Abstract
This paper focuses on Cormac McCarthy's unpublished screenplay "Whales and Men" and its possible influence on his later published works, specifically the Border Trilogy. McCarthy worked on "Whales and Men" in 1980s, in a period of transition from the South to the West.
While having rather straightforward environmental agenda, "Whales and Men" shows many similarities to the attitude towards nature and animals present in the Border Trilogy, and The Crossing in particular. This paper approaches "Whales and Men" and other archival material as a valuable source of information on the development of McCarthy's environmental and ethical concerns that have an important role both in his earlier and later works.
The aim of this article is to demonstrate how reoccurring images and topics directly connect "Whales and Men" to the Border Trilogy and thus to establish "Whales and Men" as a useful research material for understanding McCarthy's attitude towards nature. The majority of the article focuses on the parallel between a whale and a wolf which is made in the screenplay by John Western.
Not only both species belong to the endangered list, but they also show many similarities in terms what they evoke in man and that they are shrouded in mystery and myth. However, this paper argues that both species appear in the texts not only as symbols, but also as literary representations of their real kind facing slow extinction.
The emphasis on their existence in real world is supported by presenting both species in extremely vulnerable position, being trapped either on the beach or in an actual trap. Facing an unfamiliar and unnatural environment, they are at the mercy of man, who seem to be their worst enemy and yet the only possible saviour.
Man's responsibility for the survival or extinction of both wolves and whales is another feature that brings "Whales and Men" and The Crossing together.