Symbols and Metaphors

Water, cleaning and washing

Clinging onto their civilisation – need for hygiene, keeping them human. Water is constantly important, the need for survival. Trying to get rid of the signs of death, and the bad things in their world, what they are becoming “I was dead man’s brains out of his hair.” The beach: they are surrounded by the water but cannot drink it – been tainted like everything else in their world.

The mountain

Nature is still standing strong, won’t be moved. Not everything dies. It is a constant.

The sea

At first it represents their hope, it is their endgame and their ultimate goal. It is the only thing driving them forward and keeping them going. But when they actually get there, and they are faced with the reality of it, it shows how their hope has died with everything else. It shows that death touches everything and their disappointment.

The colour grey (gray American spelling) Ash 

Symbolises the decay and death of the world, the ashes could also be seen as a symbol of cremation, the burning of the dead. Grey is dismay and dull, all of the colour had been taken out of the world. The lines between right and wrong (“good guys” and “bad guys”) is blurred, there is black and white, only grey.

Fire

It could represent destruction, but in the book it has quite a positive symbol. Hope and light. “carry the fire” hope for something better, hope to stay human. Their light inside of them, the man always says that the boy is the one who carries it. He is the only one who is truly a “good guy” the man has darkness in him, the world has tainted him. The boy has a pure fire inside him.

Sight/sightlessness

Not being able to see forwards, there is nothing to see. Turning away and hiding the boy from the terrible sights, not wanting him to see it. Need their sight to survive. The man is constantly checking behind him, seeing if there is anything behind them. Sight decays as you grow older, nearing death “cold glaucoma dimming away the world.”

Seeds

Rebirth, hope for more growth, sustenance and food. Cannot grow as the world has no nutrients but the hope is still there.

Music/musical instruments Animal imagery

Music used to bring happiness and joy, a symbol of the civilisation they used to have, clinging on to the past. Hope for the future, if they still can play and enjoy music they are still human to some degree.

Religious imagery

Ely, false prophet. Washing the boy in the river, cleaning his face and head – like the baptism of Christ. The boy is the saviour. “godless”. Abandoned by faith.

The Coca Cola can 

Simple pleasures, shows how much they have lost. To us a can of coke is a given, there is no thought. But to them it is a massive thing and a huge treat for the boy. Also sharing and drinking together shows their bond.

Critical Views on the End

1.       ‘Not with a bang, but a whimper.’ (T.S. Eliot) The man dies, the boy is safe.

The quote is from the poem “The Hollow Men” and the rest of the stanza it is taken from is the repetition of the line “This is the way the world ends”. I agree with idea of the simplicity and the understated way the world (and the novel) ends, but I don’t know whether or not it is true that the boy is safe.

2.       Amazon reader review

I really agree with this review, although the idea that there are unanswered questions is a key part of the film. If you knew everything about the characters you wouldn’t get a sense of emotional distance, you would be able to relate to the characters. The fact that you can’t relate to the characters due to the lack of connection is what makes the novel seem unrealistic and distant, an aspect of a post-modern novel. [?] The idea that it is timeless is also accurate in my opinion; you can pick the book up at any point and not feel as though you have missed anything as it is monotonous and unchanging.

3.       http://markrossiter.info/

I like this review as it touched on the issue you I had with the ending. While it was good that the boy found what is presumed to be a family of “good guys” to take him in, it was completely out of the blue and just did not seem like it fit with the story. The “redemption” of the boy implies that everything has turned out for the best and he will be okay in the end which is inconsistent with the way McCarthy has presented the world as hopeless and good things do not happen no matter what.

4.       William Kennedy, New York Times

I agree with the family being a use of 'deus ex machina' and is kind of a ‘cop out’ it is a solution to the boy’s problem that has no attached questions. This review helps to explain more about the deeper meaning of the ending, and helps me understand what McCarthy might have been hoping to achieve with the addition of the new family.

5.       Amazon reader review(2)

I think the hope that the reader sees through the ending is subjective, I don’t automatically think that the family will bring good things for the boy. The whole way through the novel the man tells of how they have to avoid other people, and whenever we see another person they are always one of the “bad guys”. There has to be a reason why this is, and way the boy should be wary of his new family, they have given no reason for us to trust them.

