Monday, 17 December 2012
Monday, 10 December 2012
Why did Cormac McCarthy write The Road in the style he did?
Cormac McCarthy
PERSONAL LIFE
Cormac McCarthy was born in Providence in 1933, Rhode Island and was one of six children within the family. McCarthy studied at the University of Tennessee from 1951-52 and 1957-59 but never graduated from his course.
After marrying a fellow student on his course Lee Holleman in 1961, he and she 'moved to a shack with no heat and running water in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains outside Knoxville' They had a son, Cullen, in 1962. This son would become influential throughout The Road.
INTERVIEWS WITH McCARTHY
In one of his few interviews with The New York Times,McCarthy reveals that he is 'not a fan of authors who do not deal with issues of life and death'. He continued to say 'To me that is not literature . A lot of writers who are considered good I consider strange'.
In 2006, McCarthy made his first appearance on television with an interview with Oprah Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show. During the interview he related several stories illustrating the degree of outright poverty he endured at times during his career as a writer. He also spoke about the experience of fathering a child at an advanced age, and how his now-eight-year-old son was the inspiration for The Road. McCarthy told Oprah that he prefers "simple declarative sentences" and that he uses capital letters, periods, an occasional comma, a colon for setting off a list, but "never a semicolon." He does not use quotation marks for dialogue and believes there is no reason to "blot the page up with weird little marks."
FAMILY
Children
WHY WOULD THIS HELP ME?
Looking back on McCarthy's life, we can view which moments in his life helped to shape The Road; his son was the model for The Boy in The Road; the lack of punctuation comes from his son who stated there is 'no reason to blot the page up with weird little marks.'
PERSONAL LIFE
Cormac McCarthy was born in Providence in 1933, Rhode Island and was one of six children within the family. McCarthy studied at the University of Tennessee from 1951-52 and 1957-59 but never graduated from his course.
After marrying a fellow student on his course Lee Holleman in 1961, he and she 'moved to a shack with no heat and running water in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains outside Knoxville' They had a son, Cullen, in 1962. This son would become influential throughout The Road.
INTERVIEWS WITH McCARTHY
In one of his few interviews with The New York Times,McCarthy reveals that he is 'not a fan of authors who do not deal with issues of life and death'. He continued to say 'To me that is not literature . A lot of writers who are considered good I consider strange'.
In 2006, McCarthy made his first appearance on television with an interview with Oprah Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show. During the interview he related several stories illustrating the degree of outright poverty he endured at times during his career as a writer. He also spoke about the experience of fathering a child at an advanced age, and how his now-eight-year-old son was the inspiration for The Road. McCarthy told Oprah that he prefers "simple declarative sentences" and that he uses capital letters, periods, an occasional comma, a colon for setting off a list, but "never a semicolon." He does not use quotation marks for dialogue and believes there is no reason to "blot the page up with weird little marks."
FAMILY
Children
- Cullen McCarthy (Model for The Road)
- John Francis McCarthy
- Lee Holleman (1961) Divorced
- Annie De Lisle (1967 Divorced 1981)
- Jennifer Winkley (2007 -
- The Orchard Keeper (1965)
- Outer Dark (1968)
- Child of God (1973)
- Suttree (1979)
- Blood Meridian of the Evening Redness in the West (1985)
- All the Pretty Horses (1992)
1st Part in trilogy - The Crossing (1994)
2nd part in trilogy - Cities of the Plain (1998)
3rd part in trilogy - No Country for Old Men (2005)
- The Road (2006)
- The Passenger (forthcoming)
- Wake for Susan (1959)
- A Drowning Incident (1960)
- The Gardener's Son (1976)
- The Counsellor (2013)
WHY WOULD THIS HELP ME?
Looking back on McCarthy's life, we can view which moments in his life helped to shape The Road; his son was the model for The Boy in The Road; the lack of punctuation comes from his son who stated there is 'no reason to blot the page up with weird little marks.'
