the question of whether it is an adventure novel is definitely debatable.it does conform to the conventional theme of good guys and bad guys being protagonist and antagonists. with the introduction of these bad guys it allows the struggle against oppression of these evil people to be portrayed in a way that makes the adventure seem morally right. when looking at it as an adventure novel we see the road as a symbol for their adventure ever going and never stopping even as the man dies the boy must move on as the road goes ever onwards. the road also becomes a symbol for the book itself and that as we read it we move along the road learning like the boy what we can about humanity and moral implications of the actions taken.
other symbols in the road-
water. water is used primarily for drinking though when they find the bunker it is used to wash and clean.this is a symbol of batism as the man washes the boy he tries to wash his sinsaway as well as the sins of humanity to cause him to live in this world.
the sea. the sea is symbolic of their hope, though it provides no salvation once they reach it,it always was their goal, their aim and it promised them reward even just for reaching it that the rest of the world has been lacking.
the fire. fire is significantly viewed in both a positive and negative light as it becomes more than just the destruction and death it causes and is instead a form of goodness and life in the way a phenoix is reborn so had the world been destryed in order to give way to something more. in this way when the boy is said to be carrying the fire it shows he is going and ushering in this new begining.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Thursday, 24 November 2011
aspects of time in the road pages 239-259
the time is very contracted at the begining as the amount of detail describing everything in the short time span.
'he waded ashore in the last of the light' references to toime of day
'the dark did catch them' personified the dark as time passes
'in the first dull light' telescoping through time
'they weremost of the morning offloading the ship' telescoping through time
it was already getting dark' time references
these time references show how MaCathy uses different movements through time in order to convey the most important aspects of the novel and to build suspense by drawing out the narrative and description.
'he waded ashore in the last of the light' references to toime of day
'the dark did catch them' personified the dark as time passes
'in the first dull light' telescoping through time
'they weremost of the morning offloading the ship' telescoping through time
it was already getting dark' time references
these time references show how MaCathy uses different movements through time in order to convey the most important aspects of the novel and to build suspense by drawing out the narrative and description.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
26 word response to the road ending
I find myself questioning the convenience of the ending. the exact moment the man dies the boy is found by a family and finds hope again.
arguments for a statement
avoiding emotional language and keeping it simple makes the narrative more emotionally engaging
firstly by only using simplistic language we see that as the world falls apart even language seems to disappear as emotions no longer need explanation as everyone is set in a perpetual misery due to the bleakness of the world. this depletion of language also shows devolution and McCarthy shows how that which most profoundly separates us from other animals is disappearing. these things create an emotional response for the reader as to see these things slip away from humanity we are presented with a reality so disjointed and warped from what we cherish an emotional response must be felt for the loss of what is most important. this can only have been achieved by McCarthy deliberately removing emotional language from the novel.
another reason why McCarthy may have not provided emotional language in the novel is that the events that shock and horrify us the most are the epitome of evil and to use even the most elegant descriptive and emotional language this would take away from the blunt fact of what people have been driven to and this will create more of and instant and instinctive response on an emotional level be the reader than language itself could. finally, the lack of emotional language can also be interpreted that McCarthy intends not for you to empathise with the character but his position. for instance if we have the feelings of the people evident to us all then when we empathise we can only feel what we are told they feel at that point, whereas when McCarthy doesn't provide this for us it forces us into the position of the characters and try to empathise completely with them to explain the reasoning for their actions and our own emotional responses are forced out to fill the void.
firstly by only using simplistic language we see that as the world falls apart even language seems to disappear as emotions no longer need explanation as everyone is set in a perpetual misery due to the bleakness of the world. this depletion of language also shows devolution and McCarthy shows how that which most profoundly separates us from other animals is disappearing. these things create an emotional response for the reader as to see these things slip away from humanity we are presented with a reality so disjointed and warped from what we cherish an emotional response must be felt for the loss of what is most important. this can only have been achieved by McCarthy deliberately removing emotional language from the novel.