6.       Guardian commenter on Comment is Free

I agree with the fact the ending can be viewed as a “cop out” it was went against what the book was about, the hopelessness and despair of the situation they are in. throughout we are set up for the fact it can only end in death, and instead we get a solution that comes out of nowhere allowing the boy to have a happily ever after (as much as a post-apocalyptic world would allow) with his nuclear family.

7.       John Holt, California Literary Review

Agree with the quote “timeless” it’s simplistic nature and the emphasis on the unchanging world means it’ll be able to read over and over without losing its meaning.

8.       Guardian commenter on Comment is Free (2)

I agree with this review as it is the same thought I had, why would the boy go against everything man had told him throughout and immediately trust these people? In the book you see the boy become less naïve and more aware of the evil, but in the end he forgets all of this and does indeed “revert to his naïve faith in the adult world”

The woman has a powerful and ambiguous symbolic function in the novel: she represents both the giving of life and the temptation of death.

As well as the woman falling for the temptation of death, she can also be viewed as the temptation for the man. On page 17 the man refers to his dreams as “siren worlds” and this is directly after he dreams of the woman in her wedding dress. Sirens in mythology are depicted as women that tempt sailors to their death; they are the destruction of men that use their beauty as a tool to tempt them, and in this way are very similar to the woman. She is his own personal siren; whenever he dreams of her he dreams of her in a very sexualised way as he is always thinking about her beauty and her body. There is very little mentioned in terms of her personality, it is a usually physical description.

Many times during the novel, the man tells the boy of the temptation you can find in their dreams and how if your dreams are good then you are living in the nightmare. The man often dreams of beautiful worlds and his memories of the woman. It is a juxtaposition between the happiness of his own memories and the nightmare they are living in. His dreams make the real world seem even worse because he is constantly reminded of how good things used to be in the past, and how good things are in his dreams. The thought of this phantom happiness is constantly taunting him, and tempting him to leave this deathly world and join his wife.

As well as this, the woman is also representative of the giving of life. In one of the man’s flashbacks, he remembers when the apocalypse happens, and in this scene the woman is pregnant with the boy she is “cradling her belly.”  She is shown as a naïve and weak in this scene, reliant on the man because of this. Her naivety is shown when she asks the man why he is “taking a bath.” Women are symbolic of reproduction and life bringing, and so is she in this scene. Before the death and darkness of the apocalypse corrupts her, she is a bringer of life. The apocalypse changes how she is perceived by the man, as she changes from the symbol of life and purity to the more dominant person in the relationship and is eventually tempted by death.

Structure and Handling of Time

Quotes

P286 “They spent the day there”

This is unusual behaviour for them as they are usually constantly moving, never resting for too long. Shows something is not right as they don’t stop unless necessary.

P229 “Long days”

Many days have passed in a short space of time, time is contracted. Individually the days drag on. They are grouped together; unspecified amount of time has passed. Shows nothing out of the ordinary has happened, monotonous and boring.

P215 “They’d not eaten in two days.”

Telescoped. Focused on how much time has passed, with everything else time is a blur, but when it is about food they are very focused. Food is their main goal, only way to survive.

P200 “three days. Four.”

Emphasise on the amount of time passed. Long periods of time passing quickly.

Time is always seen to be a kind of blur, fading into the background. Long periods of time can pass in just a few words in the novel; it’s as if they aren’t aware of time passing. This fact shows how disjointed they are, and cut off from the world. Being aware, and cataloguing time it part of what makes us human, we are always aware of what time it is, what day, month year it is. However, in this post-apocalyptic world, time is meaningless. It shows how empty and endless this world has become as even if time passes nothing will change. Everything is dead and there is nowhere to go after death. time passing would suggest there is somewhere to go, a destination for the journey.

The End

1. I think the novel ends when the man dies. This is because the whole book has been from the man’s point of view, it is his narrative throughout. In this way The Road can be viewed as his journey, and the boy acts as his conscience when he strays too far from his humanity and threatens to do something evil. When he dies, the narrative changes and from then it is from the boy’s point of view. The man starts to dream as he is dying; he mentions “old dreams encroached” as it is the one from the very beginning of the book. It links the whole books together, bringing it back full circle, we get the sense at the beginning that they are doomed to die, and in the end that becomes true. As well as this their physical journey is done, the man is never going to move from that spot.

