<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article analyzes the concept of food in Cormac McCarthy's dystopian, (post-)apocalyptic fiction, aiming to prove that in the American writer's universe the act of eating is deprived of its social and spiritual dimension, being restricted to its basic functionality similar to that of a meal-replacement product. The analysis draws a parallel between the concept of <italic>manna</italic> in the Exodus and the types of foodstuffs and their functionality in the novels <italic>Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West</italic> and <italic>The Road</italic>, showing that food is one of the constituent ingredients of McCarthy's desert imaginary and is interpreted as a crucial weapon in the fight against death and dehumanization.</p>
</abstract>

This article analyzes the concept of food in Cormac McCarthy's dystopian, (post-)apocalyptic fiction, aiming to prove that in the American writer's universe the act of eating is deprived of its social and spiritual dimension, being restricted to its basic functionality similar to that of a meal-replacement product. The analysis draws a parallel between the concept of manna in the Exodus and the types of foodstuffs and their functionality in the novels Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West and The Road, showing that food is one of the constituent ingredients of McCarthy's desert imaginary and is interpreted as a crucial weapon in the fight against death and dehumanization.

The Functionality of Food in Cormac McCarthy's Desert Imaginary, or Abundance and Scarcity in <italic>Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West</italic> (1985) and <italic>The Road</italic> (2006)

East-West Cultural Passage

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Functionality of Food in Cormac McCarthy's Desert Imaginary, or Abundance and Scarcity in  (1985) and  (2006)

This article analyzes the concept of food in Cormac McCarthy's dystopian, (post-)apocalyptic fiction, aiming to prove that in the American writer's universe...

The Functionality of Food in Cormac McCarthy's Desert Imaginary, or Abundance and Scarcity in Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West (1985) and The Road (2006)

Publié en ligne: 21 janv. 2022

Pages: 43 - 60

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ewcp-2021-0003

Mots clés
manna, soylent, food, desert, Cormac McCarty, post-apocalyptic fiction

© 2021 Ovidiu Matiu, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Functionality of Food in Cormac McCarthy's Desert Imaginary, or Abundance and Scarcity in Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West (1985) and The Road (2006)

Publié en ligne: 21 janv. 2022

Pages: 43 - 60

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ewcp-2021-0003

Mots clésmanna, soylent, food, desert, Cormac McCarty, post-apocalyptic fiction

© 2021 Ovidiu Matiu, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
manna, soylent, food, desert, Cormac McCarty, post-apocalyptic fiction