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.