Symbols and Meatphors in the novel

Water, cleaning and washing- Water is generally associated with cleansing of the soul- in Christanity, water plays a role in baptism and christianings which is a way of forgiving sins. There is a continous search for water in the novel, which could be interpreated to be a search not only physcially for survival but maybe the wipe away the days horrors and begin fresh new start. This is supported in the novel, as when the man and boy arrive at the beach, it seems to be a sort of santuary, as they do not encounter any danger there. The boy also pleeds to swim in the water, even though the water is dirty, maybe inferring that the boy wishes to make a new start and wash away the horrors and deeds his father has comitted out of his life.

The mountain-


The sea- Is the destination throughout the novel. The sea could be seen as the symbol of achievement and also hope for the furture. The landscape of the beach acts as a sort of santcuary for the man and boy as they encounter no danger there, only along the road. Reaching the coast, is escapism for the man and boy as they leave the road, the end of the country could be the end of diaster, as the sea holds nothing 'bad' in it.  

The colour gray-

Fire-

Sight/sightlessness-

Seeds-

Music/musical instrument/ animal imagery-

Religious imagery-

The Coca Cola can- This could act as the symbol for American culture.

Symbols and Metaphors in the novel

'The Road' as a symbol
It functions literally and symbolically as well as structuring the narrative


a. The road or journey has often been used as a metaphor for life itself-the journey from birth to death. 
 'Th Road' could be described as a path of guidance. As the man and boy travel along the road, they begin to let go of the past and move on into the future, like people do in life, as they grow older.   'Then he laid it down in the road also and then he stood and they went on' Th road is not just a physical feature of the desolate landscape and a remander of humanity but is a symbol metaphorically for a journey of strength, and a battle for the good 'You must carry the fire' as the man and boy strive to keep themselves as optimistic as possible. It is often said there is a good path and a bad path in life and it is up to you which you follow, in the case of the 'bad guys' they follow the 'bad path' whilst the man and boy try to remain 'good'.    


b.American culture, the road is in an important symbol-symbolising a pioneering spirt
America is a large continent and symbolically represents the land of hope and freedom. The many states in America are linked by 'roads' bringing the country together as a whole. The road is important in American history as many people travelled West to seek prosperity and fortune for a new, better life and travelling along the road or trails was the only way to find it. This is supported in 'the road' as the man and boy do follow the road acting as a path of guidance like the pioneers would have used to go West.  A strong part of American culture is being a democracy, having the right to free speech, and being independent.    
Ironically in the novel America has lost the identity of a democracy and a of being a place of freedom as their is no rights anymore, everyone is out for themselves for survival. This is shown with the 'roadrat' sequence when he infers that he will eat the boy 'Whatever we can find'. There are no rights anymore in what was once a 'free country'. 
The aspect of 'everyone was created equal' in American society has also been lost in the novel, as some parts , people have turned back in time to slavery 'Huddled against the back wall were naked people,male and female,all trying to hide,shielding their faces with their hands'. The nature of this once developing country has become primitive and feral. 


c. An epic journey, comparing to ancient literature
'The Road' does not show doesn't not explicity resemble a novel about defeating a monster or taking part in challenges, however it is apparant that at some points of the novel the man and boy do face challenges along the road, for instance the encounter with the 'roadrat', when the boy is threatened, the man takes on the challenge of trying to save him 'The man had already dropped to the ground and he swung with him and leveled the pistol and fired...'. However the main challenge the man and boy face is to reach their destination of the beach, constantly using the road as their path of guidance to complete their quest. 'The Road' could be compared to novels like 'The Odyssey' as the challenges the man and boy face are both mentally distressing, for example seeing the baby on a spit but also physcial demanding with the constant journey on foot to get to the beach. The novels desolate and eary existance can be compared with narratives like 'The Divine Comedy'. From this journey the man and boy learn not only about society and a world without humanity, but also about themselves ' I am the one'. 


d. The journey as a structure has a particular pattern, episodes along the way
From each event in the novel, the man and boy seem to learn something new about humanity or each other or themselves. This is demonstarted when the man begins to see that his son is the hope and optimusim left in the world 'You have to carry the fire.'. The novel does not seem to have a precise pattern, but there is an array of events which reveal to the reader, the man and boy's strength and reflection on the degrading society around them, an apperance of the 'bad guys'. 

'Roadrat' questions

What element of foreshadowing is employed in this section and why? (pg 62)
McCarthy uses the foreshadowing with the boy is playing with a toy truck and the 'roadrat' gang. 'The boy took his truck from the pack and shaped roads in the ash with a stick' this gives the reader a sense of normality and reminds the reader that the boy is still a child and so through 'playing'  is trying to keep the boy sane through this horrific journey. McCarthy has used this piece of description to emphasise the innocence and vulnerability the boy still carries with him. Through the novel, we see the child develop into a stronger and more understanding person, almost in a bildungsroman approach of the journey of the boy. As this event is the beginning of the novel, this may show that his innocence and vulnerability slowly fades away in the novel as he witnesses more horrific, life threatening events. The boy also makes truck noises which indicates that he has heard the sound of a truck and therefore when he was younger more humanity remained but has gradually fallen apart. This event foreshadows the arrival of the gang of cannibals- 'The truck had rumbled into view' the truck is also making noise like the boy used earlier. There may be symbolism of the boy controlling the truck when he was playing with it, maybe taking control of the 'bad guys' in the novel as he represents the 'good guy' linking to the theme of good vs evil. Taking control of 'bad guys' is maybe a reference to the job of God, and as readers we could make that comparison with the boy as he claims later in the book ' I am the one'. He also makes roads with a stick in the ash which may symbolise the gaps in society and humanity. There is another reference to 'ash' which does reinforce this concept of burning which links to the hellish place they find themselves in and could suggest the cause being a nuclear disaster or war. 


