Outer Dark Annotated Bibliography

Arnold, Edwin T. “Outer Dark.” Literary Reference Center - powered by EBSCOhost 2 2010. Web. 4 Feb. 2010.

Arnold gives the reader a summary, list of characters, analysis of characters, themes and meanings and critical analysis for Outer Dark. Arnold argues that the novel is a “seriously moral book” putting him in the tradition of Southern Gothic writers such as Faulkner. For instance, he compares Rinthy with Light in August’s Lena Grove. However, unlike Faulkner, t McCarthy makes keeps us at a distance from characters’ inner thoughts. Thus, he reads many of the characters allegorically, discussing the role of the tinker as the “Wandering Jew”, and the role of the bearded leader of the dark trio as the figure of death and retribution. Arnold also reveals a possible meaning of the title, taken from the eight chapter of Matthew in the Bible, a story about a centurion who asks Jesus to heal his son.

Bell, Vereen M. “The Ambiguous Nihilism of Cormac McCarthy.” JSTOR 2 2010. Web. 3 Feb. 2010.

Bell discusses how each of McCarthy’s first four novels (The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, Child of God and Suttree) can be viewed through a nihilistic lens. Bell believes that McCarthy’s characters are not ruled by normative moral and ethical rules but are instead controlled by fate, a fate not interested in who is good and who is bad. Bell claims the main characters in each of the early novels are, “knowers of things known raw, unshaped by the constructions of a mind obsessed with form.” (33) Bell argues that because these characters have chosen to live in isolation and poverty, their stories are told “through anecdote and incident rather than through thematic elements, in particulars rather than through types.” (35), Like Arnold, Bell notes that McCarthy rarely lets us into the consciousness of a character. This forces us to invest in the environment of the character in order to understand him or her. Bell argues that McCarthy’s novels, veiled in mystery, are about the experiences of the characters.

Giles, James. “Teaching the Contemporary Naturalism of Cormac McCarthy's Outer Dark.” Literary Reference Center-powered by EBSCOhost. Web. 6 May 2010.

Giles situates Outer Dark in the tradition of literary naturalism in order to formulate a method of teaching the text in a classroom. Naturalist authors tend to think that a human being (or character’s life) is determined by societal forces in their given situation. For instance, social constructions only exacerbate Culla’s guilt rather than help him.  Christians that Culla encounters do not provide the forgiveness that Culla craves. Instead, they judge him harshly, punishing him at every opportunity they can. Another force in the novel determining Culla’s fate is the murderous three.  They interact with Culla and the people around him, but they also commit horrible acts of violence that border on the edge of unrealism. Giles suggests that students can discuss this mix of realism and allegory in the murderous three, in order to discover their role. . In addition to the difficult line between realism and allegory, the use of poor, illiterate characters and what seems to be a more educated, well-off narrator also creates a dissonance between the reader and the characters. Since the narrator does not understand these characters, who are socially below him, the reader cannot understand them.

Hillier, Russell. “"In a Dark Parody" of John Bunyan's the Pilgrim's Progress: The Presence of Subversive Allegory in Cormac McCarthy's Outer Dark.” Literature Online. Web. 6 May 2010.

Russell compares Outer Dark to The Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegorical work by John Bunyan because he claims that McCarthy parodiesThe Pilgrim’s Progress, but he compares characters in both books, such as Culla inOuter Dark and Ignorance in The Pilgrim’s Progress, compares scenes, such as the river scene found in both books, or the shepherds in The Pilgrim’s Progress with the swine herders in Outer Dark. Most importantly, he argues that the mysterious dark three is an inversion of the three angels of The Pilgrim’s Progress, who represent the trinity. McCarthy’s trinity destroys Culla rather than building him up.

Metress, Christopher. “Via Negativa: The Way of Unknowing in Cormac McCarthy's Outer Dark | Southern Review, The | Find Articles at BNET.” BNET 2 2010. Web. 3 Feb. 2010.

Metress attempts to reconcile the nihilistic reading and moral reading of the text. To do this, he discusses the Christian mystical origins of the Via Negativa, and applies it toOuter Dark. Via Negativa is the belief that God can never be known positively, and that acceptance of this way of thought can lead to enlightenment and contentment. Metress argues that, although many critics have claims that the world of Outer Dark is anti-metaphysical, McCarthy’s use of many religious references, such as Culla described as a "witless paraclete beleaguered with all limbo's clamour", forces his readers to Admit its metaphysical origins, however ambiguous. Thus, Metress argues that McCarthy’s goal is to invite us to “bring to the novel our metaphysical preoccupations in order that he might strip away and subvert our preconceptions.” (2) He wants us to unlearn what we’ve learned, so that we may see that God is unknowable. He reinterprets the darkness in the novel as a representation of the unknown rather than nothingness. For example, in the beginning dream the crowd does not fear the darkness, but instead fear that the light may never come. They fear not knowing if or when they will be healed, since they were promised that they would be healed before the light came. In contrast, the blind man at the end of the novel represents someone who has embraced the unknown. He finds contentment in his blindness, while Culla finds no comfort in his wanderings, because he has not embraced the unknown.