- According to Mr Smith, the contextual evidence of McCarthy IS ASSESSED IN QUESTION 1B,
Monday, 26 November 2012
Part One --> Page 1 - 69
>> Establishment of setting.
>> Slight references to mother/family.
>> Gas station - try's to call home.
>> Road rat gets killed - flash back to wife at gun shot (when she leaves them).
Part Two --> Page 69 - 122
>> Running away from the cannibals.
>> Theatre (brief) light goes out while wife is pregnant. Turns quite dramatic - as he's running.
>> Straight to a calm scene abruptly.
>> Cannibals cellar.
>> Running away.
>> Scene ends outside the house on the floor.
>> The door of the house creeks (someones coming) - screams can be heard.
Part Three --> Page 122 - End
>> Starts in the dark outside the house, man wakes child - cuts to them walking down the road in darkness.
>> follows people, find baby on a spit
>> the man gets shot with an arrow
>> the stuff gets stolen from the beech
>> the man dies
>> the boy goes with the other family
>> picturesque scene at the end
We have to have a fire
I'm scared
I know. But I'll just be a Little ways and ill be able to hear you so if you get scared you call me and I'll come right away.
I'm really scared
The sooner I go the sooner ill be back and we will have a fire and then you won't be scared anymore. Don't lie down. If you lie down you will fall asleep and then if I call you you won't answer and I won't be able to find you. Do you understand?
(Silence)
(Shakes head)
Okay. Okay.
(The man stumbles up the bank and into the wood with his hands held out like a blind man he starts kicking around putting them into a pile)
Voice and Point of View (I think)
Page 306:
‘Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing
In the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of
moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery.’
I felt that this paragraph was a nice finish to a gruesome story It was a picturesque image of what they have longed for throughout the novel, as it is a slight referencing to what the man has been dreaming of, however he would never get to see his final dream. I feel that the paragraph is filmic; as you can imagine a film running as someone is narrating it. However, there are many different possibilities of who the narrator could be, as different people have had the chance of following them, such as the family, or the boy, etc. I think that the paragraph is very different to the rest of the novel, as it shows a proper image in full description of something beautiful. However, with the language used, I think that it is exactly the same as the rest of the novel as it still uses the repetition of ‘and’, also the lists, and the short sentences.
What does this extract do to me?
This extract confuses me, as the picturesque images are not what I would of expected at the end of the novel, as throughout the novel McCarthy portrays the image of desolation and death, but at the end there is a beautiful scene, I just don’t understand what McCarthy was thinking when he put this in the novel. However, I think that McCarthy purposely attempts to confuse the reader as he always wants them to link any mentioning of an apocalypse to the road, in a way which would impact them greatly, as they would just picture cannibals, death, and a grey landscape. However, I also think that this extract affected me in a way of Realisation, as McCarthy is very specific in making sure that the reader thinks that there is no beauty or life in the world anymore, but this paragraph helps to realise that there will always be a hint of beauty in the novel, no matter what.
Voice and Point of View
The Road is written in the third person, in the voice of an omniscient narrator, with the characters referred to as ‘he’ or ‘the boy’. However, within this, McCarthy manipulates and plays with the narrative voice and the point of view from which the story is seen. Here are some of the things you might find interesting to explore in relation to the narrative voice of The Road:
– 3rd person voice, omniscient point of view
– 3rd person voice, from the point of view of the man
– 3rd person voice, from the point of view of the boy
– unattributed dialogue (i.e. without ‘he said’)
– decontextualized dialogue (without commentary from the narrator)
– unattributed thoughts (i.e. without ‘he thought’)
– not signalling where the narrative ends and dialogue or the thoughts of a character in the first person begin
– dream sequences related without a clear sense of whether it is in the third or first person
– 3rd person free indirect style where the reader not only feels he/she is seeing events from a character’s perspective but that it is in the character’s own words, not those of the narrative voice.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
A scene from the SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE in the style of The Road
Firstly, I apologise that it is in two different clips to show which part it is that I am doing, I have chosen this part as it is the most similar to the road and the most gruesome part of the movie. Enjoy :).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgIzBmbI-zQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziJ5qWvCVe0&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgIzBmbI-zQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziJ5qWvCVe0&feature=relmfu
Whilst driving down the dark, grey road, they spotted what was presumed
to be a gas station. They drove towards the gas station carefully not knowing
what may be lying in wait for them.