What does the description of the men teach us about them? (Characterisation pg 62-3)
McCarthy's reference to 'them' indicates they are a firstly a group but then also a reference to the 'bad guys' in general, everyone has lost their identity, the man realises what sort of people they are, cannibals, and so by calling the men 'them' generalises the bad and the good in this world.McCarthy takes away any human characteristics away from the men 'They came shuffling through the ash casting their hooded heads from side to side' this could be a reference to death as they have 'hooded heads' which is feature of the original 'grim reaper'. They are 'shuffling' through the ash showing they are weak and deprived of food, the repetitive use of the 'ash', still suggests this idea of a hellish world of 'burning'. They are also wearing 'canister masks' and one is wearing 'biohazard suit' which are items of protection against toxic fumes, maybe protecting themselves from the toxic fumes of the Earth or a symbol of their separation from society as they are cut off from the clothes they wear. The biohazard suit is 'stained and filthy' showing even though they are protected from society and humanity, nature can still leave a mark on them. The stains are inferred to be blood, as they go through the world murdering people as a way to survive. They possess a presence of violence with the 'clubs...lengths of pipe' comparatively  to that of gangsters and other criminals. They are 'coughing' which infers more disease and filth, which shows the protection they wear cannot protect them from the dangers of nature and society.


McCarthy uses a simile when describing the truck 'Lumbering and creaking like a ship'. Why does he do this?
The truck is described by McCarthy as a 'ship' which is a biblical reference to Noah's Ark. Although in the case of 'The Road', the 'ship' does not carry the 'good guys' on it, whilst Noah's Ark did carry the animals upon it. The purpose of building the 'Ark' is to preserve the good and wash away the bad in the storm. Here the 'bad guys' are upon the 'ship' maybe showing how the minority of good, have been overwhelmed with bad and are being taken over by them. The ship is also reference to a journey of the man and boy's tiresome ever lasting one. The man and boy continue to follow the birds migrating south, like following the 'dove' in the tale of 'Noah's Ark'. The man and boy still remain the 'good guys' in this reverse of religious imagery.      


Why does Mccarthy describe the Road Rat in such detail? (Characterisation pg 65)
Firstly, McCarthy describing this man as a 'roadrat' infers an image of a scavenger, filth and disease which is what is suggested by the word 'rat'. The fact this character is a 'roadrat' shows he is scavenging along the road, the road being the link across the world and is a base to find humanity. The 'roadrat' is described 'Eyes collared in cups of grime and deeply sunk' showing he is exhausted and has faded away and has no ghost like facial features. His eyes are 'deeply sunk' showing he has many things to hide behind them, for all he has seen his eyes have retracted further. 'Like an animal inside a skull looking out the eyeholes' , his animal reference shows that he has lost his humanity and now hunts and kills people, turning to cannibalism. This perception of him looking out of the eye holes of an animal skull, shows death and but also the view of the world through the eyes of animal, hunt to kill. 'He wore a beard that had been cut square across the bottom with shears and he had a tattoo of a bird on his neck...' McCarthy describes the 'roadrat' to be 'wearing' the beard, again reinforcing that all his human characteristics have gone and it is not real and does not tie into his form of humanity. The tattoo of the bird on his neck is another biblical reference to guidance, as the dove guides Noah, he is guided by himself along the road. He is also described as 'lean,wiry,rachitic' showing that he is skinny and has an animal appearance to him. He is wearing clothes from a business firm 'logo of some vanished enterprise embroidered enterprise across the front of it' Here again, McCarthy demonstrates that humanity and society fades away as this link to business and work and 'living' is becoming invisible to everyone. The 'roadrat's description is very vivid and gives the reader a focus and insight on a 'bad guy' compared to the good of the man and boy.  


Why is the Road Rats character so explicit whilst the man is so implicit?
The 'roadrat's' explicit speech infers that he is uneducated 'I ain't goin nowheres'. McCarthy uses colloquial language here to maybe suggest that even the standard English language in the world is beginning to disappear or that the majority of the 'bad guys' are uneducated and become mislead in to crimes against human nature whilst the man, who contradicts the character of the 'roadrat' seems highly educated takes the role of the 'good guy'. The man is implicit as he hides the fact that he is highly educated throughout the novel up to this point, however his language and actions support the suggestion that he is. On the other hand, the aggressive manner of the 'roadrat' also contradicts that of the man, as the man tries to avoid being aggressive, however there are points in the novel when he does become that 'bad guy'.McCarthy's use of the 'roadrat' is as a demonstration of a typical 'bad guy' in the novel, his blunt and also causal behaviour shows he is not intimidated by the man and boy and seems to threaten them 'Whatever we can find', from this section we learn that the Earth has lost humanity and people have turned against human nature and reverted to cannibalism.  The man's reference to 'I'm not anything.' proves he believes he has lost his identify and may be a reference to being 'alive in a dead world' as the emptiness inside of him and his desperation to let go of the past spurs him to continue with this journey. As readers, we feel sympathy for the man as he has lost everything, everyone and is being to lose himself, whilst the boy begins to find himself and grow stronger. 


What do we learn about the man through his exchanges with the Road Rat? (Pg 68. Consider the Man's impressive medical knowledge, look at the description of the grabbing of the boy and the shooting of the Road Rat)
The man's intelligence is demonstrated through his impressive medical knowledge 'frontal lobe...colliculus...temporal gyrus' which infers that he was trained as a medical professional. Throughout the novel, up to this point we learn little about the man's past life. When McCarthy reveals this to the reader, it shows that in crisis, all humans remain the same in the sense that there is equality of social class. At this point the 'roadrat' is equal to the man, however was presumably poorer and uneducated before. This point is demonstrated again as both of their swift movements show they have both killed before, the 'roadrat' tries to take the boy captive to basically eat him 'He dove and grabbed the boy...'  whilst the man, as a father instantly defends his son '...he swung with him and leveled the pistol and fired from a two hand position balanced on both knees at a distance of six feet'. This may make the man a 'bad guy' to kill someone however this was only instinct to defend his son and he was killing the enemy. The distance he shot the man from, also suggest that he has done this before. Whilst the man, strives to be good, he is still a murderer and may becoming one of the 'bad guys'. The boy's reaction of being 'mute as a stone' shows that the boy is disappointed in his father for committing this crime against nature. He is also in shock after this event and begins to realise the true dangers of this journey they embark on. However I believe the most significant point from this event is that the boy learns that he is 'the one' to preserve humanity and remain the 'good guy' prepared to sacrifice himself for humanity which may be a biblical reference to Jesus.    


