How Does the Writer Tell the Story in the Road Pages 24-7 Essay

The narrative in Pages 24-7 is based on the main character taking his son to see the old house he lived in. It consists of generally a sad tone because he is reminiscing his past and how he has lost it all. This part of the novel begins neutrally, but with an apocalyptic atmosphere to it, which is demonstrated through the use of no punctuation. McCarthy also uses short sentences through these pages, which gives a robotic sense – ‘The man stopped.’ This idea is also reflected in the title ‘The Road’; almost as if the journey is just on one set path. This takes us away from the blur of the novel and brings us to a stark reality, The climax in this part of the novel is when McCarthy describes the character’s bedroom, in which he uses detailed description – ‘In the nights in their thousands to dream the dreams of a child’s imaginings’, and then goes on to open the closet door. Again, we are brought back to reality when he expects to see his childhood things and instead is faced with ‘raw cold daylight’. The page ends circling back to the beginning ‘We shouldn’t have come’, which is what the b oy said at the beginning. Therefore, there is a sense of resolution. The form of these pages is retrospective narrative punctuated by flashbacks over a period of 40 years. As the narrative is from 3rd person perspective, the anonymity of ‘the man’ prevents a connection being made between the reader and the character. This also suggests that, because his name is never mentioned, a sense of being lost is portrayed. Additionally, the constant flashbacks used contribute to the idea that the days are blurring together. Again, this adds to the apocalyptic theme because there is no sense of prediction due to the only clear parts of the novel are the moments of reality when we are brought back from the flashbacks. McCarthy does this as an effective way of showing the character’s thought process. The main use of language McCarthy uses is to set the negative tone of being in a lost, almost sad and lonely world. Again, he does this by using short, snappy sentences and a lot of the dialogue used includes questioning. This could refer to the boy’s confusion of the situation, as he seems quite young and naà ¯ve – ‘We should go Papa, can we go?’ Moreover, this suggests that he needs reassurance, and perhaps that there is a glimmer of hope in the situation, which perhaps could foreshadow to what could happen later on in the novel. We can also learn that the man doesn’t want to return from his old home as he agrees to leave but then doesn’t, which connotes that he misses how things used to be in his old home. The rhythm in this part of the novel goes on and on through McCarthy’s use of short sentences and questions, which almost leaves the reader feeling out of breath and as if ‘The Road’ and its journey is ongoing. In conclusion, McCarthy uses a range of techniques to tell the story from Pages 24-27 to generally contribute to the main themes within the novel, such as death and the ‘end of the world’.