They were correct they had come across an old practically demolished gas
station where two men greeted them with the lifting up of their caps, revealing
the swollen faces of those who do not approve of travelling across the county
line.
Where you two dumb kids headed?
We are men who are going across the county line. That is all you need to
know.
Thats the place thats guarded by a killer Cyclops.
Thats right.
Take off your hat in respect. Respect for the dead.
We'll see about that.
They start to cross the county line when they are greeted yet again with
an unattractive image of a person who would not be greeted in normal
circumstances. He blocked their path.
Out of the car now okay?
Okay.
Okay.
They searched for a better way to respond other than to give up and go
back home they carried on walking on the road which surely would be their death
with the gas station workers uttering
They're dead.
Meanwhile they were unaware that they were being followed as shortly
after their departure a 7ft vicious blood thirsty man came roaring through on
his motorbike to which he noticed the gas station workers to witness his
pursuit of the two. He ripped their mouths off, and drove away.
The Swarm.
This song made me think of The Road, because it is the end of the world, etc. It is a different reason as to why, but the lyrics are relevent. so yeah.. enjoy.
The ending.. Mine and others opinions.
In my opinion the ending is from page 299, line 11.
This is because it is when the boy starts to give up, and has to accept that their journey is over. Therefore ending the journey.
'In that cold corridor they had reached the point of no return which was measured from the first solely by the light they carred with them' This is basically saying that their journey was pointless, as wherever they went, it would be painful and full of stuf that before the apocalypse they did not wish to imagine.
Other peoples opinions..
The Beach
The whole journey is supposedly to the south, where they are expecting a new equilibrium, however they do not get it when they arrive at the south. 'I'm sorry its not blue' this is an apology from the father because they were looking forward to seeing colour because everything is grey, and now their hopes have been smashed therefore it is the end. 'Do you think that there is any ships out there. I dont think so' this shows the isolation, and what will always be isolation. Therefore meaning the end of the road.
This is because it is when the boy starts to give up, and has to accept that their journey is over. Therefore ending the journey.
'In that cold corridor they had reached the point of no return which was measured from the first solely by the light they carred with them' This is basically saying that their journey was pointless, as wherever they went, it would be painful and full of stuf that before the apocalypse they did not wish to imagine.
Other peoples opinions..
The Beach
The whole journey is supposedly to the south, where they are expecting a new equilibrium, however they do not get it when they arrive at the south. 'I'm sorry its not blue' this is an apology from the father because they were looking forward to seeing colour because everything is grey, and now their hopes have been smashed therefore it is the end. 'Do you think that there is any ships out there. I dont think so' this shows the isolation, and what will always be isolation. Therefore meaning the end of the road.
A little of everything..
STRUCTURE.
Page 229, lines 6-18.
Is there anything about the sentence structures that encuragess a certain knd of reading?
During lines 6 and 10 there is no punctuation which encourages the reader to read fast. McCarthy has done this to create the vision of panic, uncertainty and how dangerous them being there is. However, during lines 15 and 18 the pace slows down, due to full stops being used, therefore the reader assumes that they are out of danger.
Is there anything about the vocabulary choice - length of words or sounds of words, or use of alliteration that emerges rom reading aloud?
The majority of the words are monosyllabic, which therefore creates the pace to be very fastm, which therefore increases the tension of the extract.
Does the tone of the extract remind you of other kinds of texts?
Yes, the extract reminds me of a survival guide, as they do not go into great detail, just how to get the job done easily and fast, which is what is being shown to be happening in this extract.
