Quotations

It is essential you recognise Cormac McCarthy's crafting of sentences in "The Road". Read the following extract out loud, pay attention to the sounds of the words and the rhythm of the writing.


This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.
This quote reflects the harsh reality of life now and the cannabalism and violence that has become in the furture. At this point in the story a man is holding the child hostage and the father shoots the man in head leaving the brains to cover the child. He states the child is 'his' as if he were property and doesnt refer to his name, maybe suggesting he doesnt want to be close with the child in case something happens to him and tries to distance himself so he could maybe fend for himself. This event is referred to with no expression as if it was a daily chore and is used to it. It provides the reader with a horrific image and expresses the theme of violence. This also shows the relationship between father and son not to be caring or comforting but maybe cold and protective of each other.
Yes I am, he said. I am the one.
The reference to being the 'one' may be inferring he is the only good guy left and is the 'one' to protect his father. Without the boy, the father would go insane and so the boy realises the responsibility he carries.  The boy does have to worry about danger, even though his father tries to protect him form the evil in the world, at the same time the boy protects his father from insanity. This shows  the theme of responsibility and the relationship between the father and son and how they support each other. The repetition of 'I' shows that shows the boy feels the responsibility on his shoulders and that he is special figure in the novel. His innocence his protected by the father and his innocence on the outlook of the world is reflected in this quote.
Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.
The foods listed above arent very exciting foods however as they are listed in this manner to build excitement. This fortunate event of finding this food is a big thing for them as they have survived on so little. The short sentances builds a tension and show how quickly the mind changes in excitement to one food to another. Although the foods could be listed in this way and with short sentences to show how they have the same foods every night and that it is becoming tiresome.
Are we still the good guys, he said.
This quote portrays the boy's innocence in the novel. The boy refers to the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys' in the novel reflecting his innocence and basic understanding of how the world works. Even though there are 'bad guys' everywhere in the novel, the boy tries to remain true to himself and his father by staying 'good'. There is a theme of good verses evil in this quote as the boy strives to stay good when against everything, it is so easy to become 'bad'. The man's act of killing someone is justified in his sense as he was protecting his son however the boy sees it as an act against nature and doesnt agree that it was a 'good' thing to do.
We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.
The father does not leave as his son asks. This could be another phase of inhumanity, the man goes through, however his son brings him back to humanity again. The relationship between father and son is not so close at this point as the father ignores his son or maybe is still trying to distance himself from him. The boy has taken more responsibility on in this quote as it is he who is controlling the situation and directing the man instead of the man directing him, this often happens in the novel when the father loses sanity. 


The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.
The use of snow as is symbolism of the coldness of life that now is in the world but also brings with it danger but beauty. Pathetic fallacy is used as the coldness of the snow reflects the coldness and reality of life in the future world .The snow keeps falling showing it is persistent and that the world is truly miserable. However the beauty with snow, is that the world becomes a changed landscape and therefore changed people. The snow covers things as if they weren't there, maybe trying to start over on Earth as a clean sheet of snow and cover the evil and 'bad guys' in the novel. 
Okay? Okay.
The repetition of 'okay' could refer to life in general at the moment and set the tone that everything is just 'ok' and nothing is perfect and nothing can be appreciated anymore. A question is used firstly to show the response which is a repetition of before. Nothing has changed and nothing is going to get better they are in the middle and that is reflected when they continually repeat 'okay' in the novel. 
They sat on the edge of the tub and pulled their shoes on and them he handed the boy the pan and soap and he took the stove and the little bottle of gas and the pistol and wrapped in their blankets and they went back across the yard to the bunker.
They take anything they can find. They get to live some reality being able to wash however the is always the constant fear on the outside world and the 'bad guys' so they hide away in the bunker. The symbolism for the pistol being wrapped in a blanket shows its importance and precious place in the lives of the boy and the man. The pistol represents the 'bad' guy in the man and boy but also their only means of protection from danger. There is repetition of the word 'and' which seems to drag time out and shows how slow life is going in this misery.
Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth.
The silence of the Earth is now normal. The Earth's minutes are spent in silence and this demonstrates the destruction of life and noise. It is like time has stood still for the man and they boy, there is no hope as there is no noise, no life left no humanity for the Earth. This describes the Earth as it is in the novel which is unimaginable and so contrasting to life today. The is a theme of lost hope and the desolate landscape shows this and with the lost long humanity that the boy and father struggles with and the loss of noise shows that comfort has gone and living creatures with it.
She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift. 
The coldness being referred to as a gift almost personifies her death into sounded like it was almost a good thing. A 'gift' to the man an the boy was her non-emotional death and so they didnt have to suffer and neither did she. The woman has 'gone' just like many other peolpe in the book and McCarthy doesnt focus on this event for long as it is almost normal to the two. Her cold death has no emotion but is not a celebration of their life but just plain depressing and violent and has a numbness to it that blocks out the emotions of the boy and his father. The father does not comfort the boy, as he wants him to be strong enough to handle situations like this. This shows the relationship between the father and son being distanced but supportive. 
What does these extracts tells us about;
These extracts from the novel give an insight into what type of the novel this is. The extracts reflect themes of violence,good verses evil and inhumanity. The genre of the novel could be seen as a horror text as there is lots of graphic violent images int the novel. It could also be  written in the Bildunsroman form as the boy grows up and becomes mature and more understanding of the world around him. These extracts suggest danger is always present throughout the novel and so you realise something will happen to the man and boy. The extracts reflect a distanced relationship with the boy especially, as the father does not comfort him in violent terrible situations but tries to let him fend for himself so he could be strong if he was alone. Also he if grew to close to his son, and something happened to him it would be very painful  for him. From these extracts you learn the story is told in a chronological order as the man and boy strive to reach the coast. The narrative structure consists of many short sentences and dialogue either to build tension or excitement and the dialogue is used to convey the relationship the father and son have and the innocence of the boy. 


- the type of novel it might be (the genre/s it seems to draw on or fit with)
- the story (what might happen)
- themes (the ideas it might raise)
- characters and relationships
- the way the story might be told.