"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?
These are the words of the man's wife echoed in his mind as a constant reminder of her presence. The wife reminds him that he cannot face the truth either meaning he cannot give up or that he is a coward and wont accept that death is the only option to escape the harsh reality of the world they now find themselves in. She believes he will never be able to kill his son and so wont accept that there is no hope. 'A single round left in the revolver' shows that he has killed not once, but twice, with the 'roadrat' and someone else. This therefore means that only one of them can escape the hellish world if it comes to it and the other will suffer alone. This may foreshadow that only one of them is too survive until the end of the novel with means of protection- the boy. 'You will not' may spur the man to prove himself to his wife or to maybe start to give up.


Why don't the other men chase after the boy and the man following the shooting? (there are clues on pg 73-4).
The other men do not chase after the boy and man, in this incident they are furious for losing their friend, but take the opportunity of eating their dead friend ' bones and the skin piled together...a pool of guts'. This horrific unimaginable violence just reflects how these men would go to the extremity of their own friend in order to survive. The cannibalism is a normality to them now as they did not disguise the evidence of their doings, they are not ashamed of who they have become. The men have become more like animals than humans now and will hunt to kill, and will literally eat 'Whatever we can find' as they don't have the energy to find them.


It is not until page 77 that the man finally cleans the "gore" and "dead mans brains" from the boys face. Why? (Be aware that in the intervening pages he has kept him warm with blankets, fed him etc yet not cleaned his face)
Although the man doesn't clean he boy's face straight away he does supply him with blankets and fed him. This is because in this world of survival, cleaning the boy's face is not a priority even if it is covered in 'gore'. The man has practically cut off his emotions in order to survive, his coldness and distance he keeps from the boy, doesn't allow him to empathise with the boy. The boy has just seen his father kill another man and so I am sure would desperately wanted the reminder of it washed from his face. In a modern society, this would be seen as a lack of a good parenting and the boy must come first in all situations, however the man views their way to survival as pushing through, not stopping to linger on past events.   

My response to the ending

Defines ultimate moral message whilst leaving reader suspended. Hope is never lost in novel, as humanity is never lost-boy represents 'good guy'-biblical reference.     

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

 McCarthy's lack of emotional descriptions in the novel add to the fact that life on the Earth is ending and that humanity is becoming a lost moral. As we loose emotion and feelings in human behaviour, we become more animal like and block out the sense of humanity with interaction. Although McCarthy lacks hyperbolic language, the reader does still feel a sense of emotion through the simplicity of the characters speech and also the actions of the characters . The father tries to distance himself from the boy in order to protect him, the boy will learn to fend for himself and to not become too attached to his father. The father's conversational tone with the boy is blunt:
 'Can I ask you something?'
 'Yes. Of course' 
'Are we going to die?'
' Sometime. Not now.'
The boy is very naive and vulnerable but is not afraid of death it seems as he does not react to the fathers comment. McCarthy's monosyllabic tone continues the pace and drone of life around them- an on going journey that is the road. The boy's character differs from the fathers as the boy is protected through innocence, whilst the father deals with the loss and tragedy he has in his mind and understands what is happening to the world. The man begins to loose his humanity through the killing the 'roadrat' and also the stealing of the man's possessions and making him stand naked and alone in the road for punishment. However the boy is clinging to humanity and helps the father to. He is a symbol of the 'good guy' in the novel opposed to the 'roadrat' who is the 'bad guy'. The lack of variety of punctuation from McCarthy still makes the novel powerful as although there is no description, the reader can imagine how these actions reflect upon their emotional bond. 
 'I was going to run. To try to lead them away. But I can't leave you. ' 
The reader can emphasise with the characters as their situation is so dreary and although McCarthy shows that they are distanced, as readers we know they rely on each other to keep each other going. The boy refers to his father as 'Papa' all they way through the novel which shows he still wants that link between them to remain strong.
Although McCarthy uses limited emotions in the novel as readers we still can feel their emotion through the actions and suggestion of emotion of the character. McCarthy has done this to show how dull life has become-loss of humanity, everything is 'gray' and there is a constant looming of death and so using little emotion follows this pattern of nothingness.    

The death of everything living – plants, trees, creatures and most other human beings – is evoked through the bleakness and ‘deadness’ of the language.

  The bleakness and dullness that McCarthy uses, does create the sense of everything being 'dead' which adds to the lost world that the man and boy find them selves in. McCarthy's chocie of language is bleak and his lack of hyperbolic language gives the reader a limited description of time, place and emotions (aspects of the narrative). Although McCarthy does telescope on some moments in the novel to emphasize the gore and loss of humanity. There is lots of references to the colour 'gray' when describing the landscape which shows the loss of colours, the different colours of the seasons which has seemed to have come to a stop- maybe representing life and it stopping. Whilst in the flashback to his uncle's farm everything is alive 'Yellow leaves' the cycle of life is going on and there is other colours in the world. This past memory gives the reader an insight into how the Earth was before it fell into this peril. On the road, nothing seems to change, it doesn't get better or worse and the landscape stays the same derelict dying environment which is created by this continuos pace of the journey along the road. In the beginning of the novel, McCarthy uses a metaphor to describe the world slowly deteriorating, as humanity fades away- 'cold glaucoma dimming away the world.' The darkness is taking over the world representing the evil 'bad guys' whilst the minority is the 'good guys' slowing dimming away. This also may be a reference to the Bible as Jesus is a symbol to represent the light of the world and as it is dimming away, the hope of God is also lost. 'Charred and limbless trunks of trees stretching away on every side'  McCarthy personifies the trees to create that sense that maybe only humans remain in this world, as all animal and plant life has perished. The constant reference to 'burning' and 'ash' and 'fire' may be a symbol of hell, as hell held a myth to be a world full of fire and burning- maybe referring to be 'alive in a dead world'. These references infer what might have happened to the Earth-either nuclear war or a mass fire. This creates vivid imagery and gives an insight into the state of the Earth in the novel, which as readers, we compare to our world now. McCarthy also uses pathetic fallacy 'It was raining' and 'It was very cold'. He is very simplistic in his chose of words to demonstrate the simplicity of this world they live in now, almost going back in time to when people hunted to survive. This technique of pathetic fallacy is also used in the father's flashback to his uncle's farm however contradicts the dullness of the Earth in the novel 'The shore was lined with birch trees that stood bone pale against the dark of the evergreens beyond' . Here life is still going on, there is use of the colour 'green' which shows nature and purity and healthiness- the world is still 'living'.  However the world that they live in now, is a 'dead world' full of darkness and loss of humanity.       

