Let the Great World Spin: Critical Literary Analysis

Let the Great World Spin: Critical Literary Analysis

The tightrope walker‘s spattering image of walking on a high-wire is symbolic of the human capacity to discover prettiness in everyday things since the Twin Towers are ordinary structures. The novel, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann is narratives about the concept of “walking the tightrope,”  that is, balancing between two critical life situations such as life and death, love and grief, despair, and hope. The novel is based in New York City,1974, probably on the same day the great high-wire artist Philippe Petit walked on a tightrope in between the World Trade Center towers.

McCann combines lives and losses stories of somewhat unrelated characters. In the novel Let the Great World Spin, McCann exploits the anonymous tightrope walker as an approach of investigating balancing between two critical life situations such as life and death, love and grief, despair, and hope. We can see a similar high-wire act in one of the protagonists, Corrigan, as he attempts to balance between remaining a man of God and succumbing to his desire for Adelita. McCann, therefore, allows the concept of “walking the tightrope” to surface symbolically in Corrigan as a means of exploring balancing between two critical life situations. Consequently, two “tightrope walkers” are seen in the novel: one who literally walks between the World Trade Towers, and Corrigan who walks metaphorically between remaining a man of God and succumbing to his desire for Adelita.

The French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, who in 1974 successfully walked across the tightrope between the twin towers, in New York City was not included in the Port Authority’s payroll, but in reconsideration, he possibly should have been involved (Schiavone 66). During this time, the World Trade Center that was recently opened had been shaping up as a big mistake. Even though the project had spent far much more than expected, the city almost running bankrupt at that moment did not precisely require an office space of millions square feet. Furthermore, the twin towers were merely out of scale and downright unattractive, “the biggest aluminum job siding in the world’s history” (Schiavone 66) as one of the critics puts it. These similar towers were perceived as the ugly stepchild skyscrapers of New York, apparently destined to be denied approval forever in the lore and life of the great city.

McCann reflects on Petit’s walk on a tightrope when he writes, “ It was the dilemma of the watchers: they did not want to wait around for nothing at all, some idiot standing on the precipice of the towers, but they did not want to miss the moment whether, he slipped, arrested, dove or his arms stretched” (McCann 2). In the statement quoted above, the author tries to portray to the reader how the people were very much surprised when the Petit was trying to find beauty in walking along the tightrope between the twin towers.

However, in a span of a particular summer morning, the acrobat, Petit, offered the twin towers an extraordinary global history. Petit’s act signified nothing less than a symbolic human attempts to balance between critical life conditions as exemplified by McCann in his novel, Let the Great World Spin. All fame that glorified Petit’s walk was generally forgotten up to 7th August 1974, the moment it was revived amid the rapid melancholy for all kinds of stuff twin towers. At the moment, Colum McCann has greatly repurposed Philippe Petit’s daring walk as the central theme for Let the Great World Spin, one of the most attractive and profound novels for any true bibliophile. Petit’s walk is little more than a literary conceit and a cultural touchstone, the occasion around where McCann has gathered his cast. Nevertheless, the symbolic promises of this walker, the innocent’s paradox, and the “divine delight” unsanctioned act being carried out between two buildings that seem one day get destroyed.  They are now difficult to ignore, especially in this novel that is more concerned with twin leitmotifs, such as remaining faithful to God and love for a girlfriend, as exemplified by Corrigan.

On the same note, McCann explores the idea of finding beauty between two everyday life situations.  Petit walking on a tightrope between twin towers is evident in McCann’s work, where Corrigan is obsessed with religion, the desire to serve God even at an early age “you could find in the grime of every day.” McCann writes, “At night, Corrigan recites his prayers on the top bunk in the boys’ shared room. They are unique. Ciaran, on the other hand, knows only the standard Catholic prayers and does not care much for religion; much to his chagrin, Corrigan often prays like this throughout the night, stopping when Ciaran kicks the bed or tells him to shut up. Sometimes Ciaran wakes in the morning to find his brother in bed beside him, still reciting his prayers” (McCann 11). The author attempts to establish Corrigan as kind and eccentric quickly, where he seems to be having an intense relationship with God, although not always faithful, even from a young age. Also though he is ignorant about the plea of his brother’s, Ciaran, that he stops prayers in the night, the sympathy between these brothers is evident.

