Structure And The Handling Of Time

McCarthy uses continuous present to tell the story throughout the novel and the continuous entropy signifies the struggles they face along the road.


References to the passing of days -

• "he woke before dawn" - page 10
• "they bore on south in the days and weeks that followed" - page 12

To suggest the passing of days and nights, McCarthy suggests the man and boy awake from sleep inferring that another night has passed. He also comments on the length of time it takes for them to get to a certain place, by suggesting it takes them days or even weeks to get from one place to another.


Markers in the year -

• "late in the year. He hardly knew the month" page 28
• "come down out of the snow" page 37

Suggesting that the man does not know the exact time of year infers that it is late in the year, possibly due to certain weather types. There may have been have been a trigger such as a memory which made him realise it may be late in the year, however this is unlikely as the man has no recollection of the specific date that it currently is. Referring to the snow suggests that the man's prediction of it being late in the year is possibly correct, however it could also be the beginning of a new year, which the reader never finds out; as though time and seasons are least important to the characters.


Passage where narrative time is telescoped -

• "it took four more days to come down" page 37
• "the dog that he remembers followed them for two days" page 91  

At some points during the narrative McCarthy has chosen not to explain time as though it is prolonged over a series of days or weeks but rather describe it as more specific. In this case, he described the dog as following them for exactly two days, rather than just saying 'the dog followed them for a while'. This helps to give the reader more in depth and precise detail about what is happening. The more emotive parts, for example the boy wanting to take the dog along with them on the road, are given more specific details, e.g for how long it followed them. Where as less emotive and unimportant moments along the road, for example just starting the fire or walking down another piece of road, is simply described as 'a couple of days later or 'some time later'.


Points in the narrative in which time expands -

• Between pages 144 and 165.

These twenty one pages are all dedicated to one brief moment of the man and boy's time along the road. This is when they find the bunker underground full of food, bullets and beds. This is an uplift during one of the character's lowest times, as just before this the man believes they were both going to die from starvation. This may be the reason for the prolonged description of the bunker, as it seems to be the best thing that happens to the man and boy throughout the whole novel. Although this section is over twenty pages long, it is only channelling a period of about four days, but due to it's significance McCarthy has chosen to expand the time in order for the reader to be fulfilled in emotionally connecting with the characters at their lowest point.

References to before -

• "there was a lake a mile from his uncle's house" page 11
• "in these first years" page 28

References to the man's memories always seem to occur during or after they have experienced something bad along the road, although these flashbacks/memories gradually become less frequent as the novel goes on. They are almost a comfort to the man that holds onto a small glimmer of hope that things may get better. Referring to times before also makes the reader feel more involved in the telling of the story as they get some background knowledge of the man's life when he was younger, as well as memories about his wife.

Points when time seems suspended -

• Pages 116-117

Over these two pages is when the man and boy walk down the steps to the cellar where they discover the naked humans begging for help. Time seems suspended due to the short and sharp sentences which seem to suspend time and cause pressure. For example, this extract makes the reader question what will happen and want to know what happens next, as if wanting the time to speed up so they can find out what happens faster as it is so tense - 'the boy clutched at his coat. He could see part of a stone wall. Clay floor. An old mattress darkly stained he crouched and stepped down again and held out the light...' McCarthy may have chosen this moment to suspend as it is unpredictable what could happen to the man and boy and the emotional attachment the characters create for the reader makes them want to read on and find out even more.


Abstract references to time -

• "tolling in the silence of the minutes of the Earth and the hours and the days of it and the years without cease"

McCarthy describes the minutes as silent, which is not possible as time doesn't make sound, which could be a reference to how the man and boy don't know what time or day of the year it is and how abstract time really is. 'Years without cease' could mean that they have been travelling so long along the road and the years continue to pass by without stopping, which they believe may be easier, if the world stopped, rather than carrying on living in such a tough world.

A Limited Palette

• The repetitive language echoes the idea of being on a road, constantly travelling

"they hiked back out to the road and down to where they'd left the cart and they made camp by the river pool at the falls and washed the earth and ash from the morels and put them to soak in a pan of water"

Repetition of the word 'and' suggest the monotony of the journey they are embarking on and words being used multiple times such as 'ash', 'grey' and 'the road' once again reflect the length and the hardiness of the journey.

• The death of everything living – plants, trees, creatures and most other human beings – is evoked through the bleakness and ‘deadness’ of the language

"The nights were blinding cold and casket black and the long reach of the morning had a terrible silence to it."