another reason why McCarthy may have not provided emotional language in the novel is that the events that shock and horrify us the most are the epitome of evil and to use even the most elegant descriptive and emotional language this would take away from the blunt fact of what people have been driven to and this will create more of and instant and instinctive response on an emotional level be the reader than language itself could. finally, the lack of emotional language can also be interpreted that McCarthy intends not for you to empathise with the character but his position. for instance if we have the feelings of the people evident to us all then when we empathise we can only feel what we are told they feel at that point, whereas when McCarthy doesn't provide this for us it forces us into the position of the characters and try to empathise completely with them to explain the reasoning for their actions and our own emotional responses are forced out to fill the void.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Goldilocks and the three bears.
an ashen grey sky loomed over the house as the bears sat around looking intently at their burning porridge. it was papa bear who decided that they should walk until it cooled. they began walking and they walk over the hills through the valleys on they are going to walk. it was then that goldilocks chanced upon the house. she asked goldilocks if they should go in and lured by the smell they were driven inside. it was dark there seemed however to be a dull glow emanating from the adjoining room. goldilocks began to whimper as a fear set in she turned to goldilocks.
i'm scared.
you're always scared
why do you have to be so evil?
what are you talking about, im you, you're the evil one.
okay
she turned back to the door and walked though. the cinders of a recent fire allowed the room to be viewed by goldilocks who saw the porridge and stood stunned.
what are you doing?
it could be a trap.
hurry or we'll be caught.
okay.
okay.
she went to the first bowl and spooned a small amount into her mouth. it was rancid with salt. she then tried the second bowl and heaved at the sugary sweetness. the third bowl was just right and she ate eating the porridge with a frenzied hunger. once gorged she thought she had better rest and so she climbed the stairs finding a room with three beds. the first so large it seemed to engulf a portion of the world and make the floor sag under its girth. the second had no visible pillows and so goldilocks approached the third. as she made her way towards it goldilocks began to protest.
im scared. this isnt safe.
i know we'll go.
but they didnt leave instead they lay uon the bed and drifted to sleep dreaming of evil thing lurking in the house and a terrible roar as a torrent of water shook the house to its core. startled she awoke to find a terrible bear looming over her and in one moment she began to run around the bed down the stairs through the dinning room they ran shouting at one another.
i'm scared.
you're always scared
why do you have to be so evil?
what are you talking about, im you, you're the evil one.
okay
she turned back to the door and walked though. the cinders of a recent fire allowed the room to be viewed by goldilocks who saw the porridge and stood stunned.
what are you doing?
it could be a trap.
hurry or we'll be caught.
okay.
okay.
she went to the first bowl and spooned a small amount into her mouth. it was rancid with salt. she then tried the second bowl and heaved at the sugary sweetness. the third bowl was just right and she ate eating the porridge with a frenzied hunger. once gorged she thought she had better rest and so she climbed the stairs finding a room with three beds. the first so large it seemed to engulf a portion of the world and make the floor sag under its girth. the second had no visible pillows and so goldilocks approached the third. as she made her way towards it goldilocks began to protest.
im scared. this isnt safe.
i know we'll go.
but they didnt leave instead they lay uon the bed and drifted to sleep dreaming of evil thing lurking in the house and a terrible roar as a torrent of water shook the house to its core. startled she awoke to find a terrible bear looming over her and in one moment she began to run around the bed down the stairs through the dinning room they ran shouting at one another.
key events
coming across the man who has been struck by lightening (pp. 50-53)
this pste n the book s the firstmeetinof another human other than themselves and we are shown the way in which they are forced to be extremely cautious of a man who is seemingly incapable of walking without eventually sitting in the road. this caution they take is a demonstration of how the world has become a place where trust is in very short supply and people must be sceptical in order to survive. i think this episode does show though how a certain amount of humanity has survived in the way in which they whisper when they discuss what has happened to the man. this shows how they still see a rudeness in speaking of someone in front of them.
tension does begin to build when we are first aware of the mans presence and we realise that this is a significant point in the story. McCarthy does this by using question marks when the boy asks 'Who is it?' this sudden arising of this type of punctuation seen little in previous parts of the story shows the curiosity of the boy as this question has an answer he is intently intrested in. the response the boy receives of 'who is anybody?is used as a rhetorical question for the reader to question what is identity and what makes you who you are define yourself as someone. also it asks the question as to whether people have lost their identity in this desolate world. i think this questioning of identity is important as it explains the reasoning why the father leaves his wallet behind in the dirt on a road; the last identification of him in the old world, and the leaving of the photo shows how his wife died along with his identity.
the difference in attitude of father and son to the man puts a strain on their relationship. the boy repeatedly asks 'cant we help him papa?' showing his caring nature and the repetition despite the question being answered with a no shows how the boy may be questioning if his father is lying or at least telling a half truth to him, as he does at other points in the novel to protect his son. it also shows how the father has to make tough decisions as there may have been a way to help this man but it would have cost them food and other resources they cannot afford to spare. the repetition of say 'no we cant help him' is not only convincing the boy but also himself as we know he has some medical expertise that could help when he meets the road rat and explains a detailed understanding of the parts of the brain.
