No Country for Old Men and the Poem Sailing to Byzantium - Essay Example

Rhetorical analysis of the relationship between the novel No Country for Old Men and the poem sailing to Byzantium Introduction Sailing to Byzantium is a 1928 poem written by William Butler Yeats in his collection of poems dubbed the tower. The poem is quite a simple poem with four stanzas. The poems theme is about a metaphor spiritual journey. The journey explored is about a person pursuing his own spiritual vision of eternal life in preparation for reception in paradise. No country for old men is a novel by Cormac McCarthy written and produced in 2005. The storyline of this film is a story taking place in Mexico border and the US in 1980 concerning the illegal drug deals which had fallen apart in Texas. These two literary works have a common ancestry in that the first stanza of the poem sailing to Byzantium by Yeats makes the title of this book. Yeats writes, “that is no country for old men” (Yeats 1). Yeats in his poem wrote about the agony of people at old age not forgetting their imaginative and spiritual work which is necessary for the survival. Yeats says that an individual should remain strong even if the heart is “fastened to a dying animal” (Yeats 1). This is evidence that besides the actions and foils, the novel is thought to be inspired by William Butler Yeats poem the sailing to Byzantium. Thesis Statement Besides the actions and foils, the novel is thought to be inspired by William Butler Yeats’ poem “Sailing to Byzantium,” where the poem served as the base of the novel by looking at the significance of the character Sheriff Bell, McCarthy’s writing style, and also the significance of the title of No Country For Old Men. Rhetorical Analysis Yeats poem explores how time goes and how we all end up in eternal life. Yeats reflection is about the fears that befell people when they age. The author reveals that although we are humans we are born, live, and eventually die something which is a fact “whatever is begotten born and dies” (Yeats 1). The opening scenes of the novel no country for old men signifies similar facts. The introductory scenes indicate dead bodies of people who seemed to have been killed in a botched drug deal in the border of US and Mexico in the city of Texas. The author of this novel McCarthy reveals that one of the actor Llewellyn Moss meets a pick up full of dead bodies but finds only one surviving man. Besides this he finds heroin and 2 million dollars which he decides to take home (McCarthy 1). The author adopts this reflection from the works of Yeats. In Yeats poem, the author decides to seek a lonely place where he is able to rest and seek a direction for his life. He retreats to Byzantium to seek reflection. Similarly, McCarthy adopts this storyline when he only employs only two surviving men in the opening scenes of his story a hunter and one survivor which indicate that there is no country for old men. Yeats writes, “Those dying generations at their song” (Yeats 2). McCarthy proceeds and tells us about the story of the hunter who comes back to bring water to the only man that survived the war. The man manages to see him and decides to revenge. McCarthy introduces an old Sheriff who investigates the trails of revenge between the two culprits. The old Sheriff is indicated to be unable to solve the mysteries behind the revenge. This plot is also adopted from the works of Yeats poem. Yeats writes of old people having no country in his introductory line in his poem. He proceeds and talk about the birds and the salmons indicating that the salmons fall while the mackerel crowded seas, fish, flesh, or fowl, commended all summer long, whatever is begotten born and dies” (Yeats 1). The author Yeats is describing the life cycle of the birds and mackerels. The author had in mind that the salmons are born in fresh water and will later move to the oceans where they mature and they will only go back to their birth place when ready to mate. This is an indication of a life cycle which affects humans too. When men grow old they lose their positions as the leaders in the society and most of the time they are taken to old age homes where they are left to die in peace. Sheriff Bell has been captured as an old man by McCarthy to affirm this idea in the novel no country for old men. This is also affirmed by the last two stanzas of the poem which indicate that something old is no longer attractive and hence attention is always shifted to the young and energetic youths. However, Yeast argues that even though the old are neglected they are still important and they are like monuments which provide the historical backgrounds of our culture. Yeats writes, “Monuments of unageing intellect” (Yeats 1). McCarty incorporates Sheriff Bell as a monument who although is old has so much knowledge about solving the sheer crimes in the city. When his deputy ask him about the complicated saga he answers boldly, “if it aint it’ll do till a mess gets here” (McCarthy 67). Both literary works adopts biblical stories which also reveal that both stories must have been adopted from another. McCarthy has incorporated series of biblical versions that aims at giving this novel a moral obligation something that he adapts from Yeats poem. Stanza three of the poem indicates Yeats calling for eternal help to free him from the sufferings in this world. He also begins the stanza with the word O which is a sign of humility to his creator. Similarly, McCarthy also shifts his theme of violence by introducing biblical analysis. Ironically, Moss was the hunter when the novel begins but a shift of events occur and he is now hunted. Moss is looking for a sage to help him out of his trouble. He has nowhere to go to as his hunter is determined to revenge. Moss is homeless as he tries relentlessly to evade his hunter. This aspect also reveals the title of the novel. Interestingly, McCarthy relates the picking of the 2 million dollars as the original sin which has constantly caused mayhem in Moss’s family. The story reminds us that choices have consequences in relation to the wages of sin is death. The author of this novel is determined to explore how far Moss will go with the ‘sin’ which is the money he took from the drug dealers. This reminds us biblically that we must be responsible over our choices as the wages of sin is death. Yeats talk of his heart fastened to a dying animal. The dying animal symbolizes the old man. This is an indication that Yeast wishes that he could live forever but this cannot happen since his heart is fastened to the body of a dying animal. McCarthy also adopts this technique and symbolizes money as the soul which Moss cannot afford to leave but even though he is determined, his hunters cannot let him live forever in peace (Frye 207). Moss wishes that he could have a peaceful life but it is too late as the hunters are seeking for his life after he took a forbidden fruit which symbolically is the briefcase which contained the money. The closing stages of these literary articles reveal that both of Yeats and Moss agree to die but neither of them is willing to come back to life because the treatment in earth is the same. Yeats says in the last stanza, “of what is past, or passing or to come” (Yeats 4). The narrator argues that even though he is dying he has made a history and he has left a legacy that forever he shall be remembered hence his last words in the poem as already indicated above. This is a similar prosthesis that engulfs Moss who is ready to die but he knows he has left a legacy to his disturbed family. Despite having such money, he does not wish to come back to life due to the suffering and pursuit he faces in his life. Conclusion It is evident from the literary analysis that McCarthy adopted Yeats poem as a basis for his novel no country for old men. This paper has analyzed all rhetorical reflections in the poem and the novel and has compared their similarities and meanings. Both artistic works indicate that the human life as well as many other organisms undergoes a cycle of birth, life, and eventual death. The authors have also been keen to illustrate that old organisms mostly lose their status in the ecological niches are mostly neglected and left to die. Both authors have also been keen to illustrate that choices have consequences in life and whatever the choice it will have a positive or a negative influence in life. The authors have also concluded their works by expressing that history is important and it forms the basis of our culture. In conclusion, the novel no country for old men by McCarthy was ideally inspired by sailing to Byzantium by Yeats. Works Cited Frye, S. "Yeats Sailing to Byzantium and McCarthys No Country for Old Men: Art and Artifice in the New Novel." The Cormac McCarthy Society Journal 5 (2006): 207–215. McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. New York: Random House, 2005. Yeats, William Butler. Sailing to Byzantium." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Twentieth Century and After. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 2006. Read More