The author used diction as a literary device to set the tone. “He stood and looked out the window. Gray trampled grass. Gray snow” (McCarthy 108). The tone the author uses is a sad, depressing one. Gray represents gloom and the McCarthy uses this word repeatedly throughout the novel. Similes are another literary device that the author uses. “The gray shape of the city vanished in the night’s onset like an apparition and he lit the little lamp and set it back out to the wind” (McCarthy 9). An apparition is a shadow or a supernatural appearance and this tone gives the tone a fearsome one. This dystopian world has people dying off, and so the father sees ghost like things making the tone frightening. Another literary device is imagery. Through other literary devices, including diction, the author creates great imagery for the reader. “Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before” (McCarthy 3). This quote is from the first page of the novel and it already is developing the tone of darkness. The author is a talented writer through his literary devices. McCarthy has tons of foreshadowing, even though some don’t lead to anything. “At night when he woke coughing he would sit up with his hand pushed over his head against the blackness. Like a man waking in a grave” (McCarthy 213). The tone throughout the novel stays relatively the same, and this quote shows the trouble the father is going through and foreshadows his death. Through the different literary devices, McCarthy is able to describe many tones throughout the novel.
I agree with Bailey that the author uses a sad and depressing tone. The author used a large amount of imagery to set this tone. I also agree that the word gray comes up frequently in the text. It sets the tone for their nights, an example would be, “In the long gray dusk they crossed a river and stopped and looked down from the concrete balustrade at the slow dead water passing underneath” (McCarthy 159). This shows how the gray brings a depressingly gloomy tone to the novel. This is scene throughout most of the novel when imagery is employed. The author uses some personification as well; an example is “Darkness coming fast. Darkness and cold” (81). This is personification because in context of the story, the darkness is after them and this establishes a dark tone. It shows how the characters are being chased by the paralyzing darkness. The author also used dialogue as a literary device. Conversations like, “How long can we stay here Papa? Not long. How long is that? I don’t know” (158), keep the story moving and the simplicity of their conversations creates an atmosphere of survival. This is because the dialogue is mostly used to hear the son’s thoughts on what is going on and for them to check in with each other. This helps readers feel the tone of the book.
I think both of you guys had a similar way of considering at the author’s use of literary devices to impact the tone of the book. I noticed that both of you said something along the lines of the story having a “sad and depressing tone” which I completely agree with. The author used a variety of literary devices; he used simple diction and imagery in one quote to create the tone of depression, for example, “Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray than what had gone before” (McCarthy 3). In addition to Bailey’s comment on the quote about it developing a tone of darkness from the very beginning of the novel, I believe it also represents the bleakness of life they have faced through their journey previously and to show that they have been on this quest to the coast for an extensive amount of time. I really agree with Felicia as well, and how she said that the character’s dialogue kept the story moving and represented a tone of wanting survival which goes hand in hand with misery, which I thought was a clear tone throughout the book. For example when the characters are talking to each other, “I wish I was with my mom… You mean you wish you were dead. Yes. You must not say that. But I do” (McCarthy 55). The author shows that the character feels like anything, anything at all, would be better than their journey through burned America.
The author used diction as a literary device to set the tone. “He stood and looked out the window. Gray trampled grass. Gray snow” (McCarthy 108). The tone the author uses is a sad, depressing one. Gray represents gloom and the McCarthy uses this word repeatedly throughout the novel. Similes are another literary device that the author uses. “The gray shape of the city vanished in the night’s onset like an apparition and he lit the little lamp and set it back out to the wind” (McCarthy 9). An apparition is a shadow or a supernatural appearance and this tone gives the tone a fearsome one. This dystopian world has people dying off, and so the father sees ghost like things making the tone frightening. Another literary device is imagery. Through other literary devices, including diction, the author creates great imagery for the reader. “Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before” (McCarthy 3). This quote is from the first page of the novel and it already is developing the tone of darkness. The author is a talented writer through his literary devices. McCarthy has tons of foreshadowing, even though some don’t lead to anything. “At night when he woke coughing he would sit up with his hand pushed over his head against the blackness. Like a man waking in a grave” (McCarthy 213). The tone throughout the novel stays relatively the same, and this quote shows the trouble the father is going through and foreshadows his death. Through the different literary devices, McCarthy is able to describe many tones throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bailey that the author uses a sad and depressing tone. The author used a large amount of imagery to set this tone. I also agree that the word gray comes up frequently in the text. It sets the tone for their nights, an example would be, “In the long gray dusk they crossed a river and stopped and looked down from the concrete balustrade at the slow dead water passing underneath” (McCarthy 159). This shows how the gray brings a depressingly gloomy tone to the novel. This is scene throughout most of the novel when imagery is employed. The author uses some personification as well; an example is “Darkness coming fast. Darkness and cold” (81). This is personification because in context of the story, the darkness is after them and this establishes a dark tone. It shows how the characters are being chased by the paralyzing darkness. The author also used dialogue as a literary device. Conversations like, “How long can we stay here Papa? Not long. How long is that? I don’t know” (158), keep the story moving and the simplicity of their conversations creates an atmosphere of survival. This is because the dialogue is mostly used to hear the son’s thoughts on what is going on and for them to check in with each other. This helps readers feel the tone of the book.
ReplyDeleteI think both of you guys had a similar way of considering at the author’s use of literary devices to impact the tone of the book. I noticed that both of you said something along the lines of the story having a “sad and depressing tone” which I completely agree with. The author used a variety of literary devices; he used simple diction and imagery in one quote to create the tone of depression, for example, “Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray than what had gone before” (McCarthy 3). In addition to Bailey’s comment on the quote about it developing a tone of darkness from the very beginning of the novel, I believe it also represents the bleakness of life they have faced through their journey previously and to show that they have been on this quest to the coast for an extensive amount of time. I really agree with Felicia as well, and how she said that the character’s dialogue kept the story moving and represented a tone of wanting survival which goes hand in hand with misery, which I thought was a clear tone throughout the book. For example when the characters are talking to each other, “I wish I was with my mom… You mean you wish you were dead. Yes. You must not say that. But I do” (McCarthy 55). The author shows that the character feels like anything, anything at all, would be better than their journey through burned America.
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