Re: The Sunset Limited

Cormac McCarthy, The Sunset Limited


Cormac McCarthy’s play The Sunset Limited is a complex conundrum of logic and faith, following the reasoning and thoughts of two very different men as they try to find a solution for the lack of meaning many people feel in their lives. The character White has become unable to see anything of worth in human society, and so resorted to attempting suicide, and so the main question of the play becomes this: Is there any part of humanity that makes the suffering of life worth fighting through, and do the ideas people usually revere truly hold value or meaning?

Early on in the play, White tells Black that he used to believe in “cultural things…books and music and art,” believing them to be “the foundations of civilization.” However, he now sees them as “fragile” and recognizes that the world, and to a certain extent himself as well, has stopped believing in them. Different cultures and the arts are valued the world over by people of all sorts of races and backgrounds; culture and heritage often bring hope to people who are suffering, and the fine arts are commonly regarded as the height of civilization and an inspiration to all who behold them. However, for White, these things which used to inspire him to keep fighting no longer hold the same attraction and value, and the pain and trouble of living in this world becomes more than he can bear. If culture and art failed White at his lowest point and couldn’t convince him that life was worth living, then who’s to say that they have much purpose in this world at all?

In contrast to White, who places more stock in logic and concrete objects, Black gets his inspiration and willpower from his faith in God and religion. He tells White that God should be “everthing you need” to support and motivate oneself. In Black’s lowest point, when he was chained to the hospital bed in the jailhouse, “[he] said [to Jesus]: Please help me. And he did.” Black’s religious beliefs are one of his strongest characteristics and a near constant throughout the play; even though he mentions “heresy” at times, his faith is unshakeable despite White’s stubborn doubt and atheistic logic. In the end of the play, though, Black’s calm immovability and emotional stability is finally shaken by White’s statements. Upset and on the verge of an emotional breakdown, he tells God, “I don't understand what you sent me down there for. I don't understand it. If you wanted me to help him how come you didn't give me the words?” It’s true that religion has done an incredible amount of good for Black, but it’s equally true that in the end, faith could not convince White to let go of his suicidal urges. Atheists around the world have made clear their opinions about a belief in something that cannot be empirically proven, and the ability of faith to save the fallen may not be just as incorporeal.

Every person on this earth has their own reasons and ideals to balance out the unpleasant and painful parts of life, but when the time comes to test these beliefs, how many could actually stand up to scrutiny or convince a depressed or suicidal person of the good in the world? Although the thought is depressing indeed, it simply may be as White says, with the Sunset Limited being the only thing in this world concrete enough to believe in.


Works Cited:

McCarthy, Cormac. The Sunset Limited: A Novel in Dramatic Form. New York: Vintage Books, 2006. Print.