Linguistics and Literature Studies Vol. 12(4), pp. 47 - 52
DOI: 10.13189/lls.2024.120401
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Rewriting Pastoral Convention: History, White Manhood and Abjection in Cormac McCarthy's Child of God

Li Xiaofei ^*
School of Foreign Languages, Soochow University, China

ABSTRACT

Cormac McCarthy's southern novel Child of God sometimes inaccurately falls into the category of "typical pastoral novel". However, a nostalgic interpretation overlooks McCarthy's indifference to discourses of grand history, particularly the southern myth. This paper reinvestigates Ballard's tragedy and hopes to offer some new interpretations with the help of Julia Kristeva's theory of abjection. Kristeva believes that the subjects establish their subjectivity via the abjection of others, but such abjection is in perpetual danger and frequently challenges the subjects' perception of subjectivity. This paper looks into main character's effort to enact the patriarchal order of the old south and reestablish his lost subjectivity by tints of abjection others, and how such practice ended tragically. Ballard's attempt to achieve order through abjection is mainly manifested in his endeavor to a static familial order that encapsulates the hierarchical structure of the Old South. In other words, this paper highlights the incompleteness of abjection. With a detailed depiction of Ballard's changing psyche, McCarthy indicates that the bygone pastoral order is more of a spiritual malady than a comfort. Therefore, this paper affords several new insights to the existing studies. Firstly, it addresses the previous studies' relative oversight of historical discourse's influence on Ballard. It argues that he was not only a scapegoat of the undesirable edge of modernization, but also a victim of the haunted ideology of the old south. Also, it offers a new perspective to see how contemporary southern writers like McCarthy broke the anxiety of influence, deviated from and innovated southern literary traditions.

KEYWORDS
Cormac McCarthy, Abjection, Southern Literature

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Li Xiaofei , "Rewriting Pastoral Convention: History, White Manhood and Abjection in Cormac McCarthy's Child of God," Linguistics and Literature Studies, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 47 - 52, 2024. DOI: 10.13189/lls.2024.120401.

(b). APA Format:
Li Xiaofei (2024). Rewriting Pastoral Convention: History, White Manhood and Abjection in Cormac McCarthy's Child of God. Linguistics and Literature Studies, 12(4), 47 - 52. DOI: 10.13189/lls.2024.120401.