Child of God Annotated Bibliography

Bartlett, Andrew. “Voyeurism to Archaeology: Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God.” Southern Literary Journal 24.1 (1991): 3-15.

Bartlett explains numerous nuances of voyeurism found in McCarthy’s Child of God. The article demonstrates the fact that Lester Ballard is a voyeur in more ways than one, and by following him on his blunders, the reader becomes his accomplice. The author identifies the rifle as a key component of Ballard’s persona. The connection allows for his enhanced sight, one that stokes his voyeuristic tendencies. Bartlett emphasizes Lester Ballard’s role as a predator. Insidious stalking and subsequent heinous violence lure the reader in. As the reader follows the main character’s journey, he or she becomes his silent accomplice.

Carr, Duane R. “The Dispossessed White as Naked Ape and Stereotyped Hillbilly in the Southern Novels of Cormac McCarthy.” The Midwest Quarterly 40.1 (1998): 9-16.

Carr’s article spends a great deal of time noting the stereotypes and prejudices present in a number of McCarthy’s work. His focus is on the fact that McCarthy’s novels are filled with disgusting attributes somehow described in beautiful language. In essence this article exemplifies the political incorrectness used to build the characters, regardless of language. Another element of the article focuses on the roles of McCarthy’s characters as dysfunctional figures in society. Lester Ballard exemplifies the perfect outcast. His function is to skate on the fringes of society, gnawing at the edges with his dark desires. Because of Ballard’s alienation from others, he is provoked to attack.

Ditsky, John. “Further into darkness: the novels of Cormac McCarthy.” Hollins Critic 18.2 (1981): 1-10.

This article critiques a number of McCarthy’s works, putting an emphasis on the dark, and sometimes humorous, components of the novels. Ditsky spends some time considering the meaning of the title, coming to the conclusion that Ballard is part of a twisted Christian justification. Lester Ballard is both monster and human who partakes of the most absurd acts, some of which are crimes. The audience cannot help but chuckle at the freezing and thawing of Ballard’s first deceased love interest. And yet, this lowly necrophiliac was also made in God’s image. The critic’s ultimate goal in this article is to illustrate the alluring effect McCarthy’s demented writing style has on the innocent audience subjected to him.

Lancaster, Asheley. “From Frankenstein’s Monster to Lester Ballard: Evolving the Gothic Monster.” Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought; 49.2 (2008): 132-148.

Lancaster makes comparisons between Lester Ballard and Frankenstein’s monster in this article. According to the author, McCarthy’s reinvention of Frankenstein’s monster is a result of “social othering,” social isolation and societal effects on outcasts. Apparently, society is responsible for creating Lester Ballard’s deviance. By labeling him an outcast, society expects Ballard to become a monster. Social isolation leaves a man to his own primitive devices, cultivating his animalistic tendencies. Though the audience may retract from Ballard’s atrocities, they may still identify with his one humanizing need: to love and find companionship. In all, Lancaster identifies Ballard as repulsive, but as a man nonetheless.

Lincoln, Kenneth. “Child of Whose God?” American Canticles. Palgrave Macmillian, 2009 49-60.

This article gives a critical overview of the novel itself. Much of the writing revisits McCarthy’s own words, with the intent to illustrate the fact that Lester Ballard is a ghoul in man’s skin. The author makes the point that McCarthy finished the novel in a time of political and civil unrest- after the Vietnam War. Other novels expressed the same level of depravity as useless violence. Lastly, Lincoln takes the time to investigate just what type of God is responsible for Lester Ballard. If that God is our God, what does that say about the rest of humanity?

Roydan Winchell, Mark. “Inner Dark: or, The Place of Cormac McCarthy.” The Southern Review 26.2 (1990): 293-309.

This article spans a variety of Cormac McCarthy’s novels. The author suggests that the novels selected share twisted themes. In the portions critiquing Child of God, Lester Ballard is highlighted as the town misfit. Though his deeds are of a perversely deviant nature, McCarthy’s use of uniquely elegant language allows for more depth and insight into Ballard’s character. There is a debate as to whether or not Lester Ballard’s humanity is valid. One emphasized view details the fact that Ballard is inhuman in life, but is forced to return to humanity in death. This article comments on the grotesque and bizarre in numerous McCarthy novels.