Voice and point of view

"If I’m not here you can still talk to me. You can talk to me and I’ll talk to you. You’ll see. ... He went down the road as far as he dared and then he came back."



Techniques used:

• Unattributed speech
• Repetitive dialogue
• 3rd person from boy's perspective
• Longer dialogue

Voice is a very important part of this extract. The same repetitive dialogue is used with "Okay" being said 3 times. The man says "okay" to the boy to re-assure and calm him. The use of familiar dialogue, as "okay" has been said many times throughout the novel, makes the boy less fearful. He is being brought back to the sense of normality he'd found amongst the chaos of a post-apocalyptic world.d His father's voice is the only thing that brings him comfort and a feeling of safety.

This extract involves unattributed dialogue, with longer statements being said, particularly from the father. Even though it's unattributed, it's clear which character is saying what through their speech patterns. The man says, "If I'm not here you can still talk to me. You can talk to me and I'll talk to you. You'll see" to which the boy simply replies with "Will I hear you?" The man's almost poetic speech coincides with his oncoming death, his voice seems to be more expressive due to the fact its his lsat proper conversation with his son. He changes his attitude to one of optimism to make the boy feel strong and safe.

This extract ends with the 3rd person perspective of the boy. His voice has been developing throughout this part of the novel as he realises that he must gain some independence. In the text, it says "He went down the road as far as he dared and then he came back". This is the boy's viewpoint, describing his actions, and suggests that he has become a more daring spirit through what he's learnt from his father. He is seeing the world a bit differently now he knows he has to adapt and survive without the protection of his father.

Structure and the handling of time

The novel seems to take place in a "continuous present". This is due to the narrative moving forward, yet never leaving a specific place - the road. It utilises an "entropic continuity" in that there seems to be a constant increase of chaos and disorder. The disasters the Man and Boy encounter increase in severity as they first come across the Road Rat, who is seemingly on his own, then they reach the abandoned house in which there's danger from several cannibals. This symbolises society's constant descent into barbaric and "bad" ways. McCarthy uses time to indicate that although the setting never really changes, the characters have done as their experiences have been so dramatic.

There's a strong repetitive tone to McCarthy's writing, particularly in terms of time. The constant use of "morning", "afternoon" and "night" indicate a semblance of routine left in this world. Although everything they knew has been taken away from them, there's still an innate need for a sense of normality and structure to their lives.



References to the passage of days

• "He woke in the night" (p.78) - restlessness of the man
• "and slept till day" (p.128) - semblance of a routine
• "It took two days" (p.14) - travelling away from the forest

Markers in the year

• "it was snowing again" (p.17) - never-ending gloom, cold and misery
• "still autumn air" (p.19)

Passages in which narrative time is telescoped

• "Three nights later" (p.27) - after finding shelter and then leaving it for their own safety
• "The day following" (p.187) - after meeting Ely

References to "before" (and flashbacks)

• "We're survivors he told her across the flame of the lamp" (p.57) - flashback to man and his wife
• "Seated in a theatre with her beside him" (p.18) - memories of happier times
• "She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift" (p.61) - woman killing herself

Points at which time seems to be suspended

• "He caught it in his hand and watched it expire there like the last host of Christendom" (p.15) - catching a snowflake (remnant of beauty left in the world)
• "Coming across the field toward the house were four bearded men and two women." (p.117) - glimpse of the cannibals followed by desperation to get away
• "The clocks stopped at 1:17" (p.54) - exact time of the apocalypse

Abstract references to time

• "When the time comes there will be no time" (p.120)
• "Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth" (p.1) - death bells ringing symbolising the end of time

Practice compare question

Many narratives have one or more significant moments of crisis.

Write about the significance of crises in the work of the three writers you have studied.

Crisis is an integral part of many narratives as they keep the plot moving and interesting. They often happen when there's a tension in the situation that culminates with a dramatic climax. There are clear moments of crisis in The Road, The Great Gatsby and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

A significant moment of crisis in the Road is when the man and the boy encounter the Road Rat. This is the first time they've been directly threatened and are in serious danger, which is often a part of crisis in texts as it affects the way the characters behave drastically. The Road Rat attempts to kidnap the boy, presumably to kill and eat him. This underlying fear adds to the tension of this crisis as the man and the boy know this is what will happen to them, making them even more scared. The Road Rat grabs the boy "holding him against his chest with the knife at his throat". This accelerates the pace of the section drastically as suddenly there is an immediate danger that must be overcome. McCarthy deliberately makes this event happen quickly to put some doubt into the reader's minds regarding whether the boy will survive or not. The Road Rat's intentions relate to those of the "bad guys" who have emerged due to the apocalypse. In a way, he represents the worst of society post-apocalypse, whilst in The Great Gatsby, the wealthy represent the worst before it. It could be argued that The Road is where the people of The Great Gatsby will end up if they carry on their lifestyles.

