Mcteague Essay, Research Paper

Character Analysis of McTeague

Frank Norris s fresh McTeague explores the decay of society in the early 20th century. Set in San Francisco, a topographic point where anything can go on where fact is frequently stranger than fiction ( McElrath, Jr. 447 ) , Norris explores subjects of greed and naturalism, uncovering the darker side of human mind. What can be found most disturbing is the manner that Norris portrays McTeague, in flooring item, as nil more than a beastly animate being at his nucleus. Norris explores the greed and barbarian animalism that lurks inside McTeague.

McTeague is foremost portrayed as a soft giant. The reader is introduced to McTeague as he sits in his dental parlour, smoking his cigar and imbibing his steam beer. He is described as a tall, easy traveling adult male.

McTeague s head was as his organic structure, heavy, slow to move, sulky. Yet there was nil barbarous about the adult male. Altogether he suggested the bill of exchange Equus caballus, vastly strong, stupid, docile, obedient ( Norris 7 ) .

Immediately one can visualise McTeague, a big pounding mass, traveling about his day-to-day activities in quiet purdah. The dental pattern that McTeague runs provides him with a sound income, and in the first few chapters of the novel, he desires nil more out of life than to pattern what he loves. When he opened his Dental Parlors, he felt that his life was a success, that he could trust for nil better ( Norris 7 ) .

Upon run intoing Trina, his best friend Marcus s love involvement who comes to him because of a broken tooth, his mind begins to alter and animalistic feelings begin to well up indoors McTeague. The male, virile desire in him slowly awakened, aroused itself, strong and barbarous. It was resistless, untrained, a thing non to be held in a tether an blink of an eye ( Norris 25 ) . Norris uses the carnal imagination to depict the impairment of McTeague s human qualities.

When McTeague tells Marcus of his purposes with Trina, there is a tangible tenseness between the two characters. Although at first they act like gentlemen, there is a soundless competition between them.

Well, what are we traveling to make about it, Mac? he said.

I don know, answered McTeague in great hurt. I don want anything to to come between us, Mark.

Well, say, Mac, he cried, striking the tabular array with his fist, travel in front. I guess you you want her pretty bad. I ll draw out ; yes, I will. I ll give her up to you, old adult male ( Norris 48 ) .

McTeague about seems sincere in his effort to rectify his friendly relationship. Despite the fact that the two are make up one’s minding which one will hold Trina, without her input on the affair, they feel that they are both baronial work forces. The tooth doctor treats his friend for an cankerous tooth and refuses payment ; the friend reciprocates by giving up his miss. This was aristocracy ( Norris 48-9 ) . After this brush, the two work forces go back to their level where a battle

between two Canis familiariss is about to happen. Norris uses boding at this point and more carnal imagination to depict the soundless fury turning inside Marcus. Suddenly the wrangle had exploded on either side of the fencing. The Canis familiariss raged at each other, snaping and barking, frenetic with hatred ( Norris 52 ) . This scene is repeated throughout the novel when McTeague and Marcus meet, adding to the feelings of tenseness between the two.

After Trina and McTeague program to be wed, she wins the lottery supplying a accelerator for the farther decay of their character. After winning the five thousand dollars, the passport to destine that brings on all the problem, she begins to stash the money and go ungenerous ( Rexroth 345 ) .

Merely now, giving to an urge which frequently seized her, she drew out the matchbox and the chammy poke, and emptying the contents on the bed, counted them carefully She counted it and recounted it and made small hemorrhoids of it an drubbed the gold pieces between the creases of her apron until they shone ( Norris 164 ) .

Norris devotes several chapters her miserliness, slightly inordinate with the pettiness and petit-bourgeois traits of Trina s Swiss household nevertheless if Norris indulges in rough stereotypes, it is because society produces them ( Brier 1310 ) . McTeague contrasts Trina, ever concerned with her inordinate billboard. If it were up to McTeague, they would populate a comfy life. After losing his concern, he and Trina are forced to travel.

