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.