Topographies of Transition in Western American Literature

T h e G a t e , L a g u n a , N e w M e x i c o , b y L a u r a G i l p i n , 1 9 2 4© 1 9 7 9 , A m o n C a r t e r M u s e u m , F o r t W o r t h , T e x a s G i f t o f t h e E s t a t e o f L a u r a G i l p i n S T E P H E N T A T U M U n iv e r s ity o f U ta h T op ograp h ies o f T ran sition in W estern A m erica n L itera tu re I. C ro ssin g th e C ou n try I tse lf He said that anyw ay it was not so m uch a question of a correct map but o f any m ap at all. He said that in that country were fires and earthquakes and floods and that one needed to know the country itself and not sim ply the landm arks therein. Corm ac M cCarthy, The Crossing (1994) So an o ld m an say s to th e b ro th e rs P arh am , jo v e n e s sto p p in g in an a la m e d a in a n o rth e rn C h ih u a h u a v illa g e to a sc e rta in th e w ay to y et a n o th e r v illa g e , on e said to b e in a n o th e r co u n try th a n th e o n e th ey are p re se n tly p a ssin g th ro u g h , “th a t c o u n try ” w h ere th e y a lso h av e b een to ld re sid e s th e h o rse b ro k e r w h o h as so ld th e ir fa th e r ’s sto len h o rse , K en o . To th is p o in t in th e n o v el the y o u n g b ro th e rs h av e n o t b e e n p o rtra y e d as th in k in g v ery m u ch ab o u t th e p o ssib le slip p a g e b e tw e e n an y “ la n d m a rk s” g ra p h e d o n a m ap an d a tru e k n o w le d g e o f “ th e c o u n try ” ly in g w ith in o r re p re se n te d by th e m a p ’s co o rd in a te s. B u t fo r re a d e rs o f lite ra tu re a b o u t th e g e o g ra p h ic a l W est an d S o u th w e st o f th e U n ite d S tates, C o rm a c M c C a rth y ’s u se o f c a rto ­ g ra p h ic m e ta p h o rs in h is n o v els b o th reh e a rse s an d , in sig n ific a n t w ay s, re v ise s th e c e n tra l q u e stio n s a b o u t p la c e its e lf an d ab o u t h u m a n s...