LITERATURE ANALYSIS # 3: THE ROAD BY CORMAC McCARTHY

1) Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to elements of plot that you've learned in the past courses. Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose.

a) Introduction/Exposition: The beginning of the novel introduces the father, the son and then the setting they were currently in. The event of the apocalypse is revealed. Even though the apocalypse had occurred, and both the characters suffer from freezing weather with no food, they hadn't encountered danger in the initiation of the story. They both decide to head south because of another approaching winter in the mountains.

b) Rising Action: Both the father and son were resting in a car. Father was awoken by a noise and they both flee to the woods. The fathers spots a goon clutching the boy's throat and fires a bullet from his gun, hitting that man right in the middle of his head. The man lies dead while the father wonders about only one bullet in the gun.

c) Conflict: The repetition of food shortage and struggle for survival.

d) Climax: The moment the arrow is shot in the father's leg.

e) Falling Action: The father struggles to continue their journey and finally dies in a forest, the boy next to him.

f) Resolution: Another family progresses towards the boy and takes him (helps him).

The author uses a mixture of point of views (narratives) but mostly, it's third person omniscient. This third person omniscient perspective not only assisted the author in characterizing his characters and explaining their personalities, but also allowed him to shift his perspective towards the father. It allowed him to have descriptive settings, paragraphs of father's emotions, thoughts, and struggles, and also have justice towards the son.

2) Succinctly describe the theme of the novel.

Of course, like most novels, there are multiple themes of the book but what stood out to me was the strength and determination of both of the characters. They both had experienced so much from a near death to murder of someone else but their dedication to achieve what they had strove for did not decrease. They weren't discouraged by defeat or broken by sickness - they kept moving to survive. The author uses the relationship between the father and the son to increase the effect of the theme and the meaning behind it.

3) Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrates your points.

The author has multiple tones, just like narrative. But the two most important ones are tender towards the duo - father and the son, and factual towards the the entire setting and situation. McCarthy is extremely talented in that his shifts in tone is noticeable and understandable at the same time.

4) Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers.

1) Foreshadowing: "But he knew that if he were a good father still it might well be as she had said. That the boy was all that stood between him and death." (Pg: 25)

2) Symbols: The revolver containing two bullets: the bullets could represent "life" and "death."

3) Imagery: "They crossed the river by an old concrete bridge and a few miles on they came upon a roadside gas station." (Pg: 5)

4) Irony: Throughout the entire book, the readers anticipated death by starvation of a character but the man ended up dying by an arrow (or his sickness, not cleared!).

5) Flashback: "They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you wont face it. You'd rather wait for it to happen. But I cant. I cant." (Pg: 48)

6) Personification: (The Woman) "I've taken a new lover. He can give me what you cannot."
                               (The Man) "Death is not a lover."
                               (The Woman) "Oh yes he is." (Pg: 48)

7) Metaphor: The road - collapse of capitalism (McCarthy clarified in an interview).

8) Simile: "Drawing down like something trying to preserve heat. In time to wink out forever." (Pg: 75)

9) Characterization: "He stood up. I'm begging you." (Pg: 49)

10) Point of View: "When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him." (Pg: 1)

CHARACTERIZATION:

1) Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end?

"He mistrusted all of that. He said the right dreams for a man in peril were dreams of peril and all else was the call of languor and of death." (Pg: 15) - Direct Characterization. "He was gone longer than he'd meant to be and he hurried his steps the best he could, the water swinging and gurgling in the shrunken swag of his gut." (Pg: 104) - Direct Characterization.
(The Boy) "Yes."
(The Man) "Dont pay any attention. There's no one here."
(The Boy) "Are they dead?"
(The Man) "I think so."
(The Boy) "I wish that little boy was with us."
(The Man) "Let's go." (Pg: 110-111) - Indirect Characterization. "You wanted to know what the bad guys looked like. Now you know. It may happen again. My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand?" (Pg: 65) - Indirect Characterization.

The author uses both direct and indirect characterization to develop both the characters more thoroughly. He uses indirect characterization more than direct because he 's the kind of writer that makes his readers interpret the characters and their personalities.

2) Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The author's syntax changes when there is a dialogue between characters. They're brief, precise, and to the point.
(The Man) "We need to get out of the road.
(The Boy) "Why, Papa?"
(The Man) "Someone's coming."
(The Boy) "Is it bad guys?"
(The Man) "Yes. I'm afraid so."
(The Boy) "They could be good guys. Couldn't they?" (Pg: 87)
In terms of diction, it's doesn't change in terms of the elevation of the words, but it gets more innocent with the young boy.

3) Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist is a round, dynamic character because of the conscious choices that he makes and emotions that he shows towards his son and his protection. The manner in which he gives hope, strength, advice, and shows affection towards his son shows that he, as a character, is capable of making strong decisions just as a live individual in real world.

4) After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
I felt that I met a person not because of the plot, or setting or even theme, but only based on the characterization of the man. He seemed like my father, ready to protect his child at any moment - even if it meant him losing his life. This is what connected me to the book the most and made me believe that the story, the characters, and their situations and choices made to get out of the situations - victorious.