Cities of the Plain
Encyclopedia
Cities of the Plain is the final volume of American novel
ist Cormac McCarthy
's "Border Trilogy
", published in 1998. A film adaptation to be directed by Andrew Dominik
has been announced for release in 2012. The title is a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 19:29).
– takes place, like the first two novels, on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. The novel unites John Grady Cole, the protagonist of the first book of the trilogy, with Billy Parham, another young cowboy, who is the protagonist in the "The Crossing". Billy, who lost his younger brother, Boyd, in Mexico, is nine years older than John Grady, now 19, and Parham and Cole have formed a brotherly friendship as the novel opens.
, not far from the border cities of El Paso
, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez
in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. We learn of their life and work on the ranch. The owners are kind, but cattle ranches in this area, recently tormented by a devastating drought, are not thriving and under threat of resumption by the Department of Defense as prospective military areas. Although the cowboys barely make a living, it is clear that John Grady and Billy love their life—living close to the land, their horses, even the wild creatures of the rangeland. But during a visit to a brothel in Juárez, John Grady meets and falls in love with a fragile young prostitute, Magdalena, whom he eventually asks to marry and live with him in the U.S. Billy understands the impossibility of the situation and attempts to dissuade John Grady, but feels obligated by his friendship to try to help the couple. But the brothel is run by Eduardo, a formidable adversary, in that he is an experienced Cuchillero, and the opposite of John Grady in most ways, except for each man's desire to have Magdalena. Their rivalry leads inevitably to a duel, a knife fight, that recapitulates the earlier prison fight in the first volume of the trilogy. Eduardo had his sidekick, Tiburcio, murder Magdalena by cutting her throat after she stole away from the brothel and waited for Grady at a river crossing into the US. Grady knowingly suffers the slow ritual of being systematically and slowly slashed at by his antagonist until the occasion presents itself to thrust his own knife up through Eduardo's jaw and into his brain. Grady survives long enough for his friend Billy to be contacted and hurry down to comfort him in his death throes.
As in many of McCarthy’s novels, there is a sorrowful end for the characters, however in the epilogue there is left a glimmer of mercy, at least for one man.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written ten novels, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and modernist genres. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction for The Road...
's "Border Trilogy
The Border Trilogy
The Border Trilogy consists of three novels written by American author Cormac McCarthy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain....
", published in 1998. A film adaptation to be directed by Andrew Dominik
Andrew Dominik
Andrew Dominik is a New Zealand-born Australian film director and screenwriter. He has directed two films so far: Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.-Early life and career:...
has been announced for release in 2012. The title is a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
(Genesis 19:29).
Plot introduction
This finale of McCarthy's Western trilogy – preceded by All the Pretty Horses and The CrossingThe Crossing (novel)
The Crossing is a novel by prize-winning American author Cormac McCarthy, published in 1994 by Alfred A. Knopf. The story is the second installment of McCarthy's "Border Trilogy".-Plot introduction:...
– takes place, like the first two novels, on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. The novel unites John Grady Cole, the protagonist of the first book of the trilogy, with Billy Parham, another young cowboy, who is the protagonist in the "The Crossing". Billy, who lost his younger brother, Boyd, in Mexico, is nine years older than John Grady, now 19, and Parham and Cole have formed a brotherly friendship as the novel opens.
Plot summary
The story begins in 1952 with John Grady and Billy working together on a cattle ranch just south of Alamogordo, New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, not far from the border cities of El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. We learn of their life and work on the ranch. The owners are kind, but cattle ranches in this area, recently tormented by a devastating drought, are not thriving and under threat of resumption by the Department of Defense as prospective military areas. Although the cowboys barely make a living, it is clear that John Grady and Billy love their life—living close to the land, their horses, even the wild creatures of the rangeland. But during a visit to a brothel in Juárez, John Grady meets and falls in love with a fragile young prostitute, Magdalena, whom he eventually asks to marry and live with him in the U.S. Billy understands the impossibility of the situation and attempts to dissuade John Grady, but feels obligated by his friendship to try to help the couple. But the brothel is run by Eduardo, a formidable adversary, in that he is an experienced Cuchillero, and the opposite of John Grady in most ways, except for each man's desire to have Magdalena. Their rivalry leads inevitably to a duel, a knife fight, that recapitulates the earlier prison fight in the first volume of the trilogy. Eduardo had his sidekick, Tiburcio, murder Magdalena by cutting her throat after she stole away from the brothel and waited for Grady at a river crossing into the US. Grady knowingly suffers the slow ritual of being systematically and slowly slashed at by his antagonist until the occasion presents itself to thrust his own knife up through Eduardo's jaw and into his brain. Grady survives long enough for his friend Billy to be contacted and hurry down to comfort him in his death throes.
As in many of McCarthy’s novels, there is a sorrowful end for the characters, however in the epilogue there is left a glimmer of mercy, at least for one man.
External links
- http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/works/citiesoftheplain.htm