He says about the “fading light” the light has always symbolised hope, and it is the thing that keeps him going. When he says that it is fading it also symbolises the loss of hope, and when it dies so does he, as he has no will to continue. The man also says that he has “reached the point of no return.” He has no optimism, he knows this is where he is going to die and he had accepted it.

For me, the ending of The Road is best described through XII “undermine what has gone before”. This is because throughout the entirety of the novel the man says that he will kill his son when the time comes. However, when he is lying there dying and he had the opportunity to do what he has promised to do, he doesn’t. The man says that he can’t even when the boy is begging him to do it. Even though the man tries to be emotionally distant from the boy, in the end his emotions come to the surface, proving that he does have them after all.

2. Change of narrative view, light has gone out as has his hope. It links back to the beginning and the dream he had - cave.

5 + 5 = 1 (Endings)

The last paragraph is the physical end of the book as it is actually when it ends.

When they reach the sea they reach the end of their journey, this can be seen as the ending as the story is about their journey.

When the man dies, his narrative ends and changes to the boy.

The man dying can be seen as the end of the book because it is the end of his life and the book has been about his journey.

Both reaching the sea and the death of the man have links to the beginning of the book, it is retrospective.

Physical
Journey
Narrative
Dying
Retrospective

Journey.

Three Little Pigs.

Three brothers left their home to walk along a road. The woman was not happy.

You're leaving?

We're leaving.

Okay? Okay.

A man was selling a basket of straw, enough to build a house.

The first and the second carried on walking. The last bought them and built himself a house of straw.

Further down the road another man was selling some sticks. The second bought them and built a house.

The last bought some bricks along way down the road and made his own house.

A wolf came to the house of straw.

Let me in.

No.

No? I'll blow it down.

And he did. The wolf ate the pig where he stood. But the wolf was still hungry.

He came to a house of sticks. The second pig closed the door.

Open the door.

I won't.

You won't? I will blow it down.

He did.

Don't eat me. Please.

I can't I'm sorry. I'm hungry.

The wolf still felt empty. He was hungry. He kept going down the road. He saw a house made out of bricks. He knocked on the door.

Let me in.

I won't.

I'll blow it down.

You will?

I will.

But he couldn't. The house wouldn't move. He was so hungry. The wolf climbed onto the roof of the brick house.

The pig put a pot of water on the fire. And he turned the heat up. The fire was large and hot.

The wolf was up on the roof. And then he found the chimney.

I'm coming through here.

Are you?

I am. Okay?

Okay.

The wolf jumped down the chimney and into pot. The pig watched him boil. He gathered up the canned vegetables and added them to the water. He would eat well tonight.

Episode Six 270 - 277

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

You are first aware that something is wrong when the man repeats “oh Christ”. The man rarely uses any words that display any kind of emotion except in moments of great danger or shock (for example in episode three when they discover the bodies in the cellar). So this change immediately alerts you that something is wrong, or there is danger.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

I’m not sure what will happen next, but the man is becoming more cold and cruel to everyone except the boy. You don’t know anything about his character or what he’ll do next. He could easily kill the boy, as he is emotionally distant from everything. All of his hope is gone.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

When you find out the items have been stolen it makes the scene immediately more tense, the way he lists what is missing in short sentences speeds it up and helps make it even more tense. 

How does this develop character and their relationships?

You see a cruel side to the man, before when he has killed it has been out of necessity. You can still justify him as a good guy. But now, he is cruel, he didn’t need to take the clothes off that man it would have been fine just taking back what he took from them. The man told him to take off his clothes knowing full well he would most likely die in a matter of hours. It is getting harder to class him as a good guy.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is the same as the rest of the novel, except from when the other man speaks. He doesn’t speak simplistically like they do, he uses slang.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

You learn that this man is “an outcast from one of the communes” this is the first you hear of other places where humans live. This poses the question, why is the man separated from them? If he knows that there are other people like them out there why is he trying so hard to keep away from them? Is through choice or is he an outcast just like the man who stole their belongings.

