The Road: More notes and links

Hi,

Here are some more notes on The Road to look over and use for revision:

I'd also recommend you take a look through the revision materials here. There's stuff on each of the poems (although be aware that a couple of the poems are no longer examined) and lots of useful stuff on The Road.

Mr M

The Road: Notes on style

Hi,

Here are some more resources, this time focused primarily on Cormac McCarthy's prose style:

Next, I'll be posting some final notes and some very useful revision links.

Remember, I highly recommend the Connell's study guide too.


Mr M

Revision: Essays on Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'

Hi,

Now we've reached the end of the novel, I wanted to share various resources, essays and links which you might find useful for revision purposes.

First of all, here are some good articles and essays about The Road:

I'll blog again later with some more useful Road resources.


Mr M

The Road - McCarthy's style

Hi folks,

Here are a number of interpretations of the significance of McCarthy's style in The Road.

What do you think?


1. The limited linguistic palette and repetitive techniques echo the monotony of the post-apocalyptic world that is described.

2. The repetitive language echoes the idea of being on the road, constantly travelling.

3. The death of everything living – plants, trees, creatures and most other human beings – is evoked through the bleakness and ‘deadness’ of the language.

4. There is a powerfully poetic effect in the simplicity of the language. By avoiding rhetorical flourishes and elaborate language the writer makes a stronger impact. The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live – essentials only.

5. Avoiding emotionally language and keeping it simple makes the narrative all the more emotionally engaging.

6. The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live.

7. The limited palette makes the story more universal, a fable for all time, rather than pinning it down with lots of elaborate details describing specific places.

8. There’s something rather dull about the style that makes it hard to read and difficult to distinguish one part of the book from the next. All the events seem to merge together.

9. The lack of hyperbolic language highlights the extremity of the situation.


As I said today, you need to be ready to discuss what you know about McCarthy's language (+ structure and form) and relate it to the 'chapter' you are asked about. These general statements might help you to put together an argument about a particular section in your exam.



Mr M

Introducing The Road...

Hi,

Here's a powerpoint I put together when my Year 13s (last year's) were doing presentations about texts to do for their comparative piece.

There's a bit of info about Cormac McCarthy and some stuff about how it has been interpreted by critics. Think of this as a 'teaser trailer' for what is to come this term...



Mr M