"The Sunset Limited"

Cormac McCarthy's "The Sunset Limited" follows two men, White and Black, as they discuss life and philosophy following White's suicide attempt. Most of the play centers around the two men's spiritual beliefs. Black is a devout Christian, where as White is a firmly believing atheist. The two extensively discuss how they arrived at their beliefs and engage in a powerful discussion. Among the topics discussed by the two men is whether the pursuit and attainment of knowledge ultimately leads to a fulfilled life or a tragic downfall.

It is learned early in the play that White is an educated man who is well read. The two men discuss what makes a book "true." White says, "I suppose maybe a history book. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire might be one. At least the events would be actual events. They would be things that had happened." White bases his knowledge of the world in his studies of culture and literature, while Black uses the Bible as a source for the course of his life. Black is not an educated man in the same sense as the professor. He remarks at how eloquently the professor speaks and his way with words.

Later in the play the two men discuss how they view the world. Black says, "You might be surprised about how little time I spend trying to understand the world." Black believes God directs him in everything he does in life. White has focused his life solely on the pursuit of education, which has given him a different view of the world. He claims an education makes the world personal. Through White's education, he views the world as a messed up place where human destiny and suffering are a description of one another. The two men discuss the Garden of Eden where Eve's curiosity ultimately led to her downfall. Black claims evil is something we bring on ourselves through the pursuit of something we aren't supposed to have, alluding to the question of whether we are supposed to pursue knowledge of the world in our life.

A question raised by this play is who has lived their life to the fullest? Black, an uneducated man whose sole purpose in life he feels is to follow God's will without question? Or White, whose pursuit of knowledge has lead him to the realization that we as a society are all screwed?