- shooting the 'roadrat' (pp. 62-69)
the episode in which the road rat is shot is a powerful part of the story where it is revealed that the father is prepared to kill in order to protect his son. the scence is one of the only hurried and rushed part of the book in which we feel events moving fast and uncontrolable. this is because it is sprung upon then at a point too late to avoid the confrontation. the roadrat is an example of one of the 'bad guys' often refered to during the novel and presents an example of how many people in the world now act, violence, aggression, manipulation and stealing are some of many acts that are considered the norm. the tension that is built through out this conflict is one of the most significant in the book, and it also has a dramatic climax in the finality of the shooting. the long sentence describing the flurry of movement and confusion momentarily before he is shot is used to make the reader that bit tenser as we hurry to know the outcome of the events. The next sentence contrasts remarkably to this one. it simply states 'the man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead.' the simplicity of this description showing nothing about his emotions is an insight into the practical manner in which he carries out the things that must be done. i think it is surprising how his reaction to killing the road-rat shows no emotion whereas finding the people in the cellar provokes a response of a great magnitude despite the fact there is no death.
- finding the cellar of naked and mutilated people (pp. 112-121)
this is one the two most disturbing and truly disgusting parts of the novel. the horror that the scene brings to the audience is terrifying and i think that McCarthy uses this episode so that it is remembered. this is because it identifies many issues about morality and the nature of evil in people. we question how we would cope in this world and are we capable of committing such heinous acts; whether it is already a part of who we are that we could be driven to such atrocities and that it is only a lack of circumstance that we haven't been forced into an evil act; and finally whether people are innately good or bad. McCarthy provokes this response not by showing the repulsive nature of cannibalism but by letting the reader see those marked to be eaten and how they are kept like livestock, their humanity stripped away.
when we realise that this is a place of a dire nature the reader is gripped with a sudden fear for the father and son as they go from feeling relatively secure in a seemingly abandoned house, to being in one of the worst possible places they could be, and this is an interesting insight in how perception can change in an instant from feeling safe to a sense of complete panic from danger. this section brings the father and son closer as they see the devastation of the world and unite together for comfort and a reliance on one another more than ever.the repetition by the man of 'i wont leave you' 'i cant leave you' 'i wont ever leave you' shows that he has realised he cannot die or be separated from his son for he wouldn't survive in the world and the harsh cruelties that would be brought upon him would be too great to suffer.
- the baby on the spit (pp. 210-215)
this is by far the most brutally horrific scene in the novel. the fact that the audience is provided with some small measure of hope when the woman is described as walking with a 'waddling gait' and it is revealed that she is pregnant, makes the episode even more distressing. the initial reaction when the woman is first described is that through all the hardships and all the pain and all the suffering of this tortured world the miracle gift of life remains and the most innocent being is about to enter the world providing a goodness. there is no sanctity of life any more. the hope, the only hope that the novel has provided up to this point is not just taken but we see how people have turned even the most precious gift of life and used it for a meal. the description of 'a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit' is one designed to show the total discontinuation of reality as we know it, in this future. the scene in one so profoundly upsetting that i think it stops empathy with the characters as it becomes impossible to comprehend existence in a world that has been warped and change to a point where it no longer resembles what we know. i think this is a reason that it is used towards then end of the novel as it is the last act which signifies that all once good is now lost because as the story has progressed, it has moved further from what we know until we cannot identify at all with this reality.
