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Apr. 9th, 2007 03:07 amCities
...and involving the last lines too, so, er, *spoiler warning*.
Someone on the McCarthy Forum in an old post notes how well Betty's final reply to Billy fits a Jesus line:
"I'm not what you think I am. I aint nothin. I dont know why you put up with me."
"Well, Mr Parham, I know who you are. And I do know why. You go to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning."
"Yes mam."
The Jesus line being approximately, Whatever you do for the least of your brothers you do for me.
But that in turn can also be read through McCarthy's universalization of Jesus: any man dying is Jesus, is doing it for us (in a sense I'm still failing to grasp). Billy's dying for Betty. So does the Christian scripture line really fit? Not unless least inevitably implies dying, as perhaps it very nearly did at the time. But rhetorically it fits beautifully and troublingly.
Troublingly, because the Christ-free reading of those lines is so much more beautiful.
...and involving the last lines too, so, er, *spoiler warning*.
Someone on the McCarthy Forum in an old post notes how well Betty's final reply to Billy fits a Jesus line:
"I'm not what you think I am. I aint nothin. I dont know why you put up with me."
"Well, Mr Parham, I know who you are. And I do know why. You go to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning."
"Yes mam."
The Jesus line being approximately, Whatever you do for the least of your brothers you do for me.
But that in turn can also be read through McCarthy's universalization of Jesus: any man dying is Jesus, is doing it for us (in a sense I'm still failing to grasp). Billy's dying for Betty. So does the Christian scripture line really fit? Not unless least inevitably implies dying, as perhaps it very nearly did at the time. But rhetorically it fits beautifully and troublingly.
Troublingly, because the Christ-free reading of those lines is so much more beautiful.
