my focus on life’s more rewarding enterprises. My sister Chelsee and brother-in-law Tony have always been good v examples for me. But seeing them as parents, I am continually awed and humbled by the people they have become. I could not have achieved this milestone (or any other, for that matter) without the love and support of my parents, Tony and Krista Thompson. The completion of this degree is a testament to that love, for it was only by their steadfast commitment to honoring a promise made long ago that I could ever have made it. True to their word, they saw me through to the end. Though I can never repay them, I hope that in some small way this document may serve as a small testament to the gratitude I feel to them. Had it not been for the willingness of Professor Cecil Eubanks to take me on as a special case after a calamitous first year of graduate school, I would have had to give up on my dream. What he regarded as merely doing his job was, for me, a lone beacon of hope when all seemed lost. Since then we have worked together in a variety of professional contexts and I have profited immensely from his influence. His enthusiasm for this project has often been all that sustained it. Like any great mentor, he has found ways to poke, prod, and provoke me along my way these past ten years, and always in a manner that made it seem like my big discoveries were my own, though I know better. Wherever my professional journey leads from here, I can say without hesitation that I have had the benefit of observing up-close a true master of his calling. He has my unending admiration, gratitude, and love. Finally, it remains only for me to pay tribute to Dana Statton, the love of my life. Everything about our relationship has been unexpected: from the chanciest of meetings, to the beginning of a life together in my hometown. Though I have had a fantastic support network during this process, to Dana fell the duty that, ultimately, no one else could do: to love me in spite of myself, to believe in me when I told her she was making a mistake, and to trust me even vi when I thought I was lost. On long evening walks we have hashed out every argument in this dissertation. Together. She has been instrumental in the writing of every page, and I could never have found a better collaborator for this project.