The Road continues its story with the man and the son having to move from the miracle bunker in order to avoid being found by the cannibals. They keep walking on the road, and eventually they find unexpected company. Described with McCarthy's words, they found "an old man, small and bent," who carried, "an old army rucksack with a blanket roll tied across the top of it and he tapped along with a peeled stick for a cane."(p.161). The description of this man lead me to realize how vivid the image had appeared in my mind.Throughout the novel, McCarthy has a special touch in description. Of course, this is necessary in a novel were the reader needs a detailed description of the world that surrounds the characters in order to fully understand their situation. It's hard for readers to imagine a barren world of ash and debris, as they comfortably sit on a plump couch reading at the warmth of a glowing sunset with a tranquil world of trees and playing children displayed right out their window.
McCarthy's grim descriptions of his world are able to rip the unwary reader from his snug environment, and thrust him into this terrible wasteland of hunger and sorrow. His words are able to send chills through the reader’s skin when merciless rain drives the desperate couple to search for shelter in, "houses or barns or under the bank of a roadside ditch with the blankets pulled over their heads and the noon sky black as the cellars of hell."(p.177). He can also spread the feeling of despair or horror, for example, when the kid realizes with a sudden void in his stomach that he left the gas valve open.Thanks to McCarthy's vocabulary, it's possible to comprehend the true profundity of the circumstances in the novel, and by fully connecting to the story, the reader can experience it as an active spectator, rather than a mere observer.
And don't forget the way McCarthy can describe the lasting death. I wonder what he has seen to be able to write such magnificent describes of things that one is frightened to explore. As I read, I see in the soul of Cormac McCarthy, I wonder if the father is him, or a fear of not becoming. Something like that. I puzzle at the exact words that create a world most never dream of and can't dream of when they try. Who is Cormac McCarthy is a good question to ask, I think.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way Maria Laura talked about the descriptions in The Road, and how they take the reader away from this perfect world and make the situation believable and terrible just using the power of words. I too have commented on my blog about the power of McCarthy's descriptions, and I realized that without the lively descriptions, the book would be nothing, and would mean nothing. It is through those vivid images that we can put ourselves in the man's desolate life, to be able to understand what they are going through and feel their pain. I love the way Maria Laura expressed that, and I feel that the blog's descriptions make justice to The Road's descriptions, because of how strong and powerful they are.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maria Laura about how McCarthy expresses everything in detail and describes everything in a very visual manner. Evry moment you are reading this novel,you always have a constant clear visual image of whats happening in the story. I also agree that he uses powerful words to describe the miserable situation they're in and giving you images of suffering and depressiln. And really the whole time there's this gloomy setting that makes you picture everythings gray and sad, The only moment I can remember in the story where i pictured a color other than gray, was when the dad and his son find the unopened can of Coca Cola.
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