I went ahead and plowed through to the end last night, a testament to McCarthy’s characters. I could not sleep without knowing what was going to happen next. I will save further comments until we have all finished up and begun the discussion on the book as a whole, but I have a quick question I need some help with.
On the pages leading up to 271, this is what I gather is happening and please correct me if you believe I am mistaken: John Grady, with the captain as a hostage, is being trailed, I assume by people from the Hacienda from where he stole back his horse and Blevins’ horse. He is looking out at open territory, and he does not have enough time to get across it without being overtaken or least without giving away his position. As a means to delay his pursuers, he makes an elaborate booby-trap whereby the Captain’s pistol will fire when the cigarette burns through the makeshift string holding the hammer back, and he abandons a horse. To what end is this done? How is abandoning a horse and having a gun go off at a seemingly random time going to help his cause? We are left with the impression that it worked, because we do not see the pursuers any more, but what happened?
McCarthy has created great characters, and has written a decent story, but his tendency to leave the reader befuddled is vexing to say the least.
No comments:
Post a Comment