ABSTRACT

The essay explores two principal aspects of The Orchard Keeper (1965), Cormac McCarthy’s first published novel. It first examines McCarthy’s sensitively realized portrait of the old hermit Uncle Arthur “Ather” Ownby, whose mistakes, family loss, and guilt inspire him to turn to nature, arrive at a new philosophical and spiritual understanding of the cosmos, and defend his green world at a considerable personal cost. Second, an explication of the ominous and rich central symbol of the government tank reveals that McCarthy’s preoccupations are with global and far-reaching events, which include the Cold War and the Space Race. Ownby’s defiance of the government installation makes him the first in McCarthy’s gallery of virtuous characters who strive to uphold morality against the odds and despite ill consequence and the first in McCarthy’s memorable succession of prophetic and “gnomic” old men.

摘要

这篇文章探讨了《果园守护者》的两个主要方面（1965），科马克·麦卡锡的第一部出版小说。它首先审视了麦卡锡对老隐士亚瑟“阿瑟”奥恩比叔叔的敏感描绘，他的错误、家庭失散和内疚激励他转向自然，对宇宙有了新的哲学和精神理解，并捍卫他的绿色世界以相当大的个人成本。其次，对政府坦克不祥而丰富的中心符号的解释表明，麦卡锡关注的是全球性和影响深远的事件，包括冷战和太空竞赛。奥恩比对政府装置的蔑视使他成为麦卡锡画廊中第一个努力维护道德、不顾后果、不顾后果的善良人物，也是麦卡锡令人难忘的一系列预言和“侏儒”老人中的第一个。