Colum McCann’s award winning novel Let the Great World Spin published in 2009 contains characters that exhibit a tendency for being in error, making mistakes, and going astray. Readers may see these as the unavoidable result of emotionally distressing experiences that McCann keeps alluding to, such as segregation and the Civil Rights movement that followed the Vietnam War, and others. Even though the characters in the novel seem to hurt themselves and each other, it is arguable that McCann’s novel is more about reconciliation. To some extent, the term ‘reconciliation’ invokes a religious meaning in the sense that every human being has to stone for his or her sin so that God forgives them and permits them into heaven. Considering this religious notion of the term ‘reconciliation,’ it might seem like a paradox to consider it in novel such as McCann’s. The novel is set in a very modern and secular New York and contains resentful and transgressing characters who are not even seeking forgiveness, reconciliation and repentance.
Transgression is quite a traditional theme in American literature, but the way McCann treats it seems to stem from today’s society, and despite the various religious references, the motifs and terms contained in the novel prove how secular it is. It seems McCann uses the term ‘sin’ several times in the novel, while he terms like ‘grave erring’ and ‘misconduct’ even more times. The characters in the novel do not see sins as wrongdoings against God but merely wrongdoings against human beings because of McCann’s updated treatment of sin, making it more relevant to today’s preoccupations. The novel distances itself from the original religious notion of forgiveness, and the ethical or moral dilemma in this novel is that the wrongdoers in Let the Great World Spin rarely seek repentance. Thus, this novel embraces the notion that angers dwells in the hearts of all human beings, who are flawed and have the tendency to transgress.
In the novel, McCann repeated uses the metaphor of the biblical concept of the ‘Fall of man’ both literally and metaphorically. In the opening of the novel, McCann describes how a tightrope walker is about to walk between the World Trade Center Towers, 110 stories from the ground. Passersby sadistically and voyeuristically expect him to fall. They have no clue of his remarkable skill, they just “really wan[t] to witness the great fall” (McCann). Readers can imagine this scene and the tension triggered by it as powerful for metaphor for the fact that human beings are vulnerable. Human beings too walk on the thin wire of life, and are likely to trip and fall. Characters in the novel seem to be standing at the edge of the abyss and wondering about the vacuum it may offer. McCann describes a standardized American society that is an epitome of such a spinning world, where confusing consumerist messages, cultural and historical imprints, and technological improvements are prevalent.
The show that the funambulist puts up does not live up to the expectations of passersby and readers who expected him to fall, and he boldly and successfully ends his walk after almost forty minutes. What could have been an artistic disaster ends happily, and it can be assumed that McCann is hinting at the ability of people to stay in control. Thus, McCann’s novel is basically about faith in the nature of human beings. The characters in the novel may be flawed, they may not succeed at meeting with moral obligations, but the novel is about recovering and second chances. Even though the ordinary life in all its loathsomeness and obscenity is captured in Let the Great World Spin, but religious connotations also pervade through the novel. For instance, Corrigan, the Irish priest in the novel, is portrayed as a Christ-like figure since his behavior and physical appearance seem to be quite similar to Jesus. However, he dishonors his priestly vow of chastity by dating Adelita, a woman he is deeply in love with, which shows that even the most pious characters has the tendency to transgress. It can be argued that his death symbolizes him as an atoning victim of human misdeed.
Even though McCann’s novel is 49 pages long, Corrigan dies merely after 72 pages. Considering his similarities to Christ, it is arguable that his death was a means of redeeming other characters who incapable of redeeming themselves. Of course, no human being can atone or repent for another and the very ethical and moral dilemma in Let the Great World Spin since none of the characters wish to repent for their sins. A rare occurrence in the novel is the example of completed reconciliation that depicted through the conversation that Corrigan and his brother Ciaran have right before his death. The novel’s narrative reveals the tension between the brothers and both of them seem to be irritated by the way the other acts. Corrigan, in particular, act as if he senses he is going to die and hands over his duty of caring for people to his brother. Their dialogue is quite symbolic with double entendre, for instance, Corrigan says he is going to a detention center named ‘Tombs,’ which can arguably considered as an explicit reference to Christ’s sepulcher.
Despite the religious overtones in the novel, it seems McCann purposely added profane references to somehow the potential ethical dilemma of the readers to deal with morality in a secular world. Although Let the Great World Spin reveals the tendency of human beings to transgress, he also shows that they are capable of recovering and moving on. By obsessively lingering over the notion of redemption, McCann’s novel shows that even though the religious interpretation of quest for forgiveness and meaning has been lost, contemporary society should be concerned about seeking forgiveness for their sins.
References
McCann, C. (2009). Let the great world spin. New York: Random House Inc.