- getting to the shore (pp. 227 - 230)
i feel that this episode is somewhat of an anticlimax as that endeavour that has driven then, through the novel, along the road, has no real significance. there is no salvation in the sea, it is condemned to have life exterminated just as the land. i think that McCarthy does this in order to show how aims and goals are needed in order to survive even in they have no logical reasoning behind them, the people are driven by them and it makes the endless wandering bearable as they do not think they are going without purpose. also there will be sense of achievement when they arrive that would not be common in the rest of their lives.
since it has been the main focus of the book so far we question what is next in the plot, where will they go? the characters themselves are brought closer at this point when the boy becomes ill as it shows the fathers devotion to the boy as he cares for him where as it isn't likely anyone else would be helped in the world and more likely that they would be eaten. also i think we begin to see just how close to the end the father is as he struggles to remain awake to care for the boy and his coughing is that bit more prominent. despite the lack of a grand event once they reach the coast i still think that it is a key episode in the novel as there pursuit is finally complete and they can then move on to another aim, showing their cyclical lives.
- the theft of the man and boy's belongings (pp. 270-278)
the theft of their belongings is key as it shows a loss of the man's morality when he leaves the man with nothing. it seems to be an act of hatred of the world, and now that he is nearly gone he wishes to make an impact against it. the sense of hypocrisy when the thief begs for his clothes and ultimately his life provides the reader with a sense of karma and justice and this is important to show even in this world some justice will occur and you will still suffer for your sins. i think this is a key aspect of humanity and if it didn't exist I think the world would be so much harder to relate to .
Remember to write about
How the episode impacted on you?
What was the writer doing to evoke this response?
Plot progression (what will happen next?)
Your experience (change of mood? A ligher moment? Increase or release of tension?)
How does this develop character and their relationship?
The techniques employed by McCarthy. Is the language in keeping with the rest of the novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?
Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters or chapter titles?
this pste n the book s the firstmeetinof another human other than themselves and we are shown the way in which they are forced to be extremely cautious of a man who is seemingly incapable of walking without eventually sitting in the road. this caution they take is a demonstration of how the world has become a place where trust is in very short supply and people must be sceptical in order to survive. i think this episode does show though how a certain amount of humanity has survived in the way in which they whisper when they discuss what has happened to the man. this shows how they still see a rudeness in speaking of someone in front of them.
tension does begin to build when we are first aware of the mans presence and we realise that this is a significant point in the story. McCarthy does this by using question marks when the boy asks 'Who is it?' this sudden arising of this type of punctuation seen little in previous parts of the story shows the curiosity of the boy as this question has an answer he is intently intrested in. the response the boy receives of 'who is anybody?is used as a rhetorical question for the reader to question what is identity and what makes you who you are define yourself as someone. also it asks the question as to whether people have lost their identity in this desolate world. i think this questioning of identity is important as it explains the reasoning why the father leaves his wallet behind in the dirt on a road; the last identification of him in the old world, and the leaving of the photo shows how his wife died along with his identity.
the difference in attitude of father and son to the man puts a strain on their relationship. the boy repeatedly asks 'cant we help him papa?' showing his caring nature and the repetition despite the question being answered with a no shows how the boy may be questioning if his father is lying or at least telling a half truth to him, as he does at other points in the novel to protect his son. it also shows how the father has to make tough decisions as there may have been a way to help this man but it would have cost them food and other resources they cannot afford to spare. the repetition of say 'no we cant help him' is not only convincing the boy but also himself as we know he has some medical expertise that could help when he meets the road rat and explains a detailed understanding of the parts of the brain.
- shooting the 'roadrat' (pp. 62-69)
the episode in which the road rat is shot is a powerful part of the story where it is revealed that the father is prepared to kill in order to protect his son. the scence is one of the only hurried and rushed part of the book in which we feel events moving fast and uncontrolable. this is because it is sprung upon then at a point too late to avoid the confrontation. the roadrat is an example of one of the 'bad guys' often refered to during the novel and presents an example of how many people in the world now act, violence, aggression, manipulation and stealing are some of many acts that are considered the norm. the tension that is built through out this conflict is one of the most significant in the book, and it also has a dramatic climax in the finality of the shooting. the long sentence describing the flurry of movement and confusion momentarily before he is shot is used to make the reader that bit tenser as we hurry to know the outcome of the events. The next sentence contrasts remarkably to this one. it simply states 'the man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead.' the simplicity of this description showing nothing about his emotions is an insight into the practical manner in which he carries out the things that must be done. i think it is surprising how his reaction to killing the road-rat shows no emotion whereas finding the people in the cellar provokes a response of a great magnitude despite the fact there is no death.
