Cormac McCarthy（1933—）is a famous novelist in the contemporary American letters who shows a special preference for journey narrative.His ten novels in the Southern Gothic，Western，and post-apocalyptic genres all rely on the central structuring principle of the journey which is indispensable to the plot development，characterization and expression of themes.McCarthy even intentionally arranges the characters in his novels to make metaphysical comments on the journey experience.McCarthy’s choice of journey narrative is deliberate，which makes the form and subject well united.Journey narrative is one of the ancient ways of narrating stories and has unique forms and characteristics.During the development and evolution of Western literature many writers employ some kinds of journey narrative modes in different ways，but few can utilize them in such conspicuous and overall ways as McCarthy does.He makes the most of the long tradition of journey narrative in his novels，and his greatness lies in updating and refining it.Although the conspicuous structure of journey in McCarthy’s novelshas caughtmany critics’ attention，it has not received any real critical scrutiny.There are few researches that make a holistic view of his novels from the perspective of journey narrative.The unique journey structures and the vital roles they play in conveying themes and revealing the relationship between form and subject are not given enough value.Consequently，this book intends to make researches on the journey narrative in McCarthy’s novels from the four aspects of narrative origins，modes，elements and postmodern features，aiming at exploring the internal structures and profound meanings which underlie in McCarthy’s novels，in the hope of rectifying the biased interpretation in the previous studies and opening a new window for understanding McCarthy’s novels as an artistic whole.

This book consists of six parts：

The introduction consists of a brief review of English and Chinese scholarship on McCarthy，McCarthy’s preference for “on the road”，journey narrative in his novels，and the structure of the dissertation.This part stresses the significance of making a holistic view of McCarthy’s novels from the perspective of journey narrative.The major issues this book strives to address are put forward：What are the elements McCarthy borrows from the tradition to make his novels traditional and what are the innovations he makes to renew the tradition？What are the unique features of time and space，characters and plots in his novels due to the journey narrative？How are the themes presented via the structure of journey？What impacts does postmodernism impose upon McCarthy’s view of the world so as to make the old tradition of journey narrative in his novels new？

The first chapter is entitled “Traditional Influences：The Exploration of the Origins of the Journey Narrative in McCarthy’s Novels”.Journey narrative has a deep-rooted tradition in Western literature to which McCarthy’s novels own much.McCarthy is a well-read writer and he himself acknowledges that he benefits a lot from the literary classics.This chapter briefly outlines the evolutionary history and structural modes of journey narrative originating from European and American literature，and summarizes its basic artistic features.This will help us appreciate the artistic features of journey narratives in McCarthy’s novels better by studying them with reference to the tradition of journey narrative.

The second chapter is entitled “The Epitome of Journey Narratives：The Diverse Modes of the Journey Narratives in McCarthy’s Novels and Their Thematic Implications”.This chapter expounds how McCarthy utilizes the rich tradition to make stereotyped narrative modes new from the following aspects：the journey of exile，guilt and salvation；the journey of wandering and quest；the journey of colonization.This chapter employs close reading，archetypal criticism and intertextuality to illustrate the influences of the tradition of journey narrative on McCarthy’s novels and the innovations McCarthy makes.The traditional themes and narrative modes of the journey narrative tradition have provided the useful artistic frameworks for McCarthy’s novels.He borrows elements from the various modes of journey narrative and endeavors to make them new.McCarthy is often labeled as a regional writer and his novels are classified into Southern and Western novels with the distinct local color，but it is the good utilization of the various journey narrative modes that makes his writings go beyond the limitations of the regionalism，enabling his novels to have the universal meanings and make penetrating analyses of the issues on humanity，being，the future of mankind and the direction of the social development，which well combines the regionalism with universality and endows his writing with a deep local color.

The third chapter is entitled “The Typicalities of the Genre：The Analyses of the Elements of the Journey Narratives in McCarthy’s Novels”.This chapter elaborates on the unique features of time and space，characters and plots of his novels with reference to the journey narrative modes.The special features and functions of “the road” in McCarthy’s novels are analyzed by employing Bahktin’s theory on the chronotope of the road and other theories on social space and spatial narrative.This chapter intends to analyze the characters and plots by taking the central structure of journey into consideration，which parts with the biased interpretation prevalent in the critical discussion on them，and reveals the inseparable relations between the characterization and journey structure，the distinct structuring function and aesthetic significance of the journey plot.

The fourth chapter is entitled “The Influences of the Era：The Postmodern Characteristics of the Journey Narratives in McCarthy’s Novels”.The postmodern characteristics of the journey narratives in McCarthy’s novels are analyzed from the following aspects：the re-enchantment and complexity of the world；the map and the world；being，history and telling.As for forms，McCarthy is not keen on experimental writing styles as his contemporaries are，but he is not exempt from the influences of the postmodernism prevalent since the 1960s.This chapter adopts chaos theory，semiotic theories and postmodern historical poetics to illustrate the influences the postmodernism exerts on McCarthy’s perception of the world and how he makes the journey narratives in his novels new.

The conclusion makes a summary of the significance of interpreting McCarthy’s novels from the perspective of journey narrative and McCarthy’s prowess in making full use of the tradition of journey narrative.

Key words：Cormac McCarthy；Journey Narrative；Influence and Innovation