Perhaps the most significant crisis in The Road is when the man and the boy reach the abandoned house filled with “naked people, male and female” that try to reach out to them. In this section, we are quickly presented with an immediate threat, making the atmosphere tenser. The mystery surrounding how the people got there heightens the drama. The man and boy’s desperate escape from the cellar implies that above all, their will to survive is the most important part of themselves. When they are faced with a crisis, they must act fast, and do, to ensure they aren’t harmed.

Crisis is an integral part of The Great Gatsby as the novel revolves around the idea of there being consequences to people's actions. A particularly significant crisis is when Tom confronts Gatsby about his relationship with Daisy. This is ignited by Daisy's statement to Gatsby that he "always look so cool". This inadvertently reveals their relationship, yet the circumstances in which it was said, surrounded by others, suggests that Daisy wanted to force a confrontation. When Tom reacts to this later in the chapter, he addresses Gatsby as "Mr Gatsby". This use of formality adds to the crisis as the tension becomes palpable. It's as if Tom wants to burst into a rage, but keeps it constrained to preserve whatever dignity he can keep, at least to begin with. His anger is conveyed through the subtlety of his snide remarks to Gatsby. He mocks and humiliates him, by saying things like "Mr Nobody from Nowhere" to emphasise how he's never going to be accepted into American upper class society. This makes the crisis even worse as it's not clear what Tom's intentions are and the reader is on edge just waiting for to hear his real feelings about the situation.

The killing of Myrtle is arguably one of the most important crises in the whole novel due to both the ramifications and the horrific nature in which she is killed. She is described as being "violently extinguished" and her "left breast was swinging loose like a flap". These are shocking descriptions of her death that Fitzgerald uses to convey the idea that this event will have tragic consequences. In itself, it is a crisis for most characters, particularly Wilson, Tom and Gatsby. For Wilson, his wife dying takes away the last piece of sanity he had retained. He's pushed over the brink into insanity, as displayed when Michaelis watches over him. For Tom, his reaction is one of disbelief, which quickly turns to hatred for Gatsby, as displayed when he says, "The God damned coward!" Gatsby's death links alms directly to Myrtle's because it is due to Wilson believing Gatsby was driving the car that hit her, that he shoots him. Myrtle's death signifies a turning point in the novel due to it being the first time the consequences of the carefree rich have directly damaged a person's life in a drastic way. Their inability to realise that their hedonistic and materialistic ways are wrong contributes to their downfall, beginning with Myrtle's demise.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner revolves around the different crises the Mariner finds himself in. The first significant one is when he experiences the repercussions of shooting the Albatross. Part 1 ends on the cliffhanger "With my cross-bow I shot the Albatross". This appears to be a motiveless killing showcasing the Mariner's apparent disrespect for life and his selfishness. This leads into part 2 as the crew turn on the Mariner, a crisis for him. They call him a "wretch", isolating him and punishing him for his actions. The lack of respect and communication between the Mariner and his crew leads the reader to realise that the consequences of the Mariner's shooting of the Albatross will be catastrophic. They are hurtling towards some kind of disaster, and the fact that they aren't going to work as a team will work against them. This crisis is significant because it set the whole story in motion and it ripples throughout the rest of the text. It displays the Mariner as an egocentric character, which affects our perception of him for the rest of the poem.

Another significant crisis occurs during part 3 when the Mariner and his crew encounter the physical manifestations of "Death" and "Life-in-Death". These supernatural figures arrive on "the skeleton of a ship" and Life-in-Death is said to have "red" lips, "yellow as gold" hair, but "leprosy" like skin. These reinforce the gothic themes present throughout the poem and add to the tension. These are strange creatures who invade the ship to play a game for the souls of the crew, which is a crisis in itself as at this point the reader doesn't know what will happen to their souls. The importance of this event relates to the rest of the poem in that it's the first time we are fully introduced to the supernatural side of the tale and the amount of control they have other the Mariner's journey. The fact that their actions and appearances are described using conflicting vocabulary conveys the idea that the realm of impossibilities and loss of rationality has been entered. This is a notable development as it sets the poem up as one that may not always make logical sense, yet is powerful.