Handling of Time

Pages 29-49;

"Ate cold beans they'd cooked days ago"-(page 29) Telescoping through time.
"Late in the year"-(page 29) Telescoping through time.
"Where once he'd watched trout swaying in the current"- (page 30) References to time before (flashbacks)
"They set out again in the morning"-(page 30) Passage of time.
"He woke towards the morning"- (page 31) Passage of time.
"A few miles each day" (page 32) Telescoping through time.
"Dark of the invisible moon"-(page 32) Time expands.
"Within a year"- (page 33) Telescoping through time.
"Tomorrow came and went" (page 33) Telescoping through time.
"And then one evening he stopped and looked all about..."- (page 33) Time expands.
"Where he stood once with his own father in a winter long ago"-(page 34) References to a time before (flashbacks).
"In the morning they pressed on" -(page 34) Passage of time.
"They slogged all day..."- (page 35) Telescoping through time.
"It took four more days to come down from the snow..."-(page 37) Telescoping through time.
"Then it returned" -(page 38) Time expanding/a more abstract reference to time.
"They were all day reaching the river"-(page 38) Telescoping through time.
"It's getting colder every day"-(page 42) Time expanding.
"The tree had been there for years"-(page 45). More abstract reference to time.

Passage of the days:
"In the evening" pg 92
"In the morning" pg 93
"He woke in the morning" pg 95
"In the afternoon" pg 98
"Eternal blackness" pg 101
"Blackness... darkness..." pg 102
"When day broke" pg 103
"Within the hour" pg 110


Markers in the year:
"It could be November" pg 93
"Snow" - winter - pg 100


Telescoped time:
"In the evening... tomorrow... dark of night" pg 92 - all in one paragraph

"They might have covered three miles" pg 107
"They'd had no food and little sleep in five days" pg 111



Time expands:






Before (flash backs):
"He'd had this feeling before" pg 93
"He'd seen it all before" pg 94


Suspended time:
"The snow fell nor did it cease to fall" pg 101




Abstract references:



Other:
"In time to wink out forever" pg 93
"It takes a long time" pg 106
"In the early dawn at latest. Running the road in the night" pg 108
"We probably don't have much time" pg 109

Handling of time - Pg 113-133
Passage of days
‘In the night’ – p121
‘it was almost light enough to see’ – 123
‘The boy wouldn’t wake for hours’ – p124
‘He lay there a long time’ – p129
‘They spent the afternoon’ – p131
‘He wondered if it was even midnight’ – 133
‘By evening’ – p133
Telescoped time
‘...rose and set out.
He came across the barn...’ – p124
‘Afternoon... evening...light draw down over the world’ – in one paragraph p131
‘He was gone longer than he’d meant to be’ – gives an indication of time flying p130
Expanded narrative time
‘It was as long night as he could remember out of a great plenty of such nights...dawn was a long time coming...after a while it was day’ – gives a sense of expanded time p132
Before and flashbacks
‘Lingering odour of cows... and he realized they were extinct’ – p127
‘nothing in his memory anywhere of anything so good’ – p130
Abstract references
‘When the time comes? When the time comes there will be no time. Now is the time.’ – p120
‘Phantoms not heard from in a thousand years rousing from their sleep’ – p122
Other
‘He would have ample time later to think about that’ – shows there are no deadlines/rushing p113
‘No time to look’ – contrasts to above quote, shows how we perceive time differs depending on our situation p117
‘stopping to rest each fifty counted steps’ – shows a new way of making references to time; whereas we might say every 5 minutes, the man uses steps as an indication of passing time p123

Handling of Time (Page 176-196)
‘When did you eat last?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘You don’t remember.’
This shows the reader that there is no reason for people on the road to remember when they have eaten as they have no reason to plan meals. We only plan meals today because our day follows a set routine and we eat to keep up with this. On the road however, day and night have almost become one due to the ash and dust that falls, blocking out the sun. They have no concept of time and no reason for it so all they can really distinguish between is day and night so it is easy to imagine how a person could lose track of the days as they are all the same; as long as they are alive, they have no reason to remember when or what they eat.
‘How old are you?’
Similarly to the food, the old man is unable to truthfully recall his age as there is no reason for him to know it and no reminder of the date. Time and day are hypothetical things created by humans to gain a routine in life. However, mankind is dying out and everybody lives in the moment and has no cause to plan ahead, unless people meticulously count each day then it would be impossible to tell precisely when a year has passed and even if someone did work it out, what would be the point? It’s hardly like they’re going to celebrate. McCarthy uses the old man as an example to show that in the novel, the reader can never be certain as to how much time has passed, as the characters have no idea either.
‘How long have you been on the road?’ ‘I’ve always been on the road.’
Once again, in this section, McCarthy uses the dialogue between two characters to make the reader question the necessity of time; the fact that the man can’t actually remember how long he has been on the road for suggests that time is insignificant. The way that the man says he has always been on the road would suggest that time is standing still for these people. McCarthy handles time simply by putting a halt to it to show that it is just another thing on the road which is dying.
‘People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn’t believe in that. Tomorrow wasnt getting ready for them.’
This quote is suggesting that for all the care we take over time, it doesn’t care about us. It is telling the reader that all the worry we have over keeping to a schedule is ridiculous because time is a made up thing and isn’t going to alter itself to suit us. All the people who worried and invested plans in the future, ironically, weren’t actually as prepared for the next day as they could have been where as those who take each day as it comes are surviving still as they had no expectations and don’t need time to rule their lives.
‘In the morning the stood in the road’
McCarthy gives the reader absolutely no idea what time in the morning they are talking about to once again highlight the lack of importance time holds for people on the road. All they have to go by is the road; they walk along it when it is light enough and sleep when it isn’t, to them it is completely irrelevant what time it is as they have no goals in life other than to get to the sea as quickly as possible with no real aim when they get there, meaning that they can take as long as they need to.
‘In the early afternoon’McCarthy uses slightly more detail in this section. This could be because this is the first time phrase used since they left the old man alone in the road so the man and they boy are paying more attention to time as they are feeling guilty, wondering where the old man is and how long he has been left on his own for.
‘In the night he woke in the cold dark’
McCarthy uses this phrase to lead onto ‘coughing and he coughed till his chest was raw’ to fit in with the image that cold dark night quite often symbolise death, something that we know is imminent for the man but the way the author associates it with time suggests that his time is running out quickly.
‘You said it would last a few weeks’ ‘I know.’ ‘But it’s just been a few days.’
This back up the previous quote in suggesting that time is speeding up and things are going a lot quicker than the man and the boy expected them to.
‘He’d slept little in weeks.’
This shows McCarthy skipping through time to move the novel on but also showing the rapid declination of the man’s health, he gets several weeks worse in the few seconds it takes the reader to read it, to emphasize the point.

