Quotations- Expectations

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 quotation is the father trying to justify the experiences he is putting his son through, this is shown through the use of punctuation. The full stops after every statement highlights the duties a father has for his son, and how the man is pushing himself to believe that what he is putting his son through is right. "This is my child" is the man protecting his son, "my" is the sign of ownership, and his duty to protect and care for his child. The use of the word "Child" is detatching away from identity. By calling him "Child" it takes away the personal connection between the reader and the character as we do not get to know him, therefore we will not create a deep bond with him. The style in which it is written suggests that the man is trying to remain calm and act as if this is normal for the sake of his son. "That is my job" makes it sounds like washing a dead mans brain out of his hair is something he is not phased by. There is lack of fear and distress in this quotation which makes it appear a perfectly normal thing to do, as you would expect emotion of some sort if you were in the man's situation. "I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair" creates a sinister and distrubing image for the reader, as the idea of a young child being in that situation puts makes the reader feel sympathy for the boy becasue we witness his vunrability and his childhood being lost by horrific memories.


Yes I am, he said. I am the one.
This is said by the man in a very cold emtionless tone. The repetition of the word "I" tells us that it is only him and his son and the isolation that surrounds them both as they only have each other. "He said" shows that he is just talking in a expressionless way which suggests that he does not want to give any emotion away to his son as he has to be the strong one and care for his child. "I am the one" is a factual statement as he is emphasising how he is the only one which again creates a very lonely atmosphere.


Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.
The use of the listing of words is to show the desperation of hunger from the man and boy. The list tells us that the food has surrounded them and they are almost overwhelmed by the amount that they have. This shows that they are so relieved by the food that they have they can't wait to eat it. By not describing the food shows that they are just  comforted by the food, and becasue it is a nessecitity they will eat whatever they can find. The use of comma's shows that they are in a small way, excited, that they have found somethings to eat becasue the comma's could signify the rush of getting all the words out.


Are we still the good guys, he said.
This quotation appears quite child like "good guys" is a term a child might make which creates a innocence in the question, as it shows that the child does not quite understand what is going on. The question itself raises the idea that there is little hope/faith in themselves if they have to question whether they are still good or not, which could suggest that they have done something wrong which has made him say this. The boy can identitfy what is right and wrong therefore making people either bad or good by asking if they are still the "good guys". There is no question mark which suggests that the boy does not want to know the answer perhaps, as he feels that they are not good anymore. Or the boy is doubting the whether the man is good anymore becasue he is the adult who makes their decisions and maybe the boy thinks that some of the mans decisions have been bad. The relationship is strained becasue the boy has little say in the decisisons the man makes for the both of them, so if he doubts his father has been good he may doubt himself being good making him say this question.

We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.
The boys speech creates a sense of danger. They boy is scared and we can see this by the word "Papa" as he looking to his father for reassurance and protection. It is almost like the boy is being the responsible one here as he can sense that there may be danger, so they need to leave. "Yes, the man said. But he didn't" this shows that how the man makes the decisons, potentially putting them both in danger. The use of the full stop and then "But he didn't" builds up tension as the reader is left gripped by what will happen next. The agreement by the father and then then action of disagreement he makes creates a further distancining between him and his son as the boy feels unprotected by his fathers decision to stay. The father could be ignoring the child as he a young boy who doesn't really understand what is happening. The bravery of the father and the fear of the child highlights the how real the situation they are in and the contrast bewteen them. The father is willing to stay to face the possible danger whereas we can see the vunrability of the boy as he is scared and wants to go.

The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.
The snow's neverending falling could signify how the man and his child are falling deeper and deeper into a hopeless situation. The snow could also signify the falling of the country in which they travel across and how its fallen and may never pick itself up again. "fell" is past tense and "fall" is present, this wording of time emphasises how the snow has not stopped falling from then to now, and we begin to see as readers how desperate their situation is becoming.

Okay? Okay.
The use of the question mark on the first ok, tells us that the man is perhaps questioning the boy on his doubt. As the boy replies with "Okay" we can see that he is maybe just going along with the whole thing just to stop any disagreement with his dad. The use of the full stop after the word okay gives the sentence a finality like the boy does not want to talk anymore. This simple word does not allow any emotion to get through, so it does not give away how the boy is feeling. This may fustrate the dad as he trying to do his best for his son, again putting strain on thier relationship becasue they cannot seem to communicate their emotions. Maybe the boy has witnessed the way in which his dad behaves which is with no emotion, so he tries to do the same in order to appear strong like his dad.


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.
The repetiton of the word "and" makes it seem like they have alot of possessions, when in fact they have very little. This creates sympathy as we can see that they are in a desperate situation. The "pistol" is perhaps the most important item as it guarnatees some protection for the man and the boy. The rest of the itms are normal, but then you get to the "pistol" and you suddenly are thrown back as you realise there is constant danger around and the threat of being hurt or killed is surrounding them which creates a tense atmosphere. How they carry very little with them could also suggest the fear of being discovered  which again creates tension.

Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth.
This quotation shows the bleakness of the world. The world should be thriving with people, animals e.c.t, however this empathsises the death and destruction as the world is being described as silent, which would be impossible, but becasue of the destruction it it. "The mintues of the earth" could be refered to the earth being like a "Time bomb" as it is ticking time away until it will completely destruct. "Tolling" is saying that the silence is so loud its ringing out which is ironic as silence is no noise at all. This again highlights the isolation and desperation of the world in which they are trying to survive in.

She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift. 
"Coldness" being a gift tells us how there is no emotion in the death of the women, and how no emotion was her gift, she was saving them from feeling anything towards her incase  it made her death harder to bare. The sentence does not elaborate at all on any emotion or identity which would again make her death appear easier to handle as she wasn't talked about or they had nothing to remember he by "She was gone" there is no attachment to this woman which gives us the impression that, "that was that" and they would have to get along without her. The way in which she had just "gone" signfies how this was normal amongst them, almost like it wasn't that big of a deal to loose another person, even if it had been somebody they had once loved. "Final gift" gives a fianlity to the sentence, the word "gift" appears to be seen as a good thing that they should be thankful for and enjoy.


What does these extracts tells us about;


- 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.