The word 'blinding' shows the cold was shocking and almost painful as well as use of the word 'black' which reflects the dark and dullness of the tone throughout the whole novel. The 'terrible silence' not only suggests an eerie quietness to the road but also a terrifying and drastic atmosphere and entering the unknown.

• There is a powerfully poetic effect in the simplicity of the language. By avoiding rhetorical flourishes and elaborate language the writer makes a stronger impact.

"The wind sounded of Mother Earth's forsaken and abandoned cries"

Instead of going into depth with a large description of what the wind sounded like, McCarthy simply describes it as 'Mother Earth's forsaken and abandoned cries'. Although this is a more simple and quick way of describing the wind it is still hard hitting and creates an eerie feel to what is being said and how the wind really sounds.

• Avoiding emotional language and keeping it simple makes the narrative all the more emotionally engaging.

"What is it?
Nothing. I had a bad dream.
What did you dream about?
Nothing.
Are you okay?
No.
He put his arms around him and held him. It's okay, he said.
I was crying. But you didnt wake up.
I'm sorry. I was just so tired.
I meant in the dream."

The fact that the boy was crying and the man did not wake up to comfort him detaches the reader from the man as they feel sympathy for the young boy. However, the reader is engaged by the lack of emotive language as the only reason they are travelling along the road is to survive; as if there is no time or room for emotion and love, they have to keep moving and focusing on what is important.

• The lack of hyperbolic language highlights the extremity of the situation.

"He can give me what you cannot. Death is not a lover. Oh yes, he is."

In this particular situation, the woman could have over accentuated the moment and emotionalised the reason for her death, however the use of simple and short language reflects how extreme the situation is. She cuts straight to the important parts and only give short replies to the man, especially when death is mentioned. This also adds tension for the reader as they don't know if any pragmatic information is left untold.

The Woman in 'The Road'

The woman is much less significant and hardly regarded as the man's 'wife'. She is also rarely seen as mother and more commonly referred to as simply 'the woman'. She seems more of an insignificant and unworthy character in the novel, which could reflect the man's bitterness towards her and his anger that she deserted them when they needed each other the most. The boy is extremely lucky to have the boy, as the woman wanted to kill him too and take him away from the misery of the destroyed world; although this could be dramatic irony as the boy ends up surviving the road and meeting the 'good guys'. The woman's actions meant only taking her own life and consequently meant that the boy went onto survive.
The boy says 'Papa' 135 times throughout the novel whereas the word 'mother' is only said twice, this suggest a more loving feeling the boy feels towards his father and the fact he seems to want to forget his mother. The father has more significance to the boy as he's been constantly there looking out for him.


Page 17 - the woman sees to be loving and caring. She's holding the man's hand and she seems happy because she is described as 'leaning forward listening to the music' in the theatre.
'she held his hand in her lap and he could feel the tops of her stockings through the thin stuff of her summer dress.'


Page 54 - suddenly the woman seems to have become reserved and purposely distancing herself from the man. She seems physically uneasy as she is holding onto the door frame. This suggests the physical and mental support the woman needed from the man when the destruction first began, it seems like the man doesn't offer that support, therefore triggering her downfall.
'she was standing in the doorway in her nightwear, clutching the jamb, cradling her belly in one hand.'


Page 56 - Whilst coughing up blood, the man says the woman's name suggesting his bitterness towards her. The man sees her as the catalyst of the bad things that have happened to the man and boy, they were a family but the woman betrayed them and left them when they needed each other most. there is a time when the boys says he wishes he could be with his mother, which the man thinks he means dead. The man does not want the boy thinking about death and feeling that being dead is better than being alive. The man knows that the boy is weak and that he may well be better off being dead, but he wants him to at least try and survive and not adopt ideas from his selfish mother.
'He coughed until he could taste the blood and said her name aloud'


Page 57 - The woman is now very melancholic and depressed. She is trying to manipulate the man, trying to tell him that death would be better for all of them. This shows she is a strong willed character but contrastingly is also a weak character because she leaves the world that she can't face by killing herself, but the man and boy stay alive and courageously face the world. She is always thinking negatively that 'sooner or later they will die', where as the man is trying to think positively and tries his best to persuade her to not abandon them. But the man still loves and appreciates the woman and doesn't want the boy to be left without a motherless. Here the woman also seems slightly deluded as the man tells her 'death is not a lover' and she responds with 'yes it is', the distorted world seems to have messed with the woman's head, showing she is weak and impaired.


