Publication: Evil in an Ocean of Evening Redness: Figures of Evil in "Blood Meridian" and "Moby-Dick"
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2018-06
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Abstract
In this paper I analyze the question, “what is evil?” in Cormac McCarthy’s "Blood Meridian" (1985) by focusing on how he deals with evil in the novel, then comparing it with how the same topic is treated in Herman Melville’s "Moby-Dick" (1851). In order to answer this question, I have divided this paper into different parts that aim to explain the different characteristics these two authors give to the figure of evil. I start by analyzing how the world these novels take place in is a determining part in the formation of evil. Secondly, I proceed to compare how the character of judge Holden resembles that of John Milton’s Satan in "Paradise Lost" (1667) —since the devil in the literary tradition has been the ultimate embodiment of evil. Thirdly, my analysis takes me to comparing how evil affects two different kinds of men, i.e. judge Holden and Captain Ahab. Fourthly, I explain how evil is embodied in the two main foes both novels have —Moby Dick and judge Holden— and how evil grants them superhuman qualities that they use to their advantage. Finally, I conclude that evil, though difficult to define, is ultimately found —both in "Blood Meridian" and "Moby-Dick"— in the shape of violence.