The simple dialogue and grammar in The Road affect it greatly. In the book the author does not include quotation marks and a lot of punctuation, which results in a very simple and bare story but still contains a lot of meaning to it. This style of writing the author, Cormac McCarthy, uses represents the story in a way that reflects the setting of the story because it is very stripped and empty. “Is it cold? Yes. It’s freezing. Do you want to go in? I dont know. Sure you do. Is it okay? Come in.” (McCarthy 38). When McCarthy writes the man and the boy talking in the book it is in very simple and quick, short bursts of words. The story does not need to be complex; instead the author is focusing on the journey the characters go through and the story that is told throughout the book. The dialogue between the man and the boy can also be very short and to the point because the boy is very young and has not had proper schooling. The setting of the plot is a very dark and torn world with very little things because of an event that happened in the past, this event leaves common things from the past extinct, like schools. The boy does not have very much knowledge because of this and it is very evident from his saying “Do you think there might be crows somewhere? I dont know. But what do you think? I think it’s unlikely. Could they fly to Mars or someplace? No. they couldnt.” (McCarthy 157). The man could be talking in short, to the point sentences because the boy cannot really comprehend longer or more complicated dialogue due to his age and his lack of knowledge in the setting McCarthy depicts.
I completely agree with Mathew Walawender and his scholarly post. Cormac used the simple dialogue so that it would not distract from the story and keep true to its theme. To tell this story there is no need to have complex dialogue. He also uses it to show that the boy cannot remember what the world used to be like. This is evident when the boy says “is it blue? The sea? I don’t know. It used to be (McCarthy 182)” the boy has nothing to talk about except for the horrible things he has seen. He has only heard stuff from his father. Like the ocean is blue, but the child will never see these things that we all take for granted. I would also like to add that maybe there is a lack of grammar to confuse the reader. When the man was talking to the old man he said “I don’t know. You don’t remember. I ate just now. Do you want to eat with us? I don’t know. You don’t know? Eat what (McCarthy 168).” This was made to be confusing on purpose. Everything in this world for the boy and the man is hard to comprehend and understand. They have limited access to information and don’t know very much. Cormac was trying to make the reader confused just like the man and the boy.
The simple dialogue and grammar in The Road affect it greatly. In the book the author does not include quotation marks and a lot of punctuation, which results in a very simple and bare story but still contains a lot of meaning to it. This style of writing the author, Cormac McCarthy, uses represents the story in a way that reflects the setting of the story because it is very stripped and empty.
ReplyDelete“Is it cold? Yes. It’s freezing. Do you want to go in? I dont know. Sure you do. Is it okay? Come in.” (McCarthy 38). When McCarthy writes the man and the boy talking in the book it is in very simple and quick, short bursts of words. The story does not need to be complex; instead the author is focusing on the journey the characters go through and the story that is told throughout the book.
The dialogue between the man and the boy can also be very short and to the point because the boy is very young and has not had proper schooling. The setting of the plot is a very dark and torn world with very little things because of an event that happened in the past, this event leaves common things from the past extinct, like schools. The boy does not have very much knowledge because of this and it is very evident from his saying “Do you think there might be crows somewhere? I dont know. But what do you think? I think it’s unlikely. Could they fly to Mars or someplace? No. they couldnt.” (McCarthy 157). The man could be talking in short, to the point sentences because the boy cannot really comprehend longer or more complicated dialogue due to his age and his lack of knowledge in the setting McCarthy depicts.
I completely agree with Mathew Walawender and his scholarly post. Cormac used the simple dialogue so that it would not distract from the story and keep true to its theme. To tell this story there is no need to have complex dialogue. He also uses it to show that the boy cannot remember what the world used to be like. This is evident when the boy says “is it blue? The sea? I don’t know. It used to be (McCarthy 182)” the boy has nothing to talk about except for the horrible things he has seen. He has only heard stuff from his father. Like the ocean is blue, but the child will never see these things that we all take for granted. I would also like to add that maybe there is a lack of grammar to confuse the reader. When the man was talking to the old man he said “I don’t know. You don’t remember. I ate just now. Do you want to eat with us? I don’t know. You don’t know? Eat what (McCarthy 168).” This was made to be confusing on purpose. Everything in this world for the boy and the man is hard to comprehend and understand. They have limited access to information and don’t know very much. Cormac was trying to make the reader confused just like the man and the boy.
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