TIMING.
'in the leaden evening' (page 216)
'But it's getting dark' (page 218)
'Three nights later' (page 27)
'He sorted out cans for their supper' (page 278)
All of these quotes show the night time in the novel, the majority of timing which is set in the novel is when it is dark. This is due to McCarthy wanting to create the image of danger and uncertainty. This is enforced as when it is dark it is hard to see what is going on, you do not know what is there and you do not know where you are. Therefore increasing the tension in the already incredible tense novel.
LENGTH OF THE NOVEL.
'In those first years' (page 28)
This quote clarifies the length of the novel, and due to the quote being so close to the beginning of the novel it shows that the novel is stretched out to a very large period of time, however we are unaware of how long that is.
SEASONS IN THE NOVEL.
'pipes of ice stood out of the frozen mud' (page 293)
This is a quote which explains how cold the road is at that point, therefore exaggerating the point that is made about how dangerour it is and how close to death they are.
Page 229, lines 6-18.
Is there anything about the sentence structures that encuragess a certain knd of reading?
During lines 6 and 10 there is no punctuation which encourages the reader to read fast. McCarthy has done this to create the vision of panic, uncertainty and how dangerous them being there is. However, during lines 15 and 18 the pace slows down, due to full stops being used, therefore the reader assumes that they are out of danger.
Is there anything about the vocabulary choice - length of words or sounds of words, or use of alliteration that emerges rom reading aloud?
The majority of the words are monosyllabic, which therefore creates the pace to be very fastm, which therefore increases the tension of the extract.
Does the tone of the extract remind you of other kinds of texts?
Yes, the extract reminds me of a survival guide, as they do not go into great detail, just how to get the job done easily and fast, which is what is being shown to be happening in this extract.
TIMING.
'in the leaden evening' (page 216)
'But it's getting dark' (page 218)
'Three nights later' (page 27)
'He sorted out cans for their supper' (page 278)
All of these quotes show the night time in the novel, the majority of timing which is set in the novel is when it is dark. This is due to McCarthy wanting to create the image of danger and uncertainty. This is enforced as when it is dark it is hard to see what is going on, you do not know what is there and you do not know where you are. Therefore increasing the tension in the already incredible tense novel.
LENGTH OF THE NOVEL.
'In those first years' (page 28)
This quote clarifies the length of the novel, and due to the quote being so close to the beginning of the novel it shows that the novel is stretched out to a very large period of time, however we are unaware of how long that is.
SEASONS IN THE NOVEL.
'pipes of ice stood out of the frozen mud' (page 293)
This is a quote which explains how cold the road is at that point, therefore exaggerating the point that is made about how dangerour it is and how close to death they are.
5 + 5 = 1
FIVE
- He doesn't like punctuation.
- Pace is ever important.
- That they still try to capture civilisation with meals, as in they still have set times for when they eat.
- That the man over-mothers the boy.
- The boy is an unknown age throughout
- Punctuation.
- Pace.
- Civilisation.
- Over-mothering.
- Unknown.
TENSION
Five Images Which Remind Me Of The Road
This is simply an image from the film (I typed into google 'desolation on a road' and what a surprise that an image from the road turned up)
This image reminded me of the scene where they are begging the man and his son to help them, as I imagine that the look of desperation would of filled their otherwise emotionless faces as it did for this man.
This image is from Derren Brown's two part programme APOCALYPSE. I thought that it would fit as it reminded me of the scene in the book where they find all of the people, although this man has no limbs missing and has beds, it is about as gruesome as i presume it would of been for them to walk into that image.
I chose this image as even though it may be a little over the top for what is happening, we do not know, and that is part of the mystery of the novel, as we do not properly know what kind of people they are escaping from, if they are still classed as people that is.
I chose the above image as it reminded me of the man and his son, as we do not completely know them or understand them as McCarthy does not let us get too attached to them, so to us they are empty, therefore I thought that this image was apropriate.
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