Structure in 'The Road'

The Use of Structure in Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'

Shift in Time

 There are several parts in the book where there are flashbacks to previous events that took place before and during the beginning of whatever incident or catastrophe befell Earth, most often in order to tell the inner story of what happened to the boy's mother. These could be perceived to be the dreams or memories of either character as opposed to flashbacks.

'Sections'

 There are no definitive 'acts' or 'sections' of the book, however, there do seem to be three major sections that differ in narrative content ie. 

1st 'Section'- The man and the boy travel across the land and encounter many dangers that threaten them, the most prominent being that of starvation.

2nd 'Section'- The two discover an underground 'vault', filled with food and bedding and clothes and stay there or a while, having finally found a strand of hope in their lives and a chance at survival.

3rd 'Section'- The man decides that they are too exposed to other, more human, dangers, and decide to take what they can and leave and continue on their way to the beach, their final destination as father and son.

Moment(s) of Crisis

 There are two definitive and tangible moments of crisis, despite the entirety of the book being made up of the crisis' that the two face: The discovery of the cannibal house and the basement, and the ending on the beach.

 In the first of these, the two are discover a large house, and on the brink of starvation and desperate for food, they descend into the locked cellar in search of food, but instead find raped, mutilated and half-eaten humans kept there by the cannibals. Fleeing the cellar, both discover that the cannibals are returning to the house and have to hide out in the woods opposite the house, unmoving, in order to make a later escape. 

 The second of the scenes is far more subtle, however, is the most meaningful of all of the dangers in the book. Knowing that he is going to die, the man must impart any final knowledge, instructions and thoughts to his son, as well as try to convince him to live on and that he will be fine. The boy must come to terms with this and acknowledge his new lifestyle alone and accept that there is nothing to be done to help his father.

 There are also many other moments of crisis: the man in the forest, the cannibals passing through the forest, the threat of starvation, the falling trees, the dead child, the man on the beach, the couple in the house etc.

Set Piece Event/Climax

The most climactic part of the book  is likely the latter of the two main moments of crisis (above), when the man and boy finally reach their physical destination: The beach. As the two journey through the neighboring lands, they encounter a couple hiding out in a house whom upon seeing the duo, take this as an offensive, and attack, the father, of course, prioritising the safety of the boy and obtaining an injury, which later proves to be a fatal wound. On the realisation of this, they return to the beach in order for the father to impart any knowledge of survival to his son while he still can (the road is far too dangerous, meaning that they would not have enough time) and also means that the father can die in a more peaceful environment. The son also seems more restful when at the beach, and also marks the beginning of his slight change in character, the beach becoming their symbol for not only safety and rest, but also the boy's time of coming to terms with the reality of the world of which he lives in.

Key Motifs/Themes/Oppositions

Death- The theme of death is one of the most prominent throughout the book, and features not only as the recurring subject of the character's dialogue exchanges, but is also clearly shown in the description of the land itself. Not only this, but it is also the biggest ultimate threat to the man an boy.

Love and Hope- Throughout the story, the man shows a tremendous amount of love for his son through his many sacrifices in the hope of keeping the child alive, strengthened by the boys own sense of hope and 'goodness'. Although a wary man, the father never harms others unless they have placed the boy's survival at risk, however the boy's innocence and strong sense of compassion veils him from witnessing and truly understanding this until the father's death.

Good/Evil- There are two contrasts of good and evil within the story, one the explicit comparison of the 'good guys' (the man and the boy) and the bad guys (rapists, thieves, murderers, cannibals). There is also the more subtle comparison of the two parental characters. The father refers to the 'good guys' as being those that strive to live on under all circumstances and that, despite all, continue to carry the 'fire', this being something that the mother fails to do.

Compassion and Morality/Humanity- Having lived a huge sum of his life in the aftermath of whatever incident occured that changed the world, the man ha become 'worn' by his years of seeing humanity deteriorate rapidly into chaos and, having had the "charge" of protecting his son for the entirety of the boys life, has had to protect his son from even the potential of danger. Because of this, he has become very untrusing and unforgiving character. The boy, unknowing of the mans sacrifice of his own humanity in order to protect him, dislikes the fathers lack of compassion in the face of the unknown, and acts as a source of compassion, morality, humanity and purity.