Page 60 - When the woman has killed herself, it is almost as though her death was predictable for both the man and the boy. She is portrayed as self-centred and irresponsible as she did not care to think about the devastation it would cause for her husband and son. This suggests as to why the man feels so bitter towards her death and her - 'she was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift'. Although there seems to be some bitterness from the man towards the woman when she is giving birth as it is described that 'her cried meant nothing to him' and he takes on the responsibility of the boy straight away as he 'cut the cord with kitchen shears and wrapped his son in a towel'.

How Does Cormac McCarthy Tell The Story In Pages 1-28 Of The Road?

Cormac McCarthy's The Road begins in media res with the man waking up from a horrifying dream and checking to make sure his son, the boy, is okay. The man lets the boy sleep and when he awakes they continue their journey along the road. They travel for a while before coming to a gas station and making sure their gas canisters are full enough. During a moment of reflection, and seemingly a moment of realisation, the man briefly remembers his childhood on his uncle's farm. The boy is very weak and the man is ill, but they continue along the road with intentions of finding somewhere safe. The man sometimes has vivid memories of his wife, although they may not be completely realistic and slightly fantasised, suggesting his mentally is deteriorating. After the finding a deserted city full of 'mummied dead' they find a house in which they reside for a few days.

In the setting of the novel a reoccurring theme seems to be memories and the idea that the man is reflecting on his past at times along the road which are most dull and depressing. His first 'reflection' is of his uncle's old farm, when the man was a child. He seems to remember his childhood vividly, going into depth on the uplifting memories he still dearly beholds, 'this was the perfect day of his childhood'. His memories seem to always be bought about by a trigger or something particularly bad which makes him try and think positively, ultimately leading him to think of memories from the distant past. For example before he flashes back to his memory of his childhood himself and the boy had just come across a burnt out city full of corpses, ash and dust. The man's second memory/flashback is of his wife as a 'bride'. He memorises her in all her beauty reciting her 'dress of gauze' and 'her hair carried up in combs of ivory, combs of shell'. In the silence of the night while the boy is sleeping this memory comes upon the man, after which McCarthy says that the man 'mistrusted all of that'. In a daze due to hunger and illness the man over accentuates his memories and even begins to doubt them himself.

 Furthermore, another key theme seems to be the sense of decay, both physically and mentally for the man, the boy and the world they now find themselves in. At the very opening of the book McCarthy describes the long days like 'the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world'. This description is significant and is a theme continued throughout the whole novel. The use of the word 'glaucoma' suggests that the man and boy are slowly losing 'sight' of everything in the world, inferring that they have no way out and are trapped within the slowly dying world. However, it could also infer that the world itself is slowly losing meaning and vision as everything on Earth is slowly dying; people, trees, animals etc. With use of the word 'dimming' in the same sentence, McCarthy manages to suggest that the glaucoma disease is affecting the man and boy spiritually, not only dimming their 'metaphorical vision' but also dimming their hope and morale. Moreover, uses of words and phrases such as a 'barren' landscape, 'dead trees' and the 'stale smell' of gas reinforces the idea that Earth is slowly decaying, eventually leaving nothing left to help the man and boy to survive. Therefore the characters seemed trapped within the dying world as they have got no control over the decaying atmosphere.

 Death is a theme which continues the novel and follows through most aspects of the man and boy's journey. In the opening pages of the novel, before any real connection is made properly with the characters the boy is questioning his father on death, 'what would you do it I died?' 'If you died I would want to die too' 'So you could be with me?' The young boy has known of death and destruction to his and his father's life, as his mother cannot face the world anymore and kills herself, although at this point in the novel that is not made clear. There is constant mention of the 'pistol' which the man carries on him or insight of him at all times. This is a sense of security for the man, to ensure that himself and the boy are always safe. The two bullets left in the pistol are for suicide, but possibly for any 'bad guys' they come upon, although the man would prefer not to do this.

 Finally, the colour imagery used in the opening of the novel manages to set a dark picture of the Earth and road the man and boy are travelling along. For instance, the days are constantly described as 'dark' and 'grey', setting a consistent theme throughout the whole novel. In these first few pages the colour imagery is used to give the reader an insight into the devastation of the world, with constant reference to the colour 'grey'. However, during the man's flashback to his childhood, spent on his uncle's farm, the colour imagery is very contrasting to that of the current setting of the road. For example, the leaves are described as 'yellow' which symbolises happiness of the memory for the man. As well as suggesting that his childhood memory was from the 'autumn' season with the inference 'blowsy plumage in the still autumn air.' This is a contrast to the dark and dull, wintery setting that the man and boy find themselves presently in on the road.