The theme of serving God is still evident when McCann states, “Later that morning, when their mother walks them to school, Ciaran notices his mother’s eye catch something on the other side of the road. It is a man wrapped in a large red blanket. An obvious drunk or vagrant, the man, raises his hand, and Corrigan waves back. Ciaran asks who it is, but his mother doesn’t answer, saying that they’ll sort it out after school. Ciaran doesn’t receive an answer from Corrigan, either, who disappears into his classroom” (McCann 34). The author tries to depict the curiosity of Ciaran about Corrigan’s private life that seems increasing at this moment. The reader gets the sense that after the incident, the brother is somewhat accustomed to Corrigan’s life by adjusting to being just a silent onlooker of the vivacious and peculiar lad. Most importantly, McCann is suggestive that Corrigan had assisted a homeless man with his blanket. This character is similar to one of a loyal and faithful Christian.

However, Corrigan’s life seems controversial to the tenets of true religion when the author says, “Sometimes he comes home sockless or shirtless, runs up the stairs, brushes his teeth, and comes back downstairs just sober enough to evade his mother’s full suspicion. When asked where he was, he answers, “God’s work” (McCann 54).  Here, Corrigan’s efforts to keep with the unconventional prayers, he presents his idea of religion as a kid. “God’s work” is complicated and unique to understand, since drinking with vagrants has no connection with religious tenets.

When Corrigan grows to maturity, he shows religious maturity by taking seriously theological studies at Saint Francis of Assisi while he also gives away his share of the money and lives off of charity after selling house” (McCann 54).

Despite Corrigan’s devotion to religion increases to the extent of ignoring the hurts he inflicts to his close relatives such as Ciaran and their mother with religious concerns, he is also walking on a tightrope in his love for Adelita. McCann emphasis on the tightrope walk where Corrigan is in love with Adelita when he affirms, “In picking them up, he meets Adelita, a nurse at the home for whom Corrigan has an obvious affinity. Throughout the day, Ciaran asks Corrigan questions about heroin, trying to gauge his brother’s response. Finally, he asks Corrigan if he’s been using the drug. Astonished, Corrigan responds that he would never even go near the substance. What’s been occupying him, he explains, is the fact that he has fallen in love with Adelita” (McCann 121). In the statement affirmed by McCann, Corrigan, the monk, who is currently living a celibacy life after taking vows, is evidence that he has significantly fallen in love. This is a fact that the monk approaches his belief uniquely. Like most of the monks, such as the one in the Bronx, the reader would expect Corrigan to manage his feelings; otherwise, he acts

uniquely. Corrigan still tries to walk on a tightrope as his brother claims that his bruises are as a result of drinking heroin, but He heeds Adelita’s advice that comes to his rescue by diagnosing him with TTP. “Corrigan had been helping move furniture into the nursing home when Adelita noticed that his arms were severely bruised. But Adelita pushed her finger into a bruise and said, “You’ve got TTP” (McCann 64), a condition she knew about from studying to be a doctor at night. In Guatemala, her original home was a nurse and almost a doctor, but none of her credentials transferred when she moved to the United States. Corrigan takes her advice and has a doctor examine him, and it turns out that she was right: he has TTP,” McCann writes (McCann 132). Thus, the reader can notice that Corrigan has already fallen in love with Adelita, the lady who diagnoses the monk with TTP. It seems that Adelita represents imperfection, a common notion that is identical to Corrigan in his religious obsessed life.

