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.