The Road by Cormac McCarthy

“He pushed the cart and both he and the boy carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things in case they had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that he used to watch the road behind them. He shifted the pack higher on his shoulders and looked out over the wasted country. The road was empty. Below in the little valley the still grey serpentine of a river. Motionless and precise. Along the shore a burden of dead reeds. Are you okay? He said. The boy nodded. They set out along the backtop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other’s world entire.” – McCarthy, 2006, p.4

Exercise 1

First person narrator:

I pushed the cart and both my boy and I carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things incase we had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that we used to watch the road behind us. I shifted my pack higher on my shoulders and looked out over the wasted country…

Second person narrator:

You pushed the cart and you and your boy carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things incase you had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that you used to watch the road behind you. You shifted your pack higher on your shoulders and looked out over the wasted country…

If McCarthy had chosen the third person limited point of view, think about the difference between telling this story from the boy’s POV or the mans.

The difference between the third person and the boy’s POV is, i think there would be a stronger emotional response from the boy as he’s a young age and everything seems scary at that age. However, the narrative may not have as much detail coming from a child.

What impact does changing the narrative angle have on the story? Why do you think McCarthy decided to use an omniscient narrator?

The story definitely takes on different aspects when using different narratives. First person narrator draws the audience in more, it makes you feel like you’re there on scene. Second person narrator feels more distant. I think he used an omniscient narrator because it makes it more gripping, more exciting and keeps the audience interested.

Exercise 2

I think not giving the man and the boy a name stops the viewers getting attached to the character but that doesn’t mean that we don’t care about them. They still have human characteristics. I think it leaves the viewers intrigued and wanting to find out more. We can tell there may be some trouble because they have all their belongings and essentials that they need; which implies they might be trying to survive something. The words “wasted country” and “grey serpentine of a river” suggests that some kind of disaster has happened. It sounds like it could have been an apocalypse or the end of a war? They are alone and scared which also implies some kind of disaster, like they are running away from something. They’re on a journey with everything they own, they could be going to a safe place. The road is mentioned a few times in the extract; this could emphasise the struggle that the man and the boy are going through. By McCarthy not punctuating the speech symbolises the loneliness. It shows that they aren’t very important. The use of these words “serpentine of the river” and “gunmetal light” implies that there could have been a war that they are running from.

Exercise 1

The Herefordshire Landscape by Elizabeth Barrett Browning – purely evokes a sense of place. The use of descriptive writing emphasises the countryside ie. “hills, vales, woods, netted in a silver mist”. Repetition also helps to emphasise this ie. “cottage-chimneys” “cottage-gardens”.

Slough by John Betjeman – makes a social comment about progress or place. It sounds like he is talking about war and the destruction of Slough which is obviously negative comments ie. “come friendly bombs and fall on Slough” and “come, bombs and blow to smithereens”. Also repetition of the word “tinned” exaggerates the sense of feeling trapped.

The Lost Land by Eavan Boland – speaks about place in relation to identity and exile. Seems to be physical loss of land “saying all the names I know for a lost land: Ireland. Absence. Daughter” this also implies the emotional loss through the word daughter.

Exercise 2

I found a poem called “The Letter A” and pointed out what poetic devices were used:

In the extract by Darren Sardelli, he uses devices such as rhythm and alliteration to make the poem more exciting.

Experimenting with my own:

I just got a new puppy,

took her for a walk by the lake,

she got a little bit muddy,

then chased after a huge snake.

Exercise 3

Close reading of Dylan Thomas’ poem called Fern Hill.

When first reading the poem, i felt like it gave off a positive mood as most of the words that have been used are very positive. It looks like he is talking about the past. Beautiful things he has come across when he was younger. Whereas when I listened to the poem, it gave off a different emotion. It sounded like something you would hear in church, it’s almost quite theatrical.

I think the poem has a few poetic devices. The main one that stands out for me i believe is personification. He talks about ‘time’ as if its a person: “time let me hail and climb golden in the heydays of his eyes”. He uses a similie: “happy as the grass was green”. and he also repeatedly uses alliteration: “house high hay” “tuneful turning”. There isn’t really a rhythm in this poem, it doesn’t flow well. To me I think, rhythm has a huge impact on the poem as I think it makes it more exciting.