A crisis that is probably one of the most important, as it relates directly to the conclusion of the poem, happens at the end of part 5, but leads into part 6. Two new other-worldy voices are introduced who discuss the Mariner's situation. One of them says, "The man hath penance done And penance more will do". This implies that the Mariner's physical and mental journey is far from over and that he still has suffering to come. Up until this point, it’s suggested that the Mariner as been freed of his restraints, but this proves that he hasn’t. His sin of shooting the Albatross will forever haunt him, which indicates that anyone who sins so drastically won’t ever truly escape from it.

Limited Palette

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

• "and dug out the knapsack and shook it out and opened it and stuffed in one of the blankets"
• "okay"
• "gray"
• "ashen"

The whole premise of the novel is the constant journey to safety and finding some kind of hope. A way McCarthy does this is through the repetition of certain words and phrases. A specific example is when the man is trying to get something to keep the boy warm. The word "and" is repeated 4 times. This suggests that the characters are travelling along a winding path and looking for safety all the time. McCarthy repeats these phrases to drill into the reader's conscious mind that it's all about the road. It becomes a character in itself and is the centrepiece of the novel as it holds both extreme danger and the possibility of being saved.

1. 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 lack of complex and intricate vocabulary makes a big statement about the context of the novel. Within it, the world has suffered an apocalypse and all beauty and complexity seems to have disappeared. McCarthy cleverly conveys this further through the stripped language. The fact that there aren't any overly descriptive sections means that we are given an image of the world as bare and desolate, just like the language. Things are described in simplistic terms, such as "raw and black" and "filthy blue". The fact that there's no elaboration on this imagery leaves it open for the reader's interpretation to imagine what the world looks like. This allows for a greater emotional link between the novel and the reader as it's possible to truly immerse yourself in a world you can imagine. 

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

• "Stop crying. Do you understand?" "I think so." "No. Do you understand?" "Yes."
• "She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift."

One of the main concepts of the novel is the seeming lack of emotion displayed by the characters, particularly the man. This draws up many questions for the reader to ponder on as in the post-apocalyptic world, it's difficult to imagine why people would distance themselves from each other. However, the man has a specific reasoning for doing this that is emotionally powerful. He wishes to ensure that the boy isn't too emotionally attached to him, so if he were to die, the boy could survive. In a way, this is the most loving thing to do as the man is acting out of desperation to keep his child alive, at all costs. The reader is left to search for any scrap of emotion they can find to help them relate to the characters, which means it's more emotionally engaging.

1. The limited palette makes the story more universal, a fable for all time, rather than pinning it down with lots of elaborate details describing specific places. 

There are no specific references to the time the novel is set, we are just given the idea that it all takes place in America. The fact that it's not placed at any point in history means it could apply to everyone at all times. The morals conveyed, of the man and the boy in particular, aren't just a part of one society, then can be applied to many. McCarthy deliberately withholds detail so it's possible to relate to the characters more easily. The man is supposed to represent the "every man", he could be any one of us, so it's more universal. The stories told in The Road act as a warning for all humanity at every point in history, that if we don't change our actions, evil will grow and conquer.

Practice section 1B question

How far do you agree that the Patriot and the Pied Piper are heroes?

It's possible to argue that both of these characters are heroes because both perform seemingly heroic acts. The Pied Piper rids the town of the pestilent rats and the Patriot is conveyed as a war hero. However, by the conclusion of their respective poems they're shown to commit immoral acts, some would say this cancels out their previous goodness as their actions are selfish.

On a surface level, it's easy to perceive these characters as heroes, at the beginning of their stories. They both act in a way to save and help other people, a typical character trait of a hero. In the Pied Piper's case, he approaches the infested town like a saviour and promises to "chiefly use [his] charm On creatures that do people harm". This implies that his only aim is to prevent the townsfolk from being hurt or harassed by the rats, which in turn suggests a heroic nature as he's seemingly willing to risk his own safety to do this. The Pied Piper also lists people he's helped in the past - the "Cham" and the "Nizam". This gives us a kind of assurance that he is capable and brave enough to stop the invasion. However, this also adds an air of mystery as we aren't given proof of these heroic deeds.

The Patriot can also be perceived as a hero due to his implied actions during a war. His actions are elevated, to make him seem saint-like, by the people who sent him to war in the first place. They throw "roses, roses" in his path, signifying his heroic status as they're blessing him with the beauty of flora, but also link him to being a patriotic symbol, as roses relate to England. This means he is admired all across the country and is worshipped as the "church-spires flamed". This signifies God's acceptance of him too, which is a major factor as, even in the end, he doesn't believe he will be truly sinful until God says so. Praise for the Patriot is a pivotal theme as it indicates how the public were obsessed with making him a hero.