Episode Five 227 - 230

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

It is slow and drawn out, long, monotonous sentences drag out time in the narrative but at the same time chronologically the time passes quickly. It just skips ahead days at a time after a long description. The use of the simplistic connective “and” shows how weary they are, they are just listing everything they’ve done. The world and the journey is draining everything away, it just becomes endless. One thing leading in to another, but never changing.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

I am unsure as to what will happen next, the whole of the book the man has been talking about how he’s heading for the coast. Now they’ve arrived it’s a disappointment and the little hope the man has will so fade. I don’t know whether they’ll move on or just stay by the coast.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

This particular episode isn’t very tense is all quite dull, it shows the endlessness of the world and how the only things left to do is just carry on with their menial tasks.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

Time passes very quickly and lot of days pass and you see how the man and the boy are with each other. The man looks out for the boy first and foremost, and the boy tries to help wherever he can.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

There is a part where he described the coast as “Cold. Desolate. Birdless.” This is very similar to the way that he describes the world at the very beginning of the book; he describes it as “Barren, silent, godless.” This shows that despite this is the place they’ve been heading towards for the whole of the book, it is just like the rest of the world. There is no hope here, no more than there is anywhere else. Death has reached here too.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

This shows how much the desolation is growing in their lives and how much hope is dying. This journey was the one thing giving them hope in the man’s case. It was the one place he wanted to reach. It emphasise the hopelessness in the world, no light can shine and everything is going to die and end. Even the little hope they had has withered and died, draining them in the process. It is evident they are without hope now as the man said he could “see the disappointment in his face” they’ve come all this way for nothing.

Episode One 50 - 53

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

I thought this episode was interesting in terms of how the father handled it, the description of the man was graphic and obviously seeing it first-hand would have been very disturbing for the boy. In his innocence all he wants to do is help, try and ease this poor, unknown man’s suffering. He doesn’t even seem that bothered by how he looks; all he wants to do is help. The man denies him this, at first he allows them to follow them, which is strange in itself. Usually the man steers clear of any kind of life, but here he is content to follow him until the boy wants to talk to him. why is it he wants to follow him if not to help him?

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

I think the boy will be upset after this for a while, as the image of the man will stay with him for a long time, as well as the guilt of not being able to help him. Apart from this, I think they will continue as usual.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

The repetition and use of short sentences help to increase the tension when they are following the man, it is tense because you don’t know what’s wrong with him, and you are unsure as to whether or not he is a danger.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

This episode shows that the boy is still compassionate and caring, and he wants to help people that are in trouble. Whereas with the man it shows him as cold and distant, his only thought, and the only person he worries about is the boy. He is the man’s priority. The man wants to distance himself from the rest of world; he tries to shield the boy as much as he can. The way the boy “hung on to his father’s coat” makes him seem younger than he is.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is the same as it is throughout the rest of the blog; it establishes the monotony of their life and of the world. The repetition also shows this. The description of the burnt man gets drawn out and described in detail making it a strong visual image, and it expands the time as this is all seen from a glance. The rest of the time they are walking time is compacted as he says they “followed him a good ways”.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

The fact that someone got struck by lightning shows how destructive this world is, and death surrounds it. You can see how even the world is dying; the weather has turned and is destroying and killing everything in its path. It gives us an insight into the dynamics between the man and the boy, and where their priorities are.

Episode Four 210 - 215

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

This part was disturbing, as it really makes it clear what the people in this world will do for food now. The impersonal, clinical way McCarthy describes the baby makes it all the more disturbing, the only person that has an emotional response to the baby is the boy – who is also the only character that has hope and innocence left. The man is hardened and used to seeing these kind of things, he doesn’t even think the baby deserves a decent burial, he just leaves it there for someone to scavenge.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

It is hard to say what will happen next in the novel, I think we will see the boy becoming more and more aware of what’s happening around him as the man fails to shield him from everything. The boy may seem less innocent because of this, and the hope will become to fade.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

This section brings a new sense of tension because these people seem even more dangerous, and this danger is all around. This is achieved by speeding up the pace and then slowing it down again.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

The boy is seeing more and more of the horrible sights in the world, which the man is unable protect him from. It shows how it is maturing him when the man asks if he wants to “ride in the cart” which is something you’d do with a small child, and even though he asks twice the boy refuses him and wants to walk on his own. He isn’t a small child and doesn’t want to be treated as though he is.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is simplistic in keeping with the rest of the novel; there aren’t any changes to the way they speak. He describes the scene with the baby quite graphically, leaving a lasting image in your mind.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

This part highlights the desperation that has overcome humans, that they are willing to kill and then eat an innocent baby just so they won’t go hungry. It also shows how separated and different the man and the boy are from the rest of humanity, they won’t become cannibals no matter what, they are clinging on to what makes them humans. They won’t become savages like the rest. Death is all around them and it doesn’t even spare the young, no one is safe.