Spirituality and Forgiveness- Very rarely does either character discuss God in heavy detail, however, there are some underlying religious themes, however not overly improtant regarding the story. In fact, the father seems to almost dismiss the idea that there is a God, however, he and the boy do occassionally discuss the 'spiritual afterlife', whether this is something that the man actually believes in or just something to reassure the boy is unclear.

Survival/Resilience and Violence- Because of the mans unwavering need to protect his son, he has had to endure a great deal over the past years and the duration of the book, and has made various sacrifices, the greatest being his sense of humanity and right and wrong when basic survival of the boy is at risk, even if it is but a minor threat. In the end of the book, the father, having realised that he can go no further, realises that he must impart as much as he can to the boy, the most important the basics of survival, especially important due to the boy's compassion towards others.

Charactisation in 'The Road'

Characterisation of 'the boy' in Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'

Use of Narrative in 'The Road'

The Use of Narrative Devices in Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'

Narrative Voice

The overall narrative voice in 'The Road' is that of a third person omniscient narrator, albeit one of whom seemingly does not divulge the reader with all available information, and the text does sometimes seem to switch to free indirect style, especally when discussing the character's emotions and thoughts directly and in detail, sometimes seemingly taking on the actual persona of that character, which could also be described as focalisation (however it is closer to free inirect style when not in entirely TPON due to the fact that even when doing this, the narrator is still fairly detached and ambiguous as to whether it is in fact the thoughts of the character or a mere factual observation on part of the narrator).

"He watched the boy and he looked out through the trees toward the road. This was not a safe place. They could be seen from the road now it was day."

Narrative Structure

Throughout the book, there are no actual chapters, but short sections, often unclear as to whether it is seperated from the previous one due to change of location, time, subject matter, narration or focalised character. This, added to the writting style of McCarthy, makes the book read similarly to a piece of prose or poetry. Although the narrative itself is quite circular as the world itslef has not changed and there is no final resolution (open ending), however, the emotional journey and overall message of the book is quite linear, very different at the end of the book in comparison to the beginning.

"When it was light enough to use the binoculars he glassed the valley below. Everything paling away into the murk. The soft ash blowing in loose swirls over the blacktop. He studied what he could see. The segments of road down there among dead trees. Looking for anything of color. Any movement. Any trace of standing smoke. He lowered the glasses and pulled down the cotton mask from his face and wiped his nose on the back of his wrist and then glassed the country again. Then he just sat there holding the binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land. He knew that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke."

Handling of Time

There is no set time frame in the book, some sections will describe several weeks in a passage, some a single moment in great detail, and some sections are in fact dreams or memories/flashbacks of the man. Some of these flashbacks are in the past tense, most notably when the man is actively remembering them, however, some are written in the present tense, and not actually referred to by the surrounding passages, hinting that these are in fact extra pieces of information the author via the narrator has chosen to share with us to further our understanding of prior events (see quote below). There is also a lot of foreshadowing of future events, more notably the ending, as the story is itself the physical and emotional journey that prepares the two characters for the tale's outcome.

"The clocks stopped at 1:17. A long shear of light and then a series of low concussions. He got up and went to the window. What is it? she said. He didnt answer. He went to the bathroom and threw the lightswitch but the power was already gone. A dull glow rose in the windowglass. He dropped to one knee and raised the lever to stop the tub and then turned on both taps as far as they would go. She was standing in the doorway in her nightwear, clutching the jamb, cradling her belly in one hand. What is is? she said. What is happening?
I dont know.
Why are you taking a bath?
I’m not."