Post-Apocalyptic Literature

Post apocalyptic narratives are set sometime after a devastating event that has occurred, which has destroyed the fabric of society.

 



 

"The thoughts and actions of the survivors are what counts"

• The man seems to always be thinking with a positive mind set. When the woman thinks they are going to 'raped, killed and eaten', the man reassures her that things will be okay, although in reality he knows the truth and knows that things may only get worse:

          'we're survivors' - the man (pg 57)

          'we're not survivors. We're the walking dead in a horror film' - the woman

 

• (pg 68) The man sacrifices one of only two last bullets they have in their revolver to kill the 'roadrat' who tries to threaten the man and boy by putting a knife to the boys throat. To ensure their safety, the man shoots the roadrat; even though the consequences may be that the 'gang' the roadrat was travelling with heard the shot of the gun, leading the man and boy to try and make a quick escape. Choosing to kill the roadrat ultimately saved the boy and his own life, if the boy had have been killed the man would no longer have anything to live for so would end up using the last bullet to kill himself. Sacrificing one bullet meant ensuring both of their lives were safe, for that moment anyway.

          'The man had already dropped to the ground and he swung with him and levelled the pistol and fired from a two handed position balanced on both knees at a distance of six feet. The man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead.'

 

• The man, although never really showing emotional love towards his child, always puts his needs before his own. He notices that the young boy is frail and weak and does his best to take care of him in such a harsh environment. The man's caring a thoughtful actions ultimately lead to boy surviving in the end of the novel against all odds. There are times when the man gives the boys the opportunity to survive even if he himself doesn't, for example when the man tells the boy to take the gun in order to keep himself safe. The man takes full responsibility and constantly puts the boy's wellbeing before his own.

          'They had a single blanket in the pack and he got it out and covered the boy with it and he unzipped his parka and held the boy against him.' (pg 70)

         

          'Take the gun'

          'I don't want the gun'

          'I didn't ask you if you wanted it. Take it.' (pg 73)

 

• Sometimes it is evident that the boy has seen so much bad and so much destruction in his short life that he tries to pick out the positive and hopeful things in a situation, even if the man is disagreeing. This positive thinking in turn leads the boy to making the right choices in order to keep himself and his father safe. Small glimmers of hope from the boy seem to give the man the urge to carry on and not give up, managing to get them to the coast. 

          'Is it the bad guys?'

          'Yes. I'm afraid so.'

          'They could be the good guys couldn't they?' (pg 108)

 

• In order to keep the child safe, the man teaches the boy certain tricks and techniques in case any 'bad guys' do come by them. He is always thinking about the boy's welfare and how to keep him safe if he is not around. The boy takes on his father's advice and manages to stay safe if there ever becomes a time when the man isn't around and the boy needs to protect himself.

          'He'd tried to teach him to lie in the woods like a fawn.'

 

 

"'Apocalypse' derives from the Greek word for 'revelation'"

 

•  It could be seen as a revelation that the man chooses to shoot the roadrat in order to save the boy's life. If he hadn't then the boy would have died and the man would have had no uses left to live. But in shooting the roadrat he saved both of their lives and in turn creating a revelation that the man is powerful, strong willed and caring. (pg 68)
• The world that the man and boy now live in is grotesque and dark. They discover some disturbing things along the road and also off the road. It is a contrast to the world before that the man remembers and they see many sights the young boy should not be subjected to see. This new world that they live in could be seen as a revelation:

          'A charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit' (pg 212)

 

• When the man and boy come across across the bunker in the ground which is full of food they seem to have discovered a revelation because after thinking their lives would be over due to starvation and illness they find this saviour in a sea of badness. This 'revelation' means that their lives are extended even more, giving them the chance to get to the coast and find hope.

          'Crate upon crate of canned goods. Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots...'



"Mythologizing the past"

• During the most depressing times along the road, the man chooses to reminisce about his childhood and remember his uncle. This is to clear his mind of the badness and think, just for a few minutes, of the good life he once had. It's never actually clear if these memories are true or not, for the reader interprets them in their own way. The man could be 'mythologizing' his memories just to make his present situation seem cheerier and more uplifting.