Handling of time pg 218-238Page 226: 'They stayed in the house for four days eating and sleeping'. Time is contracted into a short paragraph.

Page 229: 'Long days.' Time has suddenly moved on, we cannot tell whether it is days or weeks. 

Page 230: 'An hour later...' Chronological order. 

Page 233: 'With dark they built a fire.' Shows the turning of day to night.

Page 235: 'In the morning...' Chronological order. 

Page 219-224: Several pages devoted to a short time, less than half an hour. Every little detail is told. 

Page 228-229: Time goes very fast, one second they are at the abandoned house and in the next paragraph they are standing in a supermarket. Then it skips to 'Long days' and we cannot tell whether is has been days or weeks or months. 

Page 234: Flashback, 'he remembered walking once on such a night...' he is comparing his old beach memories to his experiences on the beach now. He is remembering a better time. This is significant because flashbacks occur throughout the novel as a running theme.

Handling of Time

Pages 302-307

Reference to before-'Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains' page 306
Time seems to be suspended and more abstract view of time-  'On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming' page 307
Time is telescoped 'He cried for a long time' page 306
Time seems suspended 'You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow' page 307

Little Red Riding Hood

A girl walked on the road. Through the dark forest. Alone. The contents she carried weighed her down. Her arm began to ache. She sat for a rest. Noises around her. Something was following her. She was a long way from home. It was getting dark. She had to get there. The road went on. Her feet were tired. The rain soaked through her coat. Her hood protected her face. She was cold. She walked on the road for miles. She reached the house. The smell of a fire arose from the chimney. It was small, with a wide front door. She knocked twice. No answer. She peeked through the window. No sign of life. She gently pushed open the door. She creeped in slowly. It was dark. Silent. She put down the basket on the table.  Something was missing. There was a rustling noise. She turned round. A figure sat up in the bed. She was blinded by the darkness. She drew back a curtain. The light streamed in. She walked towards bed. She sat down on an old armchair beside it.
Are you okay?
Yes. I'm okay.
I have brought you some food.
Thanks.
Are you feeling better?
Yes.
She looked closely at the figure. Big eyes. Big ears. Big teeth. She rose swiftly from the chair. She was scared. She screamed.
Christ. Oh Christ.

McCarty's style and technique

'One of his eyes was burnt shut and his hair was but a nitty wig of ash upon his blackened skull. As they passed he looked down. As if he'd done something wrong. His shoes were bound up with wire and coated with roadtar and he sat there in silence, bent over in his rags. The boy kept looking back. Papa? he whispered.
What is wrong with the man?
He's been struck by lightening.
Can't we help him? Papa?
No. We can't help him.
The boy kept pulling at his coat. Papa? he said
Stop it.
Can't we help him Papa?
No. We can't help him. There's nothing to be done for him.'

As a redaer, we are encouraged to read it because the sentance structure lenghths are short which create a fast pace when reading it, however there are many full stops so it becomes quite fragmented. In this section, there is alot of questions and answers to the event that has just occured which demonstrates the puzzled and naive nature of the boy. The reader is in the same postion as the boy as he tries to find out what has happened and so does the reader. The father's response is very matter of fact which sets a tone of maybe anger as he is annoyed at the boy for asking so many questions. When read aloud, this section of dialogue should maybe be whispered as the boy doesn't want the injured man to hear them and upset him.

The chocie of vocabulary by McCarthy gives no rythm to the speech as they are generally short words he has used which makes the speech short and snappy. There is a similie used 'but a nitty wig' which describes the injured man.

There is repition of 'Papa' throught this novel and it appears frequently in this section. This is to indicate the significance of the boy being confused and puzzled and his want for his father's comfort and explanation and his desire for answers about what the world has become and why. There is also repition of question marks to show the boy's puzzled expression. The man repeats 'No. We can't help him.' to state the fact they can't take him with them and his way of dealing with the questions from the child without explanation.

The tone of this section doesn't particular remind me of  fairytales as the tone of misery and confusion is not generally used in fairytales. However it could have a resmblance with maybe poetry or play scripts has some poets use short sentances to get the point across and some plays use a monosyabillc tone when narratoring. I don't believe it has much referance to the Bible, as the section does not convey explanation which is what the Bible has the majority of but maybe this sense of an unclear message throughout the book links to the thme of the Bible as sometimes it is hard to find out what the moral is.

The majority of  the words used are monosyallibic which creates a tone that is dull with little expression. The effect on the reader from reading this section shows that the boy's innocence is still very protected by his father and his confusion about the injured man is not fully understood at the end of the section because we sense he still isn't enterialy sure why they cannot help him. The impact from this section leaves the reader beginning to understand why they cannot help others and why the boy is still so puzzled. We see the father and son relationship between the two charcaters and how they interact and how the father tries to deal with the situation.

