The Way Not Taken in the Road: Notes Towards Some Useful Statements About Writing Great Works from 1611 to 2010
18 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2011
Date Written: April 26, 2010
Abstract
I argue here about language, actual sets of words in a certain order, and the importance of the exact word order, and choice, for portability and persuasion over time. I use Cormac McCarthy's (2006) novel "The Road" and attempt to show how what I call a "creed-text" which in the case of Western Civilization is the King James Bible appears in this text only in unidentifiable thoughts or sentiments, rather than, as was previously more common in literature, in recognizable text links, links that say: This is from this text, in these word choices, and can be from no other place.
Keywords: The Road, Cormac McCarthy, Literature, King James Bible
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