Having seen film adaptation of The Road, I had some idea of what the writing in the novel would be like. My previous notions about the world in Cormac McCarthy's novel have rung true. The world McCarthy creates in just the first 20 pages is staggeringly empty. Besides the man and the boy, there is simply no life in the introductory pages of the book. He utilizes many of what I would call depressing adjectives to describe the post-apocalyptic setting, such as "silent", "gray", and "cold". This really drives home the message that the man and the boy are very much alone in this world. Nothing is alive, no fish in a lake, birds in the sky, or trees on the horizon. I have a feeling the rest of the novel will maintain the same tone set from the beginning. I'm ready to cry many times.
The structure of the novel, while at first a bit off-putting, fits it well. There are no chapters, simply a linear description of happenings (or rather, the lack of happenings) from third person omniscient point of view. Each paragraph is like an entry in a diary, separated from every other paragraph. Rarely is a paragraph longer than a page. The result is a bunch of loosely connected descriptions of the world around the man and the boy. At least so far, there is not a huge amount of action happening, allowing this structure to work. The novel focuses on the world and setting, but the other big focus is on the relationship of the boy and the man. Their dialogue is simplistic and concise. Even quotations marks are not used. It is reminiscent of a Kafka work, because the wording is very simple but it requires analysis and represents something larger than what is originally apparent.
The first few sections of the novel provide some interesting dialogue and set up. McCarthy's style is simple and tasteful. Fragmented, short paragraphs help the novel flow well over what is long period of time, and the tone is established very quick. I am ready to see what the rest of the novel will bring, as well as its differences from the film version.
You should talk about what has happened in the book so far (such as events and clues about the current situation), and how that could reflect the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteOn our rubric it says that we needs to talk about characters, style, meaning of the work, and why Ap, and the only one I felt I could address based on the first 20 pages was style.
DeleteThose are suggestions for topics, but you can certainly talk about other things beyond those. Don't feel that the rubric constrains you, as that is not my goal at all.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post, especially because I have read All the Pretty Horses, which is another Cormac McCarthy novel. Based on your description of The Road, I found that there were many similarities in his two novels. Although All the Pretty Horses took place on plantations and The Road took place in an apocalyptic world, it sounds like they both have the same dark and empty ambiance. Another similarity that I found is that both novels contain characters that are in search of unreachable happiness. The main difference that I found after reading this post, though, is McCarthy's structure, which you described as having "no chapters, simply a linear description of happenings (or rather, the lack of happenings) from third person omniscient point of view." I agree that this structure is well fitting to the cold and empty setting, but I am curious as to why McCarthy did not use the same structure in the novel that I read. Do you believe that there are any reasons for this structure that would be more specific to The Road?
ReplyDeleteAlso, after reading that you have watched a film adaptation of this novel, I am curious to see how the two compare. Are the novel's linear descriptions and absence of chapters doing a better job making the setting feel dark and barren?
I have not read All the pretty horses so I cannot answer the first question. However I am finding that the description of the world in the book is very well realized in the film. There are minute details included in both. It is really very cool how well they go together.
DeleteYou've commented very insightfully about the style of the novel, and you've provided a few examples. I'd love to read some other examples.
ReplyDeleteHi Justin, nice post. The style that your author is actually quite similar to mine (Khaled Hosseini- The Kite Runner). The book is broken up into short stories that are similar to journal entries. I was wondering if the short fragmented style of the novel makes it difficult to follow the story and learn about the characters? Also is the language rather simplistic and conversational or does it come off as more educational?
ReplyDeleteThe story is relatively straight-forward, however it does get confusing at certain times because quotation marks are not used and McCarthy does not explicitly specify which character is saying what. I have found myself rereading some sections just to make sure I know who said what. The language is very simplistic. The dialogue is very sparse and concise. Usually the man and the boy respond to each other in just a few words. Thanks for enjoying my post Mr. Burgundy.
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