Trina still refuses to pull upon their nest egg, and McTeague begins to demo his antipathy for their life style. It was n

ot mere economic system with her

now Trina could hold easy afforded better populating quarters than the individual whitewashed room at the top of the level, but she made McTeague believe that it was impossible ( Norris 212 ) . During these disruptive yearss for the McTeague s, Marcus is racked with self-loathing over his lost chance. You fool, you fool, Marcus Schouler! If you d maintain Trina you d hold had that money. You might hold had it yourself to throw five thousand dollars out the window God damn the fortune! ( Norris 103 ) . On one juncture the hate between the two leaves them in a physical state of affairs. The two work forces are wrestling together and Norris uses animalism to demo their loss of civility. There was a sudden flash of raspberry-red blood The beast in McTeague that lay so close to the surface leaped immediately to life, monstrous, non to be resisted ( Norris 182 ) . The character qualities begin to take a signifier all their ain, and are governed by crudeness. This is no longer civility, but instead beastly animalism.

The Torahs of humanity no longer govern McTeague, and his opprobrious qualities foreshadow at hand day of reckoning. McTeague becomes obsessed with the greed that has overcome Trina and assail her in order to acquire her to give him money.

The people about the house and the clerks at the proviso shop frequently remarked that Trina s fingertips were swollen and the nails

purple as though they had been shut in a door The fact of the affair was that McTeague, when he had been imbibing, used to seize with teeth them, scranching and crunching them with his immense dentition Sometimes he extorted money from her by this agencies, but every bit frequently he did it for his ain satisfaction ( Norris 239 ) .

At one point McTeague bargains money from Trina and wantonnesss her. McTeague spends the money in royal manner, perfectly reckless of the morrow, banqueting and imbibing for the most portion with comrades he picked up heaven knows where ( Norris 280 ) . After passing his money and rolling the streets for yearss, he shows up at Trina s window imploring for more money. When she doesn t give him any money, his hate of Trina increased from twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours ( Norris 282 ) . Fueled by greed and the carnal replete inside of him, he sets out to do her wage. In a concluding act of rage McTeague kills his married woman and bargains her money.

Trina lay unconscious, merely as she had fallen under the last of McTeague s blows, her organic structure jerking with and occasional hiccough that stirred the pool of blood in which she lay face downward. Toward forenoon she died with a rapid series of hiccoughs that sounded like a piece of clockwork running down ( Norris 290 ) .

From this point, McTeague sets out to populate entirely on his new wealth, nevertheless he has one last brush with Marcus Schouler. In the concluding chapter of the novel, McTeague is flying for Mexico through Death Valley. Marcus, who hears of the barbarous slaying of Trina, decides to revenge her decease and take the money that he believes is truly his. The two meet in the unforgiving clime of Death Valley and have one last confrontation.

Suddenly the work forces grappled, and in another blink of an eye were turn overing and fighting upon the hot, white land McTeague did non cognize how he killed his enemy, but all at one time Marcus grew still beneath his blows As McTeague rose to his pess, he felt a pull at his right carpus ; something held it fast. Looking down, he saw that Marcus in that last battle had found strength adequate to manacle their carpuss together. Marcus was dead now ; McTeague locked to the organic structure. All about him, vast endless, stretched the measureless conferences of Death Valley ( Norris 340 ) .

In this last scene, McTeague is left to decease in the barbarous conditions of Death Valley, a force that his crudeness and greed can non get away.

Norris develops the novel in a manner that takes the reader through the head of McTeague. The concluding consequence is one of chilling pragmatism. McTeague develops a greed and beastly quality that can be realized in all of us. Norris magnifies the deconstructive traits that lurk inside of society and all of us and shows them excessively us, if we dare to look for them.

Plants Cited

Brief, Peter. 1,300 Critical Evaluations of Selected Novels and Plaies: McTeague. Vol. 3, McT-ROB. Salem Press, 1978.

McElrath Jr, Joseph. Twentieth Century Literary Criticism: McTeague. Vol. 24. Gale Research Company, 1987.

Norris, Frank. McTeague. USA: Signet Classic, 1964.

Rexroth, Kenneth. Afterword from McTeague. USA: New American Library, 1964.