Post-Apocalyptic Literature

Post-apocalyptic narratives are set after some devastating event has occurred which has destroyed the fabric of society. This might be anything from nuclear war, terrorism, biological warfare or industrial disaster to disease, climate change or technological meltdown. In some cases the event which has brought about such devastation might never be specified. 

1) The Fall of Civilization:

The nuclear disaster had destroyed the very things that bind society together. However, the man and the boy cling onto the things that they've socialised into, even though that society no longer exists.
'The tattered oilcompany road map had once been taped together but now it was just sorted into leaves and numbered with crayon in the corners for their assembly.' (43)
Despite the fact the map is destroyed, the characters are still clinging onto it. This could be seen as ironic. Because the map is ripped apart, they've had to decide what goes where even though where they're going doesn't exist anymore. '...numbered with crayon in the corners for their assembly. Here is could be seen that the man is still clinging onto order and structure.
Furthermore, the man leaves behind precious/valuable items - a picture of his wife, a driver's license etc - however, normally people would cling onto those things the most. this heightens the idea that the man is choosing to let go of the past. 

> 'tattered oilcompany roadmap' (43)
> 'Everything was covered in ash' (191)

2) The thoughts and actions of the survivors are what counts:

> The actions the man and the boy carry out cause them to live or die. The man chose to kill the Roadrat to save the boy. 'leveled the pistol and fired from a two handed position' (65)
> The man thought there was something wrong and his assumptions  were right. It's what 'counts' because it keeps them alive. 
> They decide who's the good guys and the bad guys which suggests they've come across people beforehand. 
> The man and the boy aren't the only survivors. (bandits, gangs, the thief, Ely, all had to make decisions to ensure their survival.)

The 'Woman'

Woman: 14

Mother: 2

Mom: 1

Wife: 1

Man: 184

Father: 23

Papa: 135

Merging of styles = Post- Modern

Characterisation in the novel:
The characterisation throughout the novel is not distinct. This may be because society has broken down, therefore the characters no longer have sense of who they are anymore as the apocalypse has been going on for such a long time. However, as the novel progresses hints of the man's identity becomes more evident. He runs a bath and the sink to ensure he has water at the beginning of events, 'He dropped to one knee and raised the lever to stop the tub and then turned on both taps as far as they would go.' [The Woman:] 'Why are you taking a bath?' [The Man:] 'I'm not.' and before he shoots the Roadrat, he describes the various parts of the brain in which the bullet will enter and kill him. 'The bullet travels faster than sound. It will be in your brain before you can hear it. To hear it you will need a frontal lobe and things with names like colliculus andtemporal gyrus and you wont have them anymore.' (67) This provides the reader with ideas as to who the man was before an unknown force destroyed civilisation. However, McCarthy does not go into detail about the man's past as it is no longer relevant.

The reader cannot easily emotionally connect with the man, the boy or the woman as they say very little. As the novel begins in medias res, the reader is quick to calculate what is happening, and make quick connections and decisions about each character without actually knowing them. Here, it could be seen that this was McCarthy's intentions. McCarthy may have wanted the reader to know and feel what the characters do, and become part of the novel. This may be why he describes scenes, situations and events in such detail, as it's what the characters see, leaving little description and depth into characters such as the thief, Ely or the Roadrat.  Therefore, the reader is experiencing similar feelings to the characters so they are engaging with the narrative and understanding the charatcers' reactions to events much more.This may also be why the man simply categorises people into 'good guys' and 'bad guys', as he knows very little about them, as well as the reader.

The woman: 

Does she add chronology to the book?
Yes. McCarthy uses the woman to distinguish when flashbacks are occurring and allows the reader to adjust to the settings, time, context of what is happening. It helps move the story along and develop it as previous actions are the cause for future/present actions. For example, because the woman left, the man now has to detach himself from the memories and the temptation to follow her. He does this by leaving his personal belongings behind. He throws away the wallet, then lays his wife's picture on the road and leaves.

However, time has no relevance anymore 'He thought the month was October but he wasnt sure'. (2) This leaves the reader questioning how relevant the woman actually is as the amount of time she has been gone for isn't clear. This loss of time could also represent the journey they are on seeming endless.


The marginal role the Woman plays in the novel:

(Analyse the speculative thoughts about the presence (or absence) of the women in the novel)

Why she doesn't appear much:

> She left in bitterness and they don't want to be reminded of that.
> Because the novel is about the man and the boy's journey, and her constant reference may interfere with the significance of the father/son bond McCarthy was writing about. 

Why she does appear:

> Because it's a horrible world and they want to go back to when it was nice.
'You forget the things you want to remember and remember the things you want to forget' may suggest the man is