Title: Frontier justice in the novels of James Femimore Cooper and Cormac McCarthy /
Authors: Wood, Daniel Davis,
Year: 2016
Subjects: Cooper, James Fenimore,; Cooper, James Fenimore, Criticism and interpretation.; McCarthy, Cormac, Criticism and interpretation.; Western stories History and criticism.
Abstract: "James Fenimore Cooper and Cormac McCarthy are two of the most celebrated and influential writers of the American West. Both have written powerful narratives that focus on the disappearance of the nineteenth century frontier, and both show an interest in the dramatic ways in which the frontier gave shape to American culture. But is it possible that the kinship between these two writers extends beyond simply sharing an interest in this subject? Teasing out the implications of the recurrent allusions to Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales in the pages of McCarthy's Southwestern novels, this book finds Cooper and McCarthy engaged in a complex legal and ethical dialogue despite the centuries that separate their lives and their work. The result of their dialogue is a provocative, nuanced analysis of the effects of the frontier on the American justice system-and, for both writers, an expression of alarm at the violation of the principles upon which the system was established"--Amazon.com.
Contents: James Fenimore Cooper. Towards the Ethic of Frontier Justice ; From Spectacular Fanaticism to Indiscriminate Brutality ; The Frontiersman Awakens, 1820-1826 ; The Frontiersman Relapses, 1839-1841 -- Cormac McCarthy. The Survival of the Ethic of Frontier Justice ; Looking Ahead, Glancing Back ; The Same Authority as God, No Requirements Upon It -- Conclusion: A Jurisprudential Affinity, an Aesthetic Distinction.