Relationship with the Reader

As 'The Road' is a very articulate, however extremely creative and open text, it can have many readings, for example, there is a fair amount of religious imagery, and many could issue this as a main theme, or even pin point the omniscient third person narrator as an almost 'God-like' figure, spectating events, however others would say that it is simply because the two characters could be considered religious, or sometimes anti-religious (especially the man at times) and for metaphorical illustration. There are also a lot of narrative gaps, meaning that the reader does not, nor ever find out, all fo the predecessing events leading up to the current narrative, especially as the book starts 'in medias res'. 

"When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world. His hand rose and fell softly with each precious breath. He pushed away the plastic tarpaulin and raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none."

Prose Style

Most of the sentences throughout the book are very short, actions described in an almost list-like, laborious manner. When describing the actuall events of the book, the narrative itself, the language is mostly fairly colloquial in manner, as is the speech of the characters, however both aspects of the book do include some advanced vocablulary, hinting at a higher plane of intelligence on both the part of the characters and the narrator, whereas descriptions of the surrounding itself is often very articulate and of an almost higher register to the rest of the book, making it sometimes quite difficult to read and understand, however never failing to evoke the emotions bestowed upon us from the described world. Some sections of the book will be a description of a location in it's entirety, or opposingly be completely of speech (however never enclosed in speech marks-transcribed/documentation and therfore unchangeable? An already set path in history?) , or sometimes a brief and simple observation or thought on part of either one of the characters or the narrator. As the book is extremely figurative and poetic in style, it uses a lot of metaphor and imagery/symbolism as well as a very unusual use of punctuation, speech never being quotated, sometimes replaced by colons, and sometimes commas either missing or strangely placed.

"He rose and stood tottering in that cold autistic dark with his arms outheld for balance while the vestibular calculations in his skull cranked out their reckonings. An old chronicle. To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his return. Eyes closed, arms oaring. Upright to what? Something nameless in the night, lode or matrix. To which he and the stars were common satellite. Like the great pendulum in its rotunda scribing through the long day movements of the universe of which you may say it knows nothing and yet know it must."

Genre

As a dystopian novel, 'The Road' incorporates many key conventions of the genre, the most notable being what could be considered the 'purpose' of the text; a warning of a possible future. This is extended by the general bleak and desolate impression imposed by the book, and the almost view of the narrative as an analytical reference in itself of the human nature when on the verge of annihaltion and how key concepts: morality, fear, love, spirituality, violence, humanity, isolation, compassion, forgiveness, good and evil and moreover hope, become real, tangible aspects fo the world andcome into play when there is nothing else left.

"He was a long time going to sleep. After a while he turned and looked at the man. His face in the small light streaked with black from the rain like some old world thespian. Can I ask you something? he said.
Yes. Of course.
Are we going to die?
Sometime. Not now.

-----
And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something?

Yes. Of course you can.

What would you do if I died?

If you died I would want to die too.

So you could be with me?

Yes. So I could be with you.

Okay."

Contexts of Reading and Writing and Wider Literary Context

The book was written in 2006, and according to McCarthy in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the idea came to him a few years earlier when in Texas with his son and e began to imagine what it could look like in the next 50-100 years. He also said that many of the conversations between the father and the son in the book are actually based on real conversations he has and with his own son, John Francis McCarthy, of whom the book is dedicated to. This clearly signifies that, although it acts as a warning of a horrifically tangible and possible future for the Earth, as arguably all Dystopian Fiction does, it is more a message of hope and an ode to the love of a parent to their child. 'The Road' has been overall, very well received  people often describing it as being "heartbreaking", "harrowing", "haunting", "emotionally shattering" and "epic". It has achieved numerous honours including: James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Believer Book Award, Pultizer Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Realist, Experimantal or Metanarrative?

Although 'The Road' includes some features of a realist text, such as believable characters, it is, however, included more features of an experimental/metanarrative text: occasional disruption of the sequence of the narrative, plays with various conventions, ambiguity and uncertainty, explores philosophical, social etc. ideas, open ending, not a chronological narrative (flashbacks, flashforwards, gaps etc.) and occasionally relying on the reader to fill in some of the narrative gaps.