McCann further denotes that, “… one day Adelita started asking him about his treatment, and then she began rubbing inside of his arm while saying how important it was to keep the blood flowing. Her touch overcame Corrigan. He implored himself to rise above the pleasure, to act holy, and do not succumb to romance’s temptation (McCann 216). But he lets it happen, unable to resist. When he left, he drove aimlessly for hours on end until he reached Montauk, where he looked out at the ocean, hoping for some revelation, which never came. Upon returning to the Bronx, Corrigan closed himself into his room, locked the door, and ignored the prostitutes’ knocks until, worrying that he had died, they summoned the police to break down his door” (McCann 234). In various ways, the love for Adelita has taken almost similar passion that Corrigan has previously demonstrated in religious life, and this aspect sends the monk in severe crisis. Up to this point, Corrigan has appreciated beauty as a divine factor that can only be offered by God.  He tries to balance between religious faith and the beauty even when in doubt.  Although the protagonist experiences the attraction in secular joys, he still tries to balance earthly life with a religious one. However, as he walks through this tightrope, worldly life seems to pose a challenge to the previously popular beliefs.  This dilemma, in conjunction with his ailment, is the reason behind his secure connection with God.

Throughout Corrigan’s characterization, it is evident that the protagonist tries to walk virtually on the same tightrope that the acrobat, Philippe Petit, walked in the 1970s.  As a brother, Corrigan has already taken celibacy vows, and at the same time, it is noteworthy that the monk has fallen in love with Adelita. This scenario reflects on the unusual event, where tightrope walker, Philippe Petit walked on a high-wire between Twin Towers of New York City, where Corrigan is now striking a balance between remaining a man of God and submissive to Adelita’s love.  The fact that he confesses to having fallen in deep respect for Adelita while still serving as a monk reminds the reader that this character approaches the very faith in a unique manner. This unique approach to teaching is symbolic to the calm summer morning of 7^th August 1974, when the folks wake up to watch an acrobat walking on a tightrope, almost half-mile high in the sky.

Further, after Corrigan fails to get a divine revelation on the so call Montauk beach, it is considered that he decides to continue loving and visiting Adelita. Even though he creates weak justifications for seeing his “love,” it is still clear that the protagonist is no longer prioritizing the well-established faith. Now, the same aspect was evident when Petit walked several times to and fro on a real tightrope between the twin towers.

Suddenly the reader is exposed to a moment when Corrigan’s brother, Ciaran, finds himself involved in the private life of his brother unlike there before. Ciaran becomes a necessary component of the monk’s capability to indulge his desire for Adelita. McCann takes the reader into a drastic change, as Ciaran is frequently kept away from Corrigan’s affairs; McCann prompts the reader always to guess what might be taking place behind the scenes. For once in Corrigan’s life, it is evident that he is ideologically torn between religious faith and love with Adelita, and instead, he requires his brother. This aspect is symbolic of Petit’s walk where he feared nothing, his passion for walking over the tightrope. However, Corrigan’s story differs from that one of Petit when he dies after being involved in a fatal road accident while trying to rescue the two prostitutes.

Throughout the critical analysis of  Let the Great World Spin, it is evident that the high-wire act of 1974, in New York City is well revealed by Corrigan, who has attempted to balance between serving God faithfully and surrendering his love for Adelita. McCann has thus, allowed the concept of “walking the tightrope” to materialize symbolically in Corrigan as an approach to strike a balance between two critical human-life situations. As a result, two “tightrope walkers” are seen in the narrative: one who factually walks between the World Trade Towers, and Corrigan who walks figuratively between remaining true religious believer and submitting to his earthly life with Adelita. McCann has achieved his mission by ensuring that Corrigan approaches his religious life and his commitment to loving Adelita, similar to the acrobatic tightrope walk by Perit. Therefore McCann’s literary work is an excellent piece that is widely applicable in contemporary human life. For instance, when an individual is attempting to balance between two critical “twin towers,” such as balancing between health and drug abuse, among others.