- finding the cellar of naked and mutilated people (pp. 112-121)
this is one the two most disturbing and truly disgusting parts of the novel. the horror that the scene brings to the audience is terrifying and i think that McCarthy uses this episode so that it is remembered. this is because it identifies many issues about morality and the nature of evil in people. we question how we would cope in this world and are we capable of committing such heinous acts; whether it is already a part of who we are that we could be driven to such atrocities and that it is only a lack of circumstance that we haven't been forced into an evil act; and finally whether people are innately good or bad. McCarthy provokes this response not by showing the repulsive nature of cannibalism but by letting the reader see those marked to be eaten and how they are kept like livestock, their humanity stripped away.
when we realise that this is a place of a dire nature the reader is gripped with a sudden fear for the father and son as they go from feeling relatively secure in a seemingly abandoned house, to being in one of the worst possible places they could be, and this is an interesting insight in how perception can change in an instant from feeling safe to a sense of complete panic from danger. this section brings the father and son closer as they see the devastation of the world and unite together for comfort and a reliance on one another more than ever.the repetition by the man of 'i wont leave you' 'i cant leave you' 'i wont ever leave you' shows that he has realised he cannot die or be separated from his son for he wouldn't survive in the world and the harsh cruelties that would be brought upon him would be too great to suffer.
- the baby on the spit (pp. 210-215)
this is by far the most brutally horrific scene in the novel. the fact that the audience is provided with some small measure of hope when the woman is described as walking with a 'waddling gait' and it is revealed that she is pregnant, makes the episode even more distressing. the initial reaction when the woman is first described is that through all the hardships and all the pain and all the suffering of this tortured world the miracle gift of life remains and the most innocent being is about to enter the world providing a goodness. there is no sanctity of life any more. the hope, the only hope that the novel has provided up to this point is not just taken but we see how people have turned even the most precious gift of life and used it for a meal. the description of 'a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit' is one designed to show the total discontinuation of reality as we know it, in this future. the scene in one so profoundly upsetting that i think it stops empathy with the characters as it becomes impossible to comprehend existence in a world that has been warped and change to a point where it no longer resembles what we know. i think this is a reason that it is used towards then end of the novel as it is the last act which signifies that all once good is now lost because as the story has progressed, it has moved further from what we know until we cannot identify at all with this reality.
- getting to the shore (pp. 227 - 230)
i feel that this episode is somewhat of an anticlimax as that endeavour that has driven then, through the novel, along the road, has no real significance. there is no salvation in the sea, it is condemned to have life exterminated just as the land. i think that McCarthy does this in order to show how aims and goals are needed in order to survive even in they have no logical reasoning behind them, the people are driven by them and it makes the endless wandering bearable as they do not think they are going without purpose. also there will be sense of achievement when they arrive that would not be common in the rest of their lives.
since it has been the main focus of the book so far we question what is next in the plot, where will they go? the characters themselves are brought closer at this point when the boy becomes ill as it shows the fathers devotion to the boy as he cares for him where as it isn't likely anyone else would be helped in the world and more likely that they would be eaten. also i think we begin to see just how close to the end the father is as he struggles to remain awake to care for the boy and his coughing is that bit more prominent. despite the lack of a grand event once they reach the coast i still think that it is a key episode in the novel as there pursuit is finally complete and they can then move on to another aim, showing their cyclical lives.
- the theft of the man and boy's belongings (pp. 270-278)
the theft of their belongings is key as it shows a loss of the man's morality when he leaves the man with nothing. it seems to be an act of hatred of the world, and now that he is nearly gone he wishes to make an impact against it. the sense of hypocrisy when the thief begs for his clothes and ultimately his life provides the reader with a sense of karma and justice and this is important to show even in this world some justice will occur and you will still suffer for your sins. i think this is a key aspect of humanity and if it didn't exist I think the world would be so much harder to relate to .
Remember to write about
How the episode impacted on you?
What was the writer doing to evoke this response?
Plot progression (what will happen next?)
Your experience (change of mood? A ligher moment? Increase or release of tension?)
How does this develop character and their relationship?