The theft of their belongings

(pp. 270-278)

This episode involves the possessions of the man and boy being stolen by, we suspect the 'bad guys'. This episode impacted on me through the devastation it leaves the man and boy in as they are the 'good guys' and have done nothing to deserve this. It made me feel angry and upset because as a reader you have travelled and got to know the characters and now they have been stolen of their hope of survival.  This unfortunate event leads to the downfall of their survival and eventually the death of the man. 
McCarthy, to evoke this response, firstly uses a panicked tone as the man discovers what is missing 'Their blankets. Their water bottle and their campsite store of food.' through listing the items he can build pace and tension. McCarthy also uses short sentences again to reinstate what is missing and by doing this he states its importance in their survival and allows the reader to absorb the effect this will have on the man and boy. 'The boy looked up. He was beginning to cry.' This portrays the boy's innocent character who is naive enough to believe no one would do that to them. The boy realises how much this will effect them and feels betrayed by people in society for having no humanity. 
As the father and son find the thief with the cart, McCarthy describes him as 'Scrawny,sullen,bearded,filthy' This description gives us a portrait of a man who is deprived of these sort of materials and so is desperate to survive. In survival some people do turn bad, just to keep living, which sometimes is seen as a selfish thing to do, for example the boy sees it as a selfish thing to do.  The boy also asks 'Are we going to kill them?' which shows he has grown up through the novel and now realises what they have to do to survive and can sense his fathers anger. The fact he uses 'we' shows the theme of a team and in order to work together to survive.
The father takes the clothes of the thief and takes the cart. The boy is very upset by this which angain demonstrates his innocent and naive outlook on their journey 'Just help him, Papa.Just help him.' The boy is desperate to save the life of this man even though he is considered a 'bad guy'. This is maybe because he has very little contact with society and so clings on to other people as he has a fear of being alone if anything happened to his father. This is very common throughout the book and shows that the boy holds on to his humanity whilst the father begins to loose it. 
The boy says 'I am the one' when the father accuses him of not having to worry about everything. At this point we know as a reader that the boy nows he will eventually be alone and that is why he holds onto any human contact. We almost feel sorry for the boy, however we know he will strive to stay a 'good guy'.
The boy is a symbol of humanity and innocence in the novel as sees a vulnerable outlook on everything and is very sensitive to the care of others.
From this episode, we know that the father is dying and so this can only make things worse. They have now reached their destination and so we know they cannot travel any further.
The language in this episode is in keeping with the rest of the novel although there is a lot more emotion between the characters as they become tired and exhausted. 
The relationship between the father and son grows in some sense but also distances. The boy  realises that his father is dying and so is angry and tries to distance himself from him. He  also angry at him for not helping the man and not remaining one of the 'good guys' and maintaining his humanity like the boy has done. 
This episode is definitely a key episode because we discover the boy's desperate clinging to others in society still surviving. We also see the man really becoming a bit mean and losing his sanity as he is exhausted and tired. The boy and man differ in opinion here and that sets them apart in character.  

Getting to the shore

(pp. 227 - 230)
This episode involves the father and son reaching the destination they have been longing to reach, the shore. Although it is not a beautiful beach with golden sands and clear blue water, the father and son are both exhausted and feel proud they have reached the shore. This episode impacted on me through the way the landscape is described which sets the mood of disappointment. I feel upset for the man and boy because they have travelled so far and have seen so much but receive no reward. This could be a reflection of life as sometimes things never turn out to be what you think they are going to be and also sometimes there is false hope given.
McCarthy uses pathetic fallacy to emphasise the disappointment from the characters especially the boy. He describes the beach as 'Cold. Desolate. Birdless' which is everything the beach is not meant to be. This place is no longer a holiday destination but a place that is filled with nothingness. McCarthy uses one word sentences to leave a pause between each thought for the reader so they can see and imagine this place as the characters view it.  McCarthy evokes the response of disappointment through the father apologising for the landscape 'I'm sorry it's not blue' referring to the sea. The father feels guilt for bringing the boy all the way to the shore and having nothing to admire or give him as a reward. Although it is built up in the mind of the reader that the shore was never going to be a place of paradise as we know the devastation the world is in. 
The shore is a place of nature and through that the man and boy may feel protected against evil and inhumanity as they are influenced and kept calm by the reminder that not all nature has disappeared. This is a frequent theme in the novel and is a form of protection from straying to the bad guys and keeps their humanity and sanity. 
McCarthy also uses a simile 'desolation of some alien sea breaking on the shores of a world unheard of' to show that the sea is alien to him, not what he pictured in his mind and not belonging to the country and seascape he once knew. The world is now unheard of as if it has been forgotten and abandoned by other galaxies and planets when it was once valued.
There is a constant reminder of death and devastation throughout the novel, 'salt bleached ribcages of what may have been cattle' to show where ever they travel there is a constant presence of death. 
The beach could be a symbol of safety now they have arrived and are surrounded by nature and the sea could be used as a symbol of their troubles and horrors they have seen alone the road, being washed away. 
From this episode, we know the man and boy have reached their final destination and have completed and fulfilled their ambition. This now leaves and uncertainty with the reader to what we happen next, as we know that the father is ill and this evokes the question will he survive? or will the boy be left to fend for himself?
Now they have arrived at the beach, will they still encounter the 'bad guys' or are they now protected from society? The relationship between the father and son is different to how you imagine it was going to be through the novel. As the have faced different life and death situations in the novel, they have grown stronger. The boy has grown up as the real horrors have been revealed to him and his innocence at the beginning has faded and he is now more understanding of the world and society around him.  The father on he other hand has tried to keep his humanity and stay one of the 'good guys'. 
The language in this episode is mainly descriptive of the landscape around them. This episode has less tension as they are not effected by the 'bad guys' but can settle and relax.

This episode is a key episode because we learn that the journey of escaping the 'bad guys' has lead them to a place of sanctuary however it is still not how the seaside used to be. Even though it is a disappointment, there is still some hope for them as they have reached a place of nature which calms and assures them. However the dullness of this place allows a lingering presence of death that is to follow. 