Episode Three 112-121

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

This episode was really focused on the horror aspects of the book, for me, it was one of the scariest parts. The part where they go down to the cellar is lifted almost exactly to from ‘Dawn of the Dead’. It’s this low culture reference that shows the post modernism of the book. As this is based on a horror movie the use of tension is very important. McCarthy is very good at this. As the punctuation is very sparse and simplistic, you can tell that each use is very particular and serves a purpose. The pace speeds up through the use of short, simplistic sentences and builds so you think something is about to happen. When it slows down again, using long sentences, and then nothing happens; he lulls you into a false sense of security, as all good horror films do. It speeds up again which is when the real shock occurs. In this case it is the discovery of the mutilated bodies.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

Next I think we will see the man and the boy trying to get as far away as they can from these people. Also I think the dynamic of the two will change, as the man is starting to realise he can’t shield the boy from everything out there in the world.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

(see first paragraph)

How does this develop character and their relationships?

This episode adds and strengthens the notion that the man’s sole purpose and drive is to protect the child. It also shows that the boy is now more willing than ever to obey his father, now has more of an idea about what evil is out there.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is very similar to the rest of the book in terms vocabulary and style, but when he is describing the cellar is creates a very real visual image that bring the disturbing scene to life.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

I think this episode is important because it shows us a lot about the book in general. When the man and the boy go down into the cellar, which is devoid of all light and discover the people being held there I think it can also be viewed as a microcosm of their world. They are left on this dark, cold world that has no pure light not even the sun. The only light described is the “fire” the man says the boy “carries”. Much like the lighter they bring into the cellar. They are both separated from the rest of humanity (or what humanity has become) they cling onto what makes them humans, whereas most of the world has reverted into this animalistic state. The people they discover in this cellar are behaving just like wild animals, cowering in the bright light and noises. As they hide their faces, they have no identity, it’s one of the main things they’ve lost and it is a main part of what makes them human.

Episode Two 62 - 69

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

This episode really shows us how far the man is willing to go to protect him and the child; it reveals how calm he is about death. It changes our perspective of him. Also in the episode we start to see what one of the main dangers are in this story.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

This new suggestion in the man’s character, and also allusions to his past, show us that they might have more chance of survival than we originally thought because of his willingness to kill for his son. As well as this there is also the possibility of the two of them being hunted down by this “road rats”.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

There has been a constant worry that if anything were to happen to them, in the end, the man would not be able to protect his son. After this episode we know this not to be true, and it reveals a small amount of tension. However, it does raise the issue – what else is he capable of? Is he really as good as he’s perceived to be up until this point?

How does this develop character and their relationships?

When the child is playing with his truck and making “truck noises” it shows his naivety and how sheltered he has been from life. Any other person growing up in a world like this, one filled with death, would have grown up quickly and not really had a chance to be a child as the boy had.

The man’s character develops but at the same time it raises even more questions. For instance the shot he fired that killed the road rat was very precise, it is not the shot of someone who has only just picked up a gun, he has obvious had previous experience. The use of medical language hints to fact he used to be a doctor but he doesn’t specify that he actually is, when the road rat asks this he says “I’m not anything.” Showing how his old life and characteristics have faded away.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

Up until now the man’s language has always been simplistic – almost childlike – and it is easy to assume that he isn’t very clever, but in this episode he used a lot of medical vocabulary and complex language showing that he is in fact very clever.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

This is a key episode because it shows us that line between good and bad isn’t as clear as it first seems. The fact that the man kills this unknown human, whether he was email or not, without remorse shows us that maybe he isn’t as pure as we would have like to have believed. This is a very real representation of life, and good and evil, showing us that things aren't as they seem and good people don't always do good things (and vice versa)

Beginning - 6

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

It shows the post-apocalyptic themes in the book, “barren, silent, godless” shows how this world is desolate, isolated and even been left by God.

The world “Glaucoma” the world is slowly going blind, sign of aging and decay. Everything is dying.

“Precious breath” suggests that each breath might be his last; that death is all around, and is a constant for them.

