Suttree

McCarthy’s novel is a study of the absurdity of modern existence. By highlighting the uselessness of social structures and biases, the battle between the individual and community, and the cycles of self-abuse bred by absurdity and modernism, McCarthy speaks to the complexity of the human experience.

In Suttree, absurdity is developed as a criticism of society’s structures and institutions. Characters in this novel are at odds with society. They have been displaced or have run away from the responsibilities of modern society. Although their lives in Knoxville are impoverished and characterized by danger, McCarthy writes an admirable portrait of the ingenuity people are capable of when they refuse to be a part of society. Harrogate is an excellent example of this theme. Harrogate lacks a clear moral compass to guide his actions. His first crime in which he burned a woman to death in her own home is incredibly violent, but he feels no remorse. When Suttree meets Harrogate in prison, he sees firsthand how Harrogate can be cowardly and unwittingly antagonizing to others. Harrogate’s lack of compassion and self-awareness is a sign that he will be in and out of prison, possibly for the rest of his life. Harrogate doesn’t fit in with society. Prison provides Harrogate with community, food, and shelter. Even within this very structured microcosm of society, Harrogate struggles to fit in. Harrogate is a puzzle that no part of society can quite figure out. In the poor neighborhoods of Knoxville, where Harrogate attempts a living, he demonstrates characteristics of intelligence and cunning. He comes up with scheme after scheme to keep himself fed and paid. These schemes are illegal and often don’t work well, such as when he steals a pig from his neighbor but can’t figure out how to cleanly kill and prep the pig for food. Harrogate also poisons bats to turn them in as rabies-infested pests for money from the government, and his ploy is quickly found out. When he searches the tunnels under Knoxville to find a way into the bank vaults, he detonates the tunnels and nearly dies of his own foolishness. His coin-robbery scheme is the most successful one, but it ultimately sends him back to prison. Harrogate is crafty, but he doesn’t have the skills or wherewithal to understand how predictably his schemes will fail. Harrogate is also an outcast of society. He was imprisoned so young that he doesn’t know how to reintegrate into society. No one has taught Harrogate how to be a person operating within larger society. Thus, it is also modern society that is absurd for not giving Harrogate the compassion and skillset to be successful.

There is also an absurd battle between the individual and the community. In McAnally, people experiencing homelessness create a community of their own. Suttree makes friends with many characters, and he checks in on all his friends on a regular basis. They do the same for him, such as when J-Bone finds him deathly ill with typhoid fever in a hotel, or when Michael looks for Suttree when he moves away from the river. People can be a source of comfort to one another. Often, however, the community spirit enables people to behave in ways that hurt their prospects. Suttree helps Leonard dump Leonard’s dead father’s body in the river, even though Suttree knows that Leonard’s scheme won’t work and even though he is disgusted by Leonard’s plan. Suttree won’t get anything from this, but Suttree doesn’t think of reciprocation or rewards. Still, it is absurd that he goes along with plans he knows are wrong or doomed to fail. His sense of community overrides his logic. Further, he ultimately learns that no community can make him better or worse—it is up to the individual to determine the path their lives will take.

Essentially, the conclusion of McCarthy’s novel on questions about life’s meaning is that life has no meaning. Suttree could just as easily have been his stillborn twin or the body on his houseboat that was mistaken for him. McCarthy’s use of vivid imagery to describe nature and setting demonstrates that elements of the world are beautiful because of their existence, not because of a higher meaning. Suttree endures many hardships, including the death of his son, incarceration, and poverty. Yet Suttree ultimately learns that nothing in his life has had meaning. There is an existential benefit to this attitude, and it frees Suttree by motivating him to live life for whatever he determines his life to be. Value of life is in an individual’s projection of meaning. As in existentialism, it is absurd to rely on society, authority, religion, or other external structures for meaning.