Time- Pages 260-280

References to the passage of Time...

1) "He fixed dinner" could suggest evening time p. 261
2) "He loaded the flarepistol and as soon as it was dark" p.262
3) "In the morning" p.263
4) "He held him all night" p.265
5) "In the evening he opened a can of soup" p. 266
6) "...the fire had died down almost to ash and it was a black night" p.266
7) "The boy slept all day" p.267
8) "He tried to stay awake all night" p.267
9) "It rained briefly in the night" p. 268
10) "When he woke again" "Grey daylight" p.268
11) "In two days time" p.270
12) "They went on. It was already late in the day and it wa another hour and deep into the long dusk" P. 273
13) " ...stood there in the cold and gathering dark" p. 278
14) "In the morning" p.279
15) "he woke that night" p.279
 16) "In three days" p.280

Markers in the year...

1) "The wintery dawn was coming" p. 266- This suggests that the months are later in the year. We depend on hints like the weather and how McCarthy describes the sceneary to establish/ estimate what time of the year it is.

2) "The earth Itself contracting with the cold" p.279 This tells us that it is winter time or maybe the Earths condidtion is just becoming even worse so it is getting colder. Either suggestion could tell us that the novel has moved to the winter months of the year. 

3) "What time of year?"  p.279 This contradicts the hints of what time of year it is, because the man and the boy do not even know, so  it is impossible to be certain what time of year it is.

Narrative time is telescoped...

1) "In three days they came to a small port town"- This passage of time has no mention of what may have happened within those three days,which creates confusion as the reader wonders why this passage of time has gone quicker than others as McCarthy often describes the days/nights events.

2) "In two days' time they were walking the beach as far as the headland and back"- Again time has passed quickly as we do not get any description of what has happened within those two days.

Points at which Narrative time expands...

The shooting of the Road Rat and the stealing of their possessions is an example of Narrative time expanding. This is too build up the tension of what The man will do to him. Also the narrative time could be expanded to show the true character of The man, and how The boy reacts to his fathers actions. The event goes for seven pages. McCarthy may have done this to show the raw emotions of the boy and how his fathers action have shaped and changed his view of him.

Points at which time seems to be suspended...

When The boy and The man are looking for their stolen cart, time seems to be suspended  "They went on. It was already late in the day and it was another hour into the long dusk"  the words "Another" and "long" create a sense of time going slowly. This creates tension as the reader wonders if they will find their cart as time seems to be running out for them before it starts to get dark. McCarthy suspends time here to build up tension, "They went on." makes it seem like they have been searching of their cart for a long time. This suspends time because we as the readers want them to get their belongings back, but it appears to be taking a while to find the thief so we start to doubt id they will find it.

When the boy becomes ill, time seems susupended. ""You have to stay near, he said. You have to be quick. So you can be with him. Hold him close. Last day of the earth" Time appears to be suspended becasue the we can sense that the man is worried for the boy, and it seems like he is getting worse so time has slowed down and is hanging on to this tense moment. The mans speech also creates suspended time as it appears like he is trying to prepare himself for the worst, which creates more tension.