Cormac Mccarthy free essay sample

McCarthy could be labeling the characters ‘the man ‘and ‘the boy’ to show the effects on mankind after this catastrophe. By labeling them ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’, it could be that McCarthy is trying to universalize his characters, showing how much of a change there has been in the novel after the tragedy which has transformed the earth. McCarthy has been very vague about the form and setting, from the opening pages, the reader still does not have a clear understanding of where exactly the novel is set or where ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’ are going. The month/date has not been clarified either as the narrative voice says ‘it could have been October’. The narrative voice talks about ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’ going south. Also the narrative mentions a ‘gas’ station and McCarthy has used a different spelling of particular words (gray instead of grey) which gives the hint that the novel is set in America. We will write a custom essay sample on Cormac Mccarthy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From the beginning, the reader can gather a different sense of language, structure and form, then from a regular novel. Cormac McCarthy uses structure to set up his novel to reader, irregularly. From the opening pages, there are no chapters or speech directions. As we read on we learn that McCarthy has created a setting of a post-apocalyptic world. McCarthy may have done this to suggest a link between structure and setting. By not including punctuation and other structures such as chapters, Cormac McCarthy creates a narrative that is starkly bare, stripped to nothingness like the novels setting. By doing this, McCarthy is completely stripping the book, which engages the reader more than just the bleak description. From the opening pages, McCarthy has used a 3rd person narrative and nameless characters, which has kept the opening passage extremely vague. It is strange that in this post-apocalyptic world, where it is interpreted by the reader, to have a sense of emptiness, McCarthy has used a 3rd person narrative with a single point of view. Almost as if someone is watching everything whilst it is happening. McCarthy could be doing this to add suspense, as he later talks about ‘the man’ carrying a pistol and also has a motorcycle wing mirror attached to his shopping cart. Understanding that ‘the man’ is almost expecting something or someone to approach him, added to the fact there is a 3rd person narrative with a single point of view adds suspense and curiosity to the novel. To bring the setting to life, McCarthy uses effective language and tone to engage the reader and create an image in the head of the reader, of what the world is like for ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’. McCarthy combines the harsh reality of the post-apocalyptic world, with a tender father and son relationship. McCarthy uses symbolic language to describe the atmosphere, by associating The Road and its surroundings with the color such as ‘grey’, which is linked with negativity and dullness. McCarthy could be doing this to suggest that there is not much hope left, by linking ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’s’ surroundings with the color grey, it shows that there is not a kindle of hope. McCarthy has not introduced any characters other than ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’, but he describes to different groups whilst describing The Road, ‘Bloodcults’ and ‘Road Agent’. McCarthy uses the word ‘Bloodcult’ instead of cannibals. Cult meaning a group whose beliefs are considered abnormal or bizarre, but the people within the cult do not believe what they are doing is wrong. Cannibalism is a negative term, but due to the extreme changed that has happened to the world in The Road, McCarthy has combined the two words ‘blood’ and ‘cults’, to show that the world has undergone such a great change, that even one of the worst things that one human could do to another, are considered as normal. McCarthy also uses the words Road Agent’ instead of highwayman, which is someone that holds up travelers at gunpoint in order to rob them, which links to The Road as people will be travelling. McCarthy might have used the words ‘Road Agent’ and ‘Bloodcults’, to show that this post-apocolyptic world has no law or expectations of society, everything/everyone is no different, and whatever actions take place are acceptable, not because people choose to, but because they have no choice, but to rob or result to cannibalism to survive.