The baby of the spit

(pp. 210-215)
This episode involves the father and son seeing one of the most horrific images in the novel, a baby being roasted on a spit. The boy spots the baby first and it deeply unsettles him whilst the father tries to comfort him. This episode impacted on me through the violence and  the horrible image this leaves in your mind. Just like the people who are keeping the cellar, these people have also turned to cannibalism to keep themselves alive. The fact they are roasting an infant, which is generally a sign of innocence brings even more horror to the episode. As a reader, I felt upset and disappointed in the people who had done this as they have forgot their morals and ethics and put themselves first, which I see as selfish.   
McCarthy evokes this response to this episode through the way he describes the baby           'charred human infant and gutted and blackened on a spit'
This displays vivid imagery and McCarthy has gone into such detail, to not upset his audience but to demonstrate what extreme lengths people would go to for their own survival. The fact the infant has been 'gutted' is like it has been treated like a dead animal like you would gut a rabbit fro instance. There is no sense of humanity here and the people who had done this must have lost their sanity. 
McCarthy uses the boy as the person to spot it first to show what effect it has on a child and also to show how his innocence is being broken as the travel through the horrors they witness. The boy turns in to father for a sign of security and comfort but doesn't make a huge deal of witnessing this but simply says 'Oh Papa'. There is so much horrors the boy has witnessed he is almost used to these sort of things, however I think that the boy is surprised that anyone would roast their own baby just to survive. The father tries to apologise to the boy for having to witness such horrors 'I'm sorry'. The father has been striving to protect the boy's innocence however he feels he can no longer protect him. I think the father feels helpless in this episode and feels sorry for his son as he has not been able to enjoy a safe and happy childhood. 
The mutilated baby could be a symbol of innocence being destroyed as the baby had never seen life and is a innocent creature and the boy gradually losing his innocence through their journey. McCarthy could also use the reference to fire, as a symbol of hell, as the baby is blackened and the people in the cellar burned also. Fire destroys life and this is strongly reflected in this novel. 
From this episode, we see the true potential of the lives of the father and boy and that they could be killed and eaten. This prospect becomes more and more possible however there is hope that they will survive until the end. 
After the event of seeing the baby, they rest by running water. 'sat by the fire listening to the water'. The fact they are sat by the fire could mean they are always surrounded by these hellish events and sites however they listen to the water, meaning they listen to nature and keep their humanity and don not go against it. This sign of nature comforts them both from the horrific sites they witness along the road. There is a decrease of tension here as they are almost protected by nature around them. 
The language in this episode is not so commanding and fast paced but is more emotive and gentle 'The leaves were soft from the recent rains and quiet underfoot'. This also allows them to shows their true feelings about their life now and discuss the horrors they witness as the boy does by asking questions about the baby. 
This episode is a key episode because we see how the boy begins to realise the dangers and horrors of the world and how he no longer has much innocence. The father on the other hand has tried so hard to protect his son's innocence but can no longer do it. We see their relationship grow stronger through the novel and how they operate as a team. 

Finding the cellar

(pp. 112-121)
During this episode the father and son come across a cellar filled with naked male and female people along with people who had been mutilated. The father and boy have to hide otherwise they will have the same fate as the people in the cellar. This is a horrific episode and emphasises how desperate people are to survive would eat other humans, turn to cannibalism just so they can continue living in this hellish place, suggesting they have fear of death themselves. This episode impacted on me purely through the horror and inhumanity in it. The way that humans are treated and the loss of morals and sanity made me feel upset and angry at what the world has become. McCarthy uses lots of questions in this episode, mainly from the boy to evoke a sense of being unsure and anticipating what will happen next. He also uses vivd imagery to enhance the horror and devastation that has occurred here. 
'On a mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and the stumps of them blackened and burnt'
This indicates to the reader the violence which has taken place here and how people are holding them hostage for their survival. As a reader you feel deeply upset at this tragic loss of life. McCarthy also uses repetition of the word 'hurry' and 'God'. These are frequently used when they are in the house as they try to escape the bad guys creating a sense of panic and despair. They obviously have to move fast but the father cannot believe his eyes, what the world has come to and so keeps repeating 'God' to show his shock and maybe his plea for help. This creates an increase of tension in the cellar as the reader is also i anticipation to what will happen to the father and boy. 
McCarthy maybe uses this episode as a symbol of complete loss for all humanity and the extremes people will go to, to keep themselves alive. The cellar could be a reference or a symbol of hell on Earth as there is such horrific images displayed in this episode. 
The realisation of the true 'bad guys' in this episode dawns of the father to how much danger they could be in and how the world has changed and lost all morals. 
Again, the pistol may be a symbol of the 'good guys' and protecting themselves from inhumanity. In the cellar, the father is 'holding on to it', holding on to his life and his sanity. 
The father tries to save his son by distracting the 'bad guys'. He says if they try to get him 'You put it in your mouth and point up', the father tries so hard to protect his son that he doesn't want any harm to come to him and even goes as far as to tell him how to shoot himself. This demonstrates how the boy's innocence was protected at the beginning of the novel, to what he has witnessed along the road and so now he has little innocence as the father can no longer protect it. Also for the first time in the novel we see how much the boy is valued by the father as he says ' But I can't leave you'. The father does love his son and is afraid of being alone. 
After this event of the cellar the reader knows their will be more horrors along the road. However we also begin to realise one of them wont make it to the end of the novel as they have had so many near death experiences so far. 
The language in this episode is still very in keeping with the novel, however there are a lot more questions used to show their panic and despair and also desperation to survive. I feel there is more emotion used between the father and son as they are so close to entering the hell of the cellar. From this episode we see that the father and son rely on each other and in order to survive they need to be together to keep each other sane and human. 
This episode stands out in the novel because its pure horror and awfulness sticks in your mind. Also we learn that the father and son work together in order to survive. The relationship between them is still strong and the father is almost educating the son on how to survive. 

The shooting of the 'roadrat'