However, both the Patriot and the Pied Piper exhibit characteristics relating to an anti-hero, or even a villain. The Pied Piper is portrayed as cunning and mischievous who will go to great lengths to get what he wants. One of the main reasons he helped the townspeople was to receive a sum of money, indicating his selfish and greedy nature. He asks for "a thousand guilders", to which the Mayor offers him "fifty thousand". When this promise is broken and he doesn't receive the money, the Pied Piper descends into a villainy. His enchantment of the children indicates that he's a spiteful character, not what a true hero should be. Even worse, when he leads them away, he's takes on a clear antagonistic role within the poem. His claims that he's heroic are refuted as Browning now presents him as malevolent with no care for human emotion.

It's also possible to interpret the Patriot as a character that isn't a hero. It's heavily implied that he's a war criminal who committed such atrocities that only the "palsied" come out to see him, as opposed to before when the public was lining the streets with "flags". The palsied are the disabled and deformed, which suggests that no-one of sound mind is willing to be associated with him anymore. As the narrator, he states that he's being punished for his "year's misdeeds". No true hero would behave in a way that would harm others, yet this is what the Patriot has done. He shows no remorse for his actions and is nonchalant when approaching his execution, which further conveys the idea that he's a representation of an anti-hero.

In conclusion, when both characters are introduced to the reader, they appear to be heroic and selfless. However, as Browning gives us more description, it becomes clear that neither is inherently "good" as they both perform bad deeds which disadvantage/harm others, something that a hero would never do.

The Road Rat

• Why does McCarthy describe the Road Rat in such detail? (p.65)

The Road Rat is described in such detail to reflect the horror of the character and the rest of the novel. The description of him is gratuitous and adds to the sense that his personality is excessively horrible. He's described as "lean, wiry, rachitic" and with eyes "like an animal", which gives the impression that the Road Rat isn't human, he's a creature. The humanity he may have once possessed has been replaced by a feral instinct. It can be argued that the reason the Road Rat is described in a detailed way is that he represent the brutality of the novel as a whole. The excessive description of him relates to the sheer horror of what happens in the novel.

• Why is the Road Rats character so explicit whilst the man is so implicit?

The Road Rat is explicit whilst the man is implicit to reflect the differences between the two. They are the two sides of humanity that have emerged in the post-apocalyptic world. The Road Rat epitomises the "bad guys" as he acts immorally and with no care for anyone else, which is shown when he tries to kill the boy. His explicit intentions convey the brutality of the horror within the novel. The man is implicit as he counters the Road Rat's behaviour with some form of moral code. He acts to save the boy, suggesting that he is one of the "good guys". He is understood from a moral perspective as although he shoots the Road Rat, he did it to save someone else.

• "A single round left in the revolver. You will not face the truth. You will not" Who is the man echoing here? How do you believe these words are uttered?

The man's thoughts echo the words of the woman, his wife. She said these things just before she killed herself. She believed he was selfish for wasting a bullet, and now he's shot the Road Rat, it could be seen that he's being even more selfish. The fact that there is only one bullet left means that he has to shoot the boy if the circumstances go beyond any hope, but the man still can't bring himself to do that. He's conflicted over his emotions and the right thing to do. The poignancy of what his wife said haunts him, to an extent, as he doesn't feel strong enough to kill his own son and save him from suffering.

Purpose of the Woman

McCarthy needed something that is no longer present to represent life as it used to be in the time before.
The linear chronology of the novel means we have to follow the experiences of the man and the boy as they trek through America to the coast. However, the existence of the woman's character allows for an insight into what life was like pre-apocalypse. We get a picture of her character through the man's memories, who's descriptions of her vary from romantic ("summer dress") to angry ("the coldness of it"). The fact that the woman is no longer alive is pivotal as it implies that some people from the old world don't have what it takes to survive. The world has changed, both physically and in the way it works, since the apocalypse. The woman represents how good life was before the disaster, many allusions to her pre-apocalypse are in a positive light and associating her with happy events (for example, the trip to the theatre). In a way, her not being alive during the novel's story is indicative of how everything has changed and nothing will ever be the same again for the characters.

The man and woman represent the different ways in which humanity might react to such a situation.
The reactions of the man and woman to the apocalypse differ greatly. On the one hand, the man represents true strength and survival instinct. He disregards the emotional significance and danger he's in to think rationally. He conserves fresh water by turning the "taps as far as they would go" to fill the bathtub. This way, he is able to ensure both he and his wife have something to drink. However, the woman doesn't appear to understand this. Her immediate reaction is to panic and question why the man is filling the bath. She can't understand his instinct, which makes her seem weaker as she wouldn't be able to survive on her own.