Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. The year 1973 in literature involved some significant events and new books A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Cormac McCarthy, born Charles McCarthy (born July 20, 1933 in Providence Rhode Island) is an American Novelist and

Though the novel received critical praise, it was not a financial success. Like its predecessor, Outer Dark, Child of God established McCarthy's interest in using extreme isolation, perversity, and violence to represent normal human experience. Outer Dark is US Novelist Cormac McCarthy 's second Novel, published in 1968 McCarthy ignores literary conventions - for example, he does not use quotation marks - and chops and changes among several styles of writing such as matter-of-fact descriptions, almost poetic prose, and colloquial first-person narration (with the speaker remaining unidentified).

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Themes 3 Notes 4 Footnotes

Plot summary

Set in mountainous Sevier County, Tennessee, Child of God tells the story of Lester Ballard, a dispossessed, violent man whom the narrator describes as "a child of God much like yourself perhaps. Sevier County (pronounced "severe" is a US county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. " Ballard's life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes and with few other ties, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller as he falls deeper into crime and degradation.

Themes

One of the novel's main themes is sexual deviancy, specifically necrophilia and pedophilia. Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia and necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses The term pedophilia or paedophilia has a range of definitions as found in Psychology, law enforcement and the popular vernacular Ballard, who the novel makes clear is unable to have conventional relationships with women, eventually descends into necrophilia after finding a dead couple in a car. After this "first love" perishes in a fire he becomes proactive, creating dead female partners by shooting them with his rifle. Ballard also makes no distinction between women and girls, at one point killing a girl who he had previously asked "How come you wear them britches? You cain't see nothin". Another theme examined by the novel is survival. As the real world pushes Ballard further and further into a corner, there are many examples of actions aimed at survival, from the stealing of food to a particularly devious escape after he is captured by a group of vengeful men. The novel also indirectly examines racism with the word nigger freely used to describe African Americans although none of the novel's main characters are black. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Nigger is a Noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a derogatory context to refer to Black people, and also as an informal

Notes

The author said in an interview that the character Ballard is based on an unnamed historical figure. ^[1]

Despite its fantastic manner, Child of God contains much unobtrusive historical detail about Sevier County, Tennessee, including references to local Ku Klux Klan-like groups of the 1890s known as White Caps and Bluebills. Sevier County (pronounced "severe" is a US county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are Ballard's grandfather is said to have been a White Cap. The victims of the historical White Caps notably included women accused of immoral behavior, a circumstance that may be thematically connected to Ballard's actions.

In October 2007 the book found itself as the center of school controversy at Jim Ned High School in Tuscola, TX. Kaleb Tierce, AP English teacher and coach at Jim Ned, assigned a book report for which a 14-year-old student selected this title. Tierce was placed on paid administrative leave when the mother of the student complained. He may also face criminal charges. After an investigation, the sheriff's department brought no charges, and the case is currently being reviewed by the DA to determine if any crime was committed. ^[2]

Footnotes

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