The techniques employed by McCarthy. Is the language in keeping with the rest of the novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?
Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters or chapter titles?
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
quotes
It is essential you recognise Cormac McCarthy's crafting of sentences in "The Road". Read the following extract out loud, pay attention to the sounds of the words and the rhythm of the writing.
This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.
The simplicity on the sentence structures being single clauses demonstrates the matter of fact way in which he regards his duty to protect and do the necessary things to ensure his child's comfort and survival in a world that allows children to have brains in their hair. The act seems to bean unspecific part of everyday life and just one of many menial task that he must perform due to his devotion to the child. there is also pride in the tone as he has this job, this meaning in life that is always certain in the world that is ever changing.
Yes I am, he said. I am the one.
the repetition on 'I' shows the self centred opinion he holds of himself. he is the only person now who remains in his sons life, and this has given him a god like status having given the boy life and being his teacher and the reason that he can survive in the desolate world they inhabit. this is accentuated when you think about how he views his son as a part of him. his son and a part of his survival to stop him going mad in the world alone. the godly aspect with which he regards himself in this context is show as people view themselves as a part of god.
Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.
the way that the foods are listed. one in a list within comers and the other foods separated with full stops is a demonstration of how the world and they are running out of food. the good and nutritious foods that would have been plentiful in the beginning of the disaster and eaten with speed and hunger flow with the smallest of stalls the comers. however as the world becomes a harsher place and a harder reality, they are forces to eat only that that would have lasted, these preserved goods. the full stops signify the way in which they are having to go longer between eating these foods. it can also be viewed that the preserved foods are a metaphor for the preservation of human life. as the food is preserved past its natural possibilities, so do the man and boy seek to preserve their lives past the natural course of the disaster that has taken the world.
Are we still the good guys, he said.
the question posed without a question mark shows the unwillingness of the boy to know the answer as he dreads the idea of becoming bad in this world and what it entails such as cannibalism and murder like that that his father just performed. also it poses a question about morality and whether bad people see themselves as good or bad, and by not using a question mark it opens it to interpretation as to whether you view then as good or bad.
We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.
the change from 'we' to 'he' in the sentence shows way in which the boy is in the present, where they are together, as opposed to how the man is standing in his past home, before the problems of the world and before his son was born. when he was alone in this house and had no one depending on him. he knows it is inherently wrong to stay here as the past is the past and his home is no longer home. though he clings to the memories he had here. the way the boy is scared when they explore this house shows how because of his memories of what it used to be he does not see it like the boy, for what it has become.
The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.
this description of the bitter cold world they inhabit shows the repetitiveness of their lives and the ever falling snow. the way in which the past and the present merge together here in one clause due to lack of punctuation shows the way in which present and past are now one in there lives and there is no distinction between the two. the snow has prevented them from moving further along the road and thus it has stopped their time in the endless falling snow.
Okay? Okay.
the continued use of okay throughout the novel like in this instance is a reasurance of one another. this new world has created a need for dependence on one another for many reasons including preserving sanity in the broken lives they lead. they then require constant reasurance as they are a necessary part of their own existance.
They sat on the edge of the tub and pulled their shoes on and then he handed the boy the pan and soap and he took the stove and the little bottle of gas and the pistol and wrapped in their blankets and they went back across the yard to the bunker.
the sheer length of the scentence here shows how out ofsorts the actions they carry out are. the circumstances they are in mean bathing and personal hygeine have become a luxury taken only when possible and due to this it is a significant fact that they can have this service. it can also be interpreted that the scentence length reflects how a seemingly simple event for a reader such a running a bath is a tedeous and long process that requires much time; this also makes a statement about things taken for granted in the secure world we live.
Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth.
the slilence of the earth is unimaginable to the reader as they will never have know a place so devoid of life and noise. ths makes empathysing impossible and so the reader is struck by a terrifying sence of empty nothingness the peirces through into the world.
She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift.
the coldness of the act when she leaves them is a representation of how by taking emotion and passion out of her husbands life he will be better able to cope with the life he now leads as without a heart to keep him human, he can now be practical and do what is necessary in order to maintain survival. this also explains the relationship between him and his son relationship,as he is now naught but cold, his son acts as a conscience for his actions.
