30 minute homework

How does McCarthy tell the story in pages 1-28 of The Road?

The Road is a post-apocalyptic novel written in a classic American style, telling the tale of a man and a boy as they travel through, what we assume is, burnt America. McCarthy begins the novel in media res, with an omniscient narrator depicting the Man recalling his dream of the night before. He awakens and checks his child's breathing, and his surroundings, before getting up to start their journey on the road. During the first 28 pages, the Man and Boy travel South along the road with the solitary goal of their safety and survival. McCarthy never names or describes the two characters, and only depicts their surroundings, creating an unpersonalised experience for the reader - but one which can be applied to anybody.

 Repetition of the adjectives "gray", "ash" and "cold" occurs throughout the novel, which continually reminds the reader of the surroundings of the character - and the bleakness of their journey. Occasionally, the Man has flashbacks to his former life, providing the reader with a portal to the world before - whereupon brighter colours "gold" etc are descriptors for the surroundings of the past. This portrays the distinctive contrast between 'now' and 'then', which further heightens the barrenness of current America. The constant description of the decayed landscape is a metaphor for the breakdown of civilisation that has ensued from the 'end of the world'.

McCarthy's use of minimal punctuation and simplistic, yet poetic, language refers to the insignificance of man in this world. The decomposition of society and all things man-made greatly highlights how small of a part humanity plays within the universe, and how helpless and weak we are when faced with a disaster of such a grand scale. The emaciated writing style could also be a reference towards the unnecessary gluttony of society in the time 'before'.

Within this section God and religious imagery holds a pivotal role of telling the story,'oh God he whispered, oh God', particularly of the Man and his faith, or lack of. An allusion of the tale of Jesus' sacrifice to save mankind is represented through the Boy: "If he is not the word of God God never spoke", the Boy is a religious allegory. It is clear that the Man has lost all hope, and belief in God, and thinks of only the boy as his saviour. He believes it must be the Boy who guides him to his death, in order to be saved. The Boy is his 'warrant'.

As she is deceased, the Woman holds the ability to remain in the past - and at whichever point in the past that the Man so desires. As a result, the Woman is used by McCarthy to structure the novel, and becomes an entrance to which reveals the Man's previous life. Events transpire which reveal the survival characteristics of the Man, most notably when the narrator returns to the night at which the world ended, and the Man runs the bath with the purpose of having a supply of drinking water.

The novel is written with an ambiguous setting, providing subtle hints to being in America, but primarily remaining universal - providing The Road with the characteristics of an enigmatic story. This unpersonalised setting and character description ensures that the tale can apply to readers, forcing them to form a bond with the two characters. McCarthy also provides uncertainty as to the date and time of the setting, "he thought the month was October" and "he hadn't kept a calendar for years", which ensures that the novel is timeless and could be applied to any time period. This once again relates to the insignificance of the life that the Man lead before the disaster, as timekeeping holds no importance during a post-apocalyptic struggle where days merge into weeks, and weeks into months.