Lakehead University Knowledge Commons,http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca Electronic Theses and Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations from 2009 2015-08-05 A world-maker's will: the post-apocalypse and human power in Cormac McCarthy's The Road Jackson, Alexander David http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/662 Downloaded from Lakehead University, KnowledgeCommons A World-Maker's Will: The Post-Apocalypse and Human Power in Cormac McCarthy's The Road A thesis submitted to the Department of English Lakehead University Thunder Bay, ON In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in English By Alexander David Jackson May 2nd 2014 Jackson 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v Post-Apocalyptic Power: First Steps .............................................................................................. 1 The Apocalypse and its Alternate Forms ........................................................................................ 6 Situating Scholarship on The Road............................................................................................... 15 Making a World in the Ruins........................................................................................................ 20 The Man's Moral Imperatives ....................................................................................................... 25 Rejecting Reality, Inventing the Self ............................................................................................ 35 Beyond Trauma and Credicide ..................................................................................................... 40 The Potency of Speech and Storytelling ....................................................................................... 48 Human Composition: History, Myth and Creativity..................................................................... 54 Struggling with the Sacrifice: The Man as Abraham.................................................................... 63 Power in Narrative Structure ........................................................................................................ 66 In Medias Res and the Creature .................................................................................................... 68 A Close[d] Community................................................................................................................. 72 Authoring Identities and the Act of Naming................................................................................. 77 Fact, Falsity and Further Negotiation ........................................................................................... 81 Forging On: Power in Progression................................................................................................ 87 Don't Look Back: The Necessity of Forward Movement ............................................................. 91 Motion and the Corruption of Stasis ............................................................................................. 94 The Phantom Wife ........................................................................................................................ 99 Faith and the Power of the Boy................................................................................................... 104 Didacticism and the Challenge of Power .................................................................................... 107 Jackson 3 Dreams and the Risks of Illusion ................................................................................................ 114 The Free Agent and the Flute ..................................................................................................... 120 "Good to House a God": The Boy as Divine .............................................................................. 124 "My Brother at Last": Finding the Human Form ........................................................................ 126 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................... 128 Jackson 4 ABSTRACT: A World-Maker's Will: The Post-Apocalypse and Human Power in Cormac McCarthy's The Road This thesis discusses human empowerment in Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road. While much of present-day scholarship on The Road views the novel as nihilistically highlighting the hopelessness of existence after a cataclysmic event, this thesis provides a counter-reading that argues for the existence and sustainability of human empowerment in the post-apocalyptic space imagined in the novel. I focus on the non-physical and non-relational power that can be found within the self, and particularly within the human mind, arguing that the father and son protagonists find routes to power only by means of a detachment from the reality of the ruined world that they face and a turning inward to their individual ideals, philosophies and imaginations. This thesis situates The Road in the context of the concept of the apocalypse, and its popular contemporary form, the post-apocalypse genre. It then draws on the philosophy of Plato, Descartes, Hobbes, Hume, and Kant, among others, to demonstrate how the protagonists develop their own philosophy as a means of creating and maintaining their empowerment in the fact of societal and environmental collapse. This thesis relies on intensive close-readings of the novel and engages directly with the extensive scholarship on The Road that is already published. The result is an optimistic reading of The Road as an exemplar for empowerment in the post- apocalypse, that is charted through a reliance on the self, and the mind. Ultimately, it provides an optimistic reading of The Road as an exemplar of empowerment through a reliance upon the self and the mind. Jackson 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a long and arduous road, and while I promised myself that I would avoid any Road-related puns, I just cannot bring myself to forsake them completely. Two years of writing certainly leaves one grateful to a great many people throughout the process. While I would stop short of extending the metaphor to suggest that my writing experience has been apocalyptic in nature, there are certainly a number that I must thank, for I could not have survived this process without them. First, I thank my supervisor and mentor, Dr. Douglas Ivison, who has worked very closely and reliably with me through these years. Dr. Ivison has been an exceptional ally to have on my side as both a person and a professional, and I will feel forever indebted to him for his time, care, and service. This thesis would not be real without Dr. Ivison. I faced challenges throughout this process both professional and personal, and I know that they were surmountable because of Dr. Ivison's strong support. I would also love to thank my immediate family. Made up of My mother and father (Eva and Alan) and my brother (Ryan). Coming home to a solid family unit at the end, beginning, or middle of a day with the weight of a thesis and life upon my shoulders has been an immeasurable boon. If I were alone in this task without their love, I would not have completed it. Thank you also, to my extended family. My cousin Rob, and his girlfriend Jessie, my grandmother Audry, and my aunts and uncles, too. Thank you to my friends as well, whether near or far as well as all of my long-time allies and those I have met more recently. Both friends and extended family have always been encouraging and kind, even when I tended to neglect them. Jackson 6 Further thanks go to my second reader and external examiner, Dr. Judith Leggatt and Dr. Todd Dufresne. They each provided me with excellent comments and critiques in order to make this thesis stronger. Both Dr. Dufresne and Dr. Leggatt tirelessly worked through this material and provided fantastic feedback. Their ability to provide counter-points and alternative readings for my consideration was invaluable, and reminds me that the academic process is meant to be a process of discussion. Debate and disagreement are essential in this field so that advances can be made, and I am certain that this thesis was advanced by those critiques and discussion. Lastly, I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to Terri Dumont, who has been as staunch an ally and as fine a friend to me as any human that ever lived. Her support and willingness to work with me were of the highest calibre, and it is significant that her aid and discussion was not of the blind kind often given to friends, but the useful sort, that was not afraid to be honest and disagree in order to make progress. Words are not enough here, and you know that. Thank you Terri. Certainly, this has been a difficult journey. But I believe that the harder the conflict is, the greater the triumph will be. And anyone who has ever helped me work through this battle can share in that victory now. In that manner, I know that this was a journey well worth taking. I cannot thank you all enough. Sincerely, -Alexander Jackson Jackson 1 Post-Apocalyptic Power: First Steps In her monograph entitled Postapocalyptic Fiction and the Social Contract, Claire P. Curtis suggests that “Postapocalyptic fiction exists at a crossroads...between