The Crossing Cormac Mccarthy Analysis

The protagonist in Cormac McCarthy's "The Crossing", is accompanied by a hearse and a dead wolf in order to convey that all creatures are united through death.
The story has a 3rd person narration where the reader is looking into the story. The speaker looks upon the scene of a man in search of a place to bury the dead wolf. The man cradles the blood covered wolf with a gentleness that is parent like. Men and animal are alike in this novel and the man realizes this as he searches for a place to lay the wolf. This wolf is no longer and animal but instead is a creature of God that has perished. Feeling pity for the lone wolf ,he carries it to the creek to wash the blood out of it's fur. The cleansing of the blood is related to the religious cleansing of feet where church goers clean each others feet to show that they are one in the same. The washing away of blood is symbolic in the sense that the man cleans the wolf in …show more content…
While the horse is dependable the wolf on the other hand is wild and lonesome. The use of these two animals is to exhibit the difference of two completely different animals who are united in the world through the naturalism of death. Loneliness surrounding the man in the woods is momentarily banished by the companionship of the horse and wolf.
In the cold wilderness the protagonist cares for the dead wolf as if it were his pet. The wolf is characterized first as "the wolf" then to "she" conveying that the relationship between the protagonist and the wolf is now emotional. The wolf and its burial have now become important to the protagonist as he shows emotion for it. Had the character not cared at all for the wolf, he would have just left it blood stained lying in the dark woods for scavengers to eat. The ritual of burial is for closure and acceptance of death. Finding the perfect burial ground for the wolf conveys the pity for the