          'This was the perfect day of his childhood. This the day to shape the days upon.' (pg 11)

• In the silence of the road, the man thinks back to when his wife was the bride. He remembers how she looked saying: 'Her nipples were pipeclayed and her rib bones painted white. She wore a dress of gauze and her dark hair was carried up in combs of ivory'. Although after thinking it through he says: 'He mistrusted all  of that.' For he may have been mythologizing his past with his wife, she may not have been that beautiful; although due to his bitterness it could be that she was that beautiful but he chose to pretend that she wasn't. (Pg 17)
• Although, straight after the apocalypse things weren't much better, they seemed far much better to the man and boy compared to their current life on the road. They remember seeing people crowded along the edge of the road, where as now they merely see anyone along the road and if they do they instantly think it's a 'bad guy'. He describes the people to seem healthier than the people they now see which shows the prolonged badness of the world.

          'Their eyes were bright in their skulls.'
          'In the first years, the roads were peopled with refugees shrouded up in their clothing.' (pg 28)

• The man remembers the day the clocks freeze and remembers his wife questioning what is happening. He also remembers seeing birds flying overhead and only seeing them circle above him a few times before never seeing them again. Here the man could be mythologizing the past because it seems all a daze to him, a distant/faint memory which he chooses to remember because he no longer sees birds flying.

          'lay listening to flocks of migrating birds over head...'

Images That Remind Me Of The Road

There is a light they are trying to reach, beyond all the badness.

The abandoned houses they come across with hope of finding food, clothes or blankets.

The 'bad guys' hidden among the trees, deep within the woods.

Their journey seems hopeless, the man questions his and his son's reasons to survive.

The Road seems long, dark and never ending.

They try and find shelter and protection from the woods, usually only leading to more danger.

 

The isolated and empty rooms of houses and shops that they pass and search.

 

Death seems never far away from either the man or the boy.

 

The darkened steps leading to the basement.

 

The 'good guys' that find themselves in the same desolate world as the man and boy.

 

The naked, limbless people they find in the basement of an abandoned house.

Opening - Key Features Table

KEY FEATURES	EXAMPLE
Genre of horror	“Alabaster bones cast up in the shadow on the rock behind it” - the imagery here suggests elements of horror and supernaturalism that would not be found in the natural world. Although could suggest the man’s feelings towards the post-apocalyptic world he now lives in.
Colour imagery	“grey” - dull, darkness   post-apocalyptic world “red” – danger   “gold” – when his wife was still alive, suggesting happy memories, going to the theatre, gold – exquisite, important, in contrast to the world he now lives in.
Key theme of decay	“Glaucoma” A “barren” landscape “Dead trees” “stale” – the smell of gas The descriptions of the surroundings suggest a decaying world and atmosphere from which the man and boy cannot escape. There are no positive descriptions, they are mainly negatives, to reinforce the idea of uncertainty and dullness.
Minimal punctuation	Shows a decaying society, the lack of commas and repetition of ‘and’ shows a never ending journey and short sentences show a world where the remaining inhabitants are trapped – “covered with tarp and…running ledge and rock and…rock overhang and…”
Seasonal imagery	The time frames switch between seasons. The present, with the man and boy travelling through a destroyed world, is mainly winter. The flash backs the man has of his child hood are mainly autumn, to show a contrast in moods – “blowsy plumage in the still autumn air”. Where as in the present where it seems to be constantly winter the world is described negatively as ‘cold and grey’’.
Religious imagery	“Robes” – what a religious person would wear, but they are far from religion in a barren landscape, in old, dirty clothes which the man wishes were ‘robes’. The journey the man and boy are embarking on could be seen as a pilgrimage, trying to decide between right and wrong and finding God, who will guide them. But it seems that the world is so dead that God cannot help or guide them.
Memories	“You forget what you want to remember and remember what you want to forget” – this could be the man suggesting his wife, he remembers her but it is a bad memory and he doesn’t want to contaminate his memory with badness; although he finds that extremely difficult as he did love her at one time. It could also be a reflection of all of the bad things the young boy sees whilst travelling across the country and how it may affect his future.
Death	The man doesn’t want either of them to die but know it might happen soon. There are only two bullets left in the gun, one for each of them, it may be better to die than survive. The son is constantly asking if they are going to die – ‘are you going to die papa?’, ‘I’m really scared’