The Road: Post 3

5. McCarthy's novel is a stark contrast to Kerouac's in terms of language. While Kerouac is lyrical, loud, and colorful, McCarthy's style is dark and sparse. How does McCarthy's style lend to the story itself? Cite text for support. Who is his audience? How can you tell?

The road was a very interesting book to read for a few reasons. It was so different from what I am used to reading in a novel. The biggest difference was that the style seemed rather emotionless but it was a very dramatic and emotional book. The distance between me and characters seemed enormous because I only knew that they were a father and son, no name, no definite ages. It was intriguing how little was known about them and their situation, (why the world was post-apocalyptic?), yet I still was drawn to their story.

The symbolism of the road, good and bad guys, and them “carrying the fire” was different too. The road was like their life, continuing on but not really leading to a destination. The good and bad guys didn’t seem to have too much of a distinction because it really was just a matter of survival. The only difference between good and bad was how willing someone was to help someone else survive. Finally, “carrying the fire” to me, meant simply surviving as a “good guy” until there was a destination reached at the end of the road. I think the carrying the fire meant living in a way that did not differ too far from the way people used to live before this catastrophe by being as civilized as they could be while having to survive.

Cormac McCarthy’s writing style is interesting due to the lack of punctuation. The Road expresses the worst, and also the best of human capabilities.While humans can be cold hearted showing no remorse for others and destroying the world, the story also exemplifies the love and compassion humans are capable of expressing. The father and son love one another which allow them to continue down the desolate path, even though they are unsure of what it will bring.(pages 216-223)

I think every one is the audience. It makes one appreciate life and its values. We see this man and his son wonder about a world without hope and government and everything we know and depend on is no longer existent. It's heart-gripping and sad to think that could be us in a couple of decades or centuries or whatever. Point is, we should always appreciate what we have today because it might not be here tomorrow.