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Corruption Of The Human Race

Good Essays

Megan Hinojos
Dr. Grinder
American Novel
1 December 2015
Corruption of the Human Race As one considers the past and present world, countless acts of violence, death, and sadness are revealed. Throughout existence, the human race has participated in destructive ways that in some instances, eliminate all hope for goodness. Countries go to war, individuals kill in the name of revenge, hatred, jealousy, and personal achievement. At times the brutality and sin displayed by human beings is overwhelming, making the world seem resistant to any form of goodness. In addition to the horrific actions displayed by humans, the world is prone to natural disasters. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and countless other catastrophes leave human life and …show more content…

Human beings are formed by both the Demiurgos and the true god. For the most part, humans are unable to identify the goodness within themselves or the “Divine Spark” which is instilled by the true god. The false creator and his Archons work to resist human acknowledgment of their divine elements. Human superficiality lessens one’s divine spark and further imprisons them to Earth. There are some beings who are able to recognize their divinity and contain pnuema or elements of the true spirit which aid their release from Earth after death. (Filoramo, Mundik, Pétrement)
Because of Earth’s corrupted state, Gnostics justify the fact that the world is prone to suffering and endless violence due to human spiritual deficiency and immorality. This deficiency and corruption is what leads to greed, violence, and death which are all present within the novel. McCarthy creates a vicious world of suffering through the actions of Glanton and his gang. Taking place after the Mexican-American War, Glanton leads his men into the newly gained land with the purpose of massacring the native Apache people. The violence performed by the gang is unimaginable, “the dead lay with their peeled skulls like polyps bluely wet or luminescent melons cooling on some mesa of the moon” (174). In this reality all hope is lost. The weak are massacred and the strong live on the kill another day. While talking to the gang of men the judge suggests, “Moral law is an invention of mankind for the

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