What does these extracts tells us about;
- the type of novel it might be (the genre/s it seems to draw on or fit with)
- the story (what might happen)
- themes (the ideas it might raise)
- characters and relationships
- the way the story might be told.
This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.
The simplicity on the sentence structures being single clauses demonstrates the matter of fact way in which he regards his duty to protect and do the necessary things to ensure his child's comfort and survival in a world that allows children to have brains in their hair. The act seems to bean unspecific part of everyday life and just one of many menial task that he must perform due to his devotion to the child. there is also pride in the tone as he has this job, this meaning in life that is always certain in the world that is ever changing.
Yes I am, he said. I am the one.
the repetition on 'I' shows the self centred opinion he holds of himself. he is the only person now who remains in his sons life, and this has given him a god like status having given the boy life and being his teacher and the reason that he can survive in the desolate world they inhabit. this is accentuated when you think about how he views his son as a part of him. his son and a part of his survival to stop him going mad in the world alone. the godly aspect with which he regards himself in this context is show as people view themselves as a part of god.
Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.
the way that the foods are listed. one in a list within comers and the other foods separated with full stops is a demonstration of how the world and they are running out of food. the good and nutritious foods that would have been plentiful in the beginning of the disaster and eaten with speed and hunger flow with the smallest of stalls the comers. however as the world becomes a harsher place and a harder reality, they are forces to eat only that that would have lasted, these preserved goods. the full stops signify the way in which they are having to go longer between eating these foods. it can also be viewed that the preserved foods are a metaphor for the preservation of human life. as the food is preserved past its natural possibilities, so do the man and boy seek to preserve their lives past the natural course of the disaster that has taken the world.
Are we still the good guys, he said.
the question posed without a question mark shows the unwillingness of the boy to know the answer as he dreads the idea of becoming bad in this world and what it entails such as cannibalism and murder like that that his father just performed. also it poses a question about morality and whether bad people see themselves as good or bad, and by not using a question mark it opens it to interpretation as to whether you view then as good or bad.
We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.
the change from 'we' to 'he' in the sentence shows way in which the boy is in the present, where they are together, as opposed to how the man is standing in his past home, before the problems of the world and before his son was born. when he was alone in this house and had no one depending on him. he knows it is inherently wrong to stay here as the past is the past and his home is no longer home. though he clings to the memories he had here. the way the boy is scared when they explore this house shows how because of his memories of what it used to be he does not see it like the boy, for what it has become.
The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.
this description of the bitter cold world they inhabit shows the repetitiveness of their lives and the ever falling snow. the way in which the past and the present merge together here in one clause due to lack of punctuation shows the way in which present and past are now one in there lives and there is no distinction between the two. the snow has prevented them from moving further along the road and thus it has stopped their time in the endless falling snow.
Okay? Okay.
the continued use of okay throughout the novel like in this instance is a reasurance of one another. this new world has created a need for dependence on one another for many reasons including preserving sanity in the broken lives they lead. they then require constant reasurance as they are a necessary part of their own existance.
They sat on the edge of the tub and pulled their shoes on and then he handed the boy the pan and soap and he took the stove and the little bottle of gas and the pistol and wrapped in their blankets and they went back across the yard to the bunker.
the sheer length of the scentence here shows how out ofsorts the actions they carry out are. the circumstances they are in mean bathing and personal hygeine have become a luxury taken only when possible and due to this it is a significant fact that they can have this service. it can also be interpreted that the scentence length reflects how a seemingly simple event for a reader such a running a bath is a tedeous and long process that requires much time; this also makes a statement about things taken for granted in the secure world we live.
Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth.
the slilence of the earth is unimaginable to the reader as they will never have know a place so devoid of life and noise. ths makes empathysing impossible and so the reader is struck by a terrifying sence of empty nothingness the peirces through into the world.
She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift.
the coldness of the act when she leaves them is a representation of how by taking emotion and passion out of her husbands life he will be better able to cope with the life he now leads as without a heart to keep him human, he can now be practical and do what is necessary in order to maintain survival. this also explains the relationship between him and his son relationship,as he is now naught but cold, his son acts as a conscience for his actions.
What does these extracts tells us about;
- the type of novel it might be (the genre/s it seems to draw on or fit with)
- the story (what might happen)
- themes (the ideas it might raise)
- characters and relationships
- the way the story might be told.
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