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.