Figurative language/poetic vocabulary:
"glaucoma dimming away the world" p1
"granitic beast" p1
"water dripped and sang" p1
"great pendulum in its rotunda" p14
"loose and blowsy plumage in the still autumn air" p19
"barren ridgeline trees raw and black" p20
"creedless shells of men" p28
"on the gray snow a fine mist of blood" p30
Scattered throughout the novel, McCarthy's use of rich lyricism acts to define pivotal themes in the story. Each example can be linked to the beliefs and characteristics of the Man. McCarthy describes the world as dimming with 'glaucoma', which could be likened to the decay of hope that the Man has felt post Apocalypse, and the death of his wife.
The Man often talks of his dreams, and on page 1 shares that he dreamt he had been swallowed by a 'granitic beast' which, along with the previous quote, displays his wishes to die and end his journey on the road.
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
A limited palette
McCarthy is renowned for his frequent use of a pared down, limited palette within his novels.
The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live: essentials only.
A recurring theme which runs through the novel is one of survival. Particular examples include the distanced relationship between the Man and the Boy, whereupon traditional father-son behaviours are replaced with the necessity of survival: "This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.". Essentials are welcomed and luxuries pushed aside in their attempt to protect themselves, which is reflected through the minimalistic writing style of McCarthy.
Avoiding emotional language and keeping it simple makes the narrative all the more emotionally engaging.
Denying the boy access to affection conditions him to survive alone, without the man. Similarly to how the woman treated the man prior to her death.
The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live: essentials only.
A recurring theme which runs through the novel is one of survival. Particular examples include the distanced relationship between the Man and the Boy, whereupon traditional father-son behaviours are replaced with the necessity of survival: "This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.". Essentials are welcomed and luxuries pushed aside in their attempt to protect themselves, which is reflected through the minimalistic writing style of McCarthy.
Avoiding emotional language and keeping it simple makes the narrative all the more emotionally engaging.
Denying the boy access to affection conditions him to survive alone, without the man. Similarly to how the woman treated the man prior to her death.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
The 'Woman' (2)
McCarthy needed something that is no longer present to represent life as it used to be in the time before.
The Woman's death enables her to be stuck in time - not necessarily just before the apocalypse, but also after when she took her own life. This feeling of being 'stuck' enables McCarthy to refer back to the woman at any point in the novel, but also at any point in her past. Unlike the Man and the Boy, whose lives can only be thought of as they are in the present, the Woman has the ability to escape time and exists at whatever stage in life the Man dreams of her in. Therefore, the woman can act as a representation of her former life with the Man, but also as a deterrence to the Man visiting his past - as with her constantly present, his memories are bitter and painful.
The Woman has a powerful and ambiguous symbolic function in the novel: she represents both the giving of life and the temptation of death.
The Man, during his flashbacks, speaks unaffectionately of the Woman during the birth of their son and refers to her only when mentioning that her cries "meant nothing" to him. The birth extract concentrates solely on the Boy, giving the reader an impression that the Woman is simply a childbearer to the Man at this point, and no longer his wife. This alienates the constructs from the reader, as the woman becomes simply a symbol of life - and possesses this virtue exclusively, quite dissimilar to the role of a mother in a 'traditional family' in the external world.
The Woman's death enables her to be stuck in time - not necessarily just before the apocalypse, but also after when she took her own life. This feeling of being 'stuck' enables McCarthy to refer back to the woman at any point in the novel, but also at any point in her past. Unlike the Man and the Boy, whose lives can only be thought of as they are in the present, the Woman has the ability to escape time and exists at whatever stage in life the Man dreams of her in. Therefore, the woman can act as a representation of her former life with the Man, but also as a deterrence to the Man visiting his past - as with her constantly present, his memories are bitter and painful.
The Woman has a powerful and ambiguous symbolic function in the novel: she represents both the giving of life and the temptation of death.
The Man, during his flashbacks, speaks unaffectionately of the Woman during the birth of their son and refers to her only when mentioning that her cries "meant nothing" to him. The birth extract concentrates solely on the Boy, giving the reader an impression that the Woman is simply a childbearer to the Man at this point, and no longer his wife. This alienates the constructs from the reader, as the woman becomes simply a symbol of life - and possesses this virtue exclusively, quite dissimilar to the role of a mother in a 'traditional family' in the external world.
The 'Woman'
How is the woman presented in the following pages: 17, 54, 56, 57. 60?
17: The Man thinks of her in a nostalgic and caring way, thoughtfully throughout the extract until becoming resentful at the point when he says "be damned" - he attempts to separate himself from his feelings of the past.
54: She appears to just 'be there' in his memory, in the background rather than playing a part in the scene. When being described as "cradling her belly" she is pictured as soft and gentle - the Man has fond thoughts of the woman and their son together.
56: The man is perhaps longing for his wife, or rather his past. When the Boy says he was with his mum, the Man simply connects her to death and nothing more. Instead of being a person in their past, the Woman is simply another deceased. A representation of death.
57: It is clear in this passage that, at the time, the Man pleads with the Woman to keep her hope and to stay with him and the Boy. In retrospect, the man looks upon this memory with a bitter sense of abandonment. The Woman attempts to distance herself from the Man to make her depart easier - which could be characterised as strength; she chose to do the most humane thing at the expense of her husband's last thoughts of her. In other respects, it could be a gesture of her weakness for being unwilling to support her partner and child in an attempt to survive.
60: The man appears grateful for the detachment he felt between himself and his wife when she dies. The boy simply asks if "she's gone" and the man replies with "yes". No remorse or grief can be detected - but rather a solemness which matches the melancholic tone of the book. Nothing is either happy or sad, but stuck between emotions - supplying an emptiness which the Man felt at the loss of his wife. When the Man reminisces the birth of the Boy, he doesn't speak of his wife as a woman he loves, but rather a vessel that births his child. He only talks of her when saying that her cries of pain "meant nothing to him"; focusing only on his son.
Friday, 20 March 2015
Saturday, 7 March 2015
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