When the man says that they “hadn’t kept a calendar for years” indicating that the world has been like this for a while, they have been on the move.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

It is unclear what will happen next, but nothing looks like it will change dramatically, they will keep on the same way, moving “south” they’ve been going this walking this way on the road “for years. It seems likely that that may die. Moving towards something, some sort of hope that keeps them going.

Your experience (change of mood? A ligher moment? Increase or release of tension?)

Increase in tension at the mention of the creature in his dream “naked and translucent” it is unnatural, also it is the only animal. This shows it is in the horror genre, it builds up tension so you know that something is going to happen and you are filled with the anticipation of this moment. McCarthy does this by using short sentences that increase the pace. It is mutated and has “eyes dead white”.

They are not safe wherever they are, there are constant elements of tension due to constant danger surrounded them because of the nature of this world. There are no lighter moments because of this persistent danger surrounding them.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

The use of “Papa” shows that they are most likely middle class; it is also a term of endearment. It establishes the father/son relationship, and the fact the child has affection for his father.

There is an emotional distance between us and the characters, and also between the characters themselves; this is shown by the lack of names, the only name ever used is “papa”. This distance is necessary as it made clear this world is full of death and so they too are bound to die.

None of their characteristics are described; it shows the monotony of the world. Everything has faded away and dulled to grey, even the snow, and so has individualism. Their personalities and characteristics have faded.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language remains the same throughout this episode; there isn't anything that stands out. It is continuous and monotonous just like the road.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

It is an important episode because it establishes the post-apocalyptic themes in the book, from the very beginning of this episode you are thrust into a world that is described as “cold” and “dark”. 

More photos about The Road

- no animals on these ones.

5 + 5 = 1

Road stories are always set in America.
Post Modern shows that is not real, it is contradictory.
It is low culture.
Post-apocalyptic means it is set after the end of the world.
Deathscape shows it is a world of death.

America
Contradictory
Low
Apocalyptic
Death

Death

Quotations

“This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man’s brains out of his hair. That is my job.”

In this quote the speaker calls his son “child” rather than son, or by his actual name. This shows the books simplicity, and how he distances himself from his son, it’s because he doesn't want to get too attached, as he is more than likely going to lose him. “Dead man’s brains” suggests that the book is horror and the main themes are death and gore. It’s more important for him to get away from the danger rather than clean his child.

“Yes I am, he said. I am the one.”

In this quote it is the child speaking but he doesn’t use any speech marks, this again emphasizes the simplicity of the book. “I am the one” shows that the child has been raised to believe he is important, indicating the father’s belief that he should be protected before himself. The father thinks his child’s welfare is the most important thing in his world, and no matter what he should be safe even if that means he has to die.

“Tomatoes, peaches, bean, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.”

In this list the “canned hams” and “corned beef” are separate to the fruit and vegetable items. I think this is because they simply meat items, in their world it is so rare to come by any meat other than human meat, so the beef and ham is so much more special than the other things they found, the ones grouped together. From this you can see one of the themes of the book is desperation, they are living with the very bare minimum, so any food they find is a massive deal to them.

“Are we still the good guys, he said”

The lack of speech marks again shows us the simplicity of the book. The fact that the child has to actually ask whether or not they are “still the good guys” shows how much this post-apocalyptic world has distorted their view on the world. The lines between good and evil, right and wrong, are no longer clear; nothing is black and white. So this show one of the main themes in the book is good and evil, and whether or not they fit into the good category any more.

“We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn’t.”

This quote is one of the rare times a name is used, and as it is the child calling him “Papa” is suggests that the child is more emotionally attached to his father than he is to him. “The man” still does not refer to himself as the child’s father shows how emotionally unattached he is. The need to keep moving, keep hidden and out of danger makes them seem like animals, being hunted like prey for the cannibals.

“The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.”

This shows how bleak and grim this post-apocalyptic world is for them, it is dark, cold and lonely. It’s as if the happiness has been sucked out and they are left is this grey world. Even the snow is grey; there is no colour, not even black or white. It shows how uninhabitable this world is becoming, the weather is changing, and it is relentless.

“Okay? Okay.”

The repetition of the world “okay” shows he is reassuring the child. Not only is the man reassuring the child in this quote, he is also reassuring himself that the child is okay. His protectiveness of the child is a main theme; every action is designed to protect him. He needs to be assertive in order to look after him. Even if he is not okay, or the world is not okay, as long as his child is okay nothing else matters.

What The Road makes me think of.