(pp. 62-69)
This episode involves the father's act of shooting and killing a man who is part of the 'bad guys' because he threatens his son. The man is described a as 'roadrat' because of his appearance and how he behaves. This episode impacted on me through the intensity of tension that is built up and the questions it evokes in the mind of the reader. I also saw another side of the character of the father as he is under pressure to act fast and protect his son. His constant strive for humanity is somewhat challenged during this episode as he does kill a man, which is what he teaches his son not to do, to remain one of the 'good guys'.  
McCarthy uses this episode as a way of introducing the 'bad guys' and uses plenty of description to describe their appearances. 
'Stained and filthy. Slouching along with their clubs in their hands, lengths of pipe. Coughing.'
The use of short sentences allows the reader to pause and reflect on the image they picture and this then builds up vivid imagery of the scene which is taking place. The fact the people and 'stained' indicates violence and filth, possibly blood stains of their victims. There is signs of disease and more dirt with the people 'coughing' which McCarthy tries to emphasise to demonstrate and create this sense of desperation and insanity which has become.  
McCarthy uses the 'roadrat' as a symbol of the 'bad guys' and the way that the 'good guys' win over him suggests an underlying them of good verses evil in the novel. The 'roadrat' is the opposite of the father in personality as he conveys bravery when grabbing the boy to kill him. Whilst the father maybe takes the easier option and kills the man maybe showing that he couldn't fight for himself and therefore is a coward. 
Another symbol used in this episode could be the pistol, which provides safety and security from the evil around them. The pistol could be seen as a way of clinging on to humanity and not being dragged into the 'bad guys' so the boy and father remain human and keep their sanity. 
The boy's innocence is shattered in this scene as he is covered in blood from the violent act his father has committed and is reminded of it as he travels along the road. The man on the other hand has lost his humanity that the boy held on to him and so the father and son relationship is pushed even further apart as the boy sees his father as the 'bad guy' after what he has just done. 
As a reader we know the boy is upset and devastated as he persistently asks if they are still the 'good guys' throughout the book and now he is described using the simile 'mute as stone' which indicates that he cannot bear the thought of being the 'bad guys', let alone ask about it. The boy is also in such shock after this horrific episode as he now sees what the world has become and how and why they have to survive. When the man has shot the 'roadrat' the boy is described to have 'no expression on his face at all'. This resembles the boy's disattachment from society and does not know what to say but this is also down to shock.
The plot progression from this scene we know is going to be slow as a major incident has just happened. The boy is still stunned and the man upset as they progress along the road each being reminded of the horrors they have witnessed and how close they have come to death. 
The language in this episode is still in keeping with the rest of the novel as the speech between father and son still gives away no emotion. Although McCarthy uses much more description and short sentences to create the tension building up to the shooting. 
The relationship between the father and son is shown in more depth in this key episode as the father tries to remain calm and protect his son from harm. There is more comfort shown at the beginning of the encounter with the 'bad guys'. There is repetition of 'It's all right' by the father demonstrates to comfort and assurance he is trying to provide for his son. 
This episode is considered a key episode because as a reader, we see the fathers desperation and panic which is unusual because he tries to remain calm throughout the novel. We also learn of the father's loosing of humanity and maybe turning to the 'bad guys'. From the boy we learn of his shock and fears realised that his father maybe turning bad and the frightful encounter with the 'bad guys', he realises that no where is safe and has become more aware of what is going on around him . The episode is also an eye-opener for the reader to see the horror and filth these people struggle to survive in and how morals have become ignored. 

Man struck by lightning

(pp. 50-53)
The episode involves the father and son 
passes a man who has been struck by lightning and is dying. The man decides they cannot help him as they need to survive and this will create a burden and more problems fro them. This episode has impacted on me through the horror and devastation the world has come to. There is no sense of sanity and little humanity in this episode and you feel as if the father and boy have lost their sense of humanity, especially the father as they don't help the man and maybe not one of the true 'good guys' anymore. Contradicting this is the fact they are out to survive and do not want to be slowed down so there is a compromise between being helpful and being selfish. Although the father and boy are the 'good guys' in the novel this episode reinstates that everyone is out to save themselves, not the world.
This episode impacts on the reader revealing the harsh reality of the life the boy and father now lead. It makes the audience feel sympathy for the father as he tries to lose his identity through placing his credit cards and the photo of his wife on the road, he tries to leave his old life behind him and keep going along the never ending 'road'. The episode makes me feel upset by what the father does as it is very hard to let go of the past and the loss of his old life is so huge but also I feel for the boy as his innocent character is someone you warm to, and you almost want to try to explain why they have to leave the man behind and want to comfort him. 
McCarthy uses the boy as a symbol of the innocence which evokes a character who the reader can relate to as they are in the same position as they do not quite understand how the world has become like this. Although the father is not over protective of his son and tries to let him realise why they cannot help him but why they are still the 'good guys'. When the father scatters his personal belongings, McCarthy evokes the response of feeling sympathy for him and feeling his loss through listing things that reveal him to the world to show who he is. Also these items were once important in society however they are worthless now. The dialogue between the father and son is emotionless and shows a distance between their relationship and reflects their tiredness and exhaustion as they are not enthusiastic about anything. The man who has been struck by lightning looks frightening for the boy to see and so the father does not go over to him as he tries to protect the boy from the horrors of the world.
 'One of his eyes was burnt shut and his hair was but a nitty wig of ash upon his blackened skull'
This creates a horrific image for the reader and gives an insight into the devastation the world has suffered. McCarthy uses plenty of description in this image to emphasise to damage caused to this person and how he has become an animal almost. 
This episode gives the audience an insight into how the plot will progress next as the boy and man continue along the road coming across the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys' and the horrors they are yet to witness. 
The man who has been struck by lightning is critically injured and is helpless. The boy's naive and innocent character is puzzled to why they cannot help the man. However the father knows they cannot be slowed down by a crippled man and will not be able to help him survive. 

'Can't we help him? Papa?'

'No. We can't help him. There's nothing to be done for him.' 

The boy's innocence and vunerablity is shown in this episode as he pleas his father to help the dying man. McCarthy uses short sentences here making the fathers point very clear and has no tone to the speech to make the boy understand why they cannot help the man. Also the boy's questioning of his father's decision shows his confusion and uncertainty and worry of what will happen to the man and to them. The father does not comfort the boy but just tells him the fact without explanation. This shows the relationship between the father and son being distanced as there is no emotion used in the dialogue between them which creates a sombre tone. From this episode, as a reader we learn that the boy begins to realise they have to fend for themselves and the father tries to move on from his old life by getting rid of personal belongings. 

The language is in keeping with the rest of the novel as it seems to be in a monotone. McCarthy uses symbolism in this novel on a few occasions. In this episode I believe that the symbol of 'the road' is a path of guidance and as they travel further on the road they see more and more horrors and begin to loose humanity. 'The road' is also an escape route from the hellish sites they witness, and it has some sort of safety to it. The father and son are very much the characters of 'good guys' in the novel as they don't do anything particularly bad and remain sane. This episode is considered a key episode because you understand the innocence of the boy and the horrors he witnesses and how he copes with them, you also learn of how the relationship between the father and son works. This episode stands out in the novel, although there is no chapters because it gives the reader an insight in the horrors the two witness and what the world and nature is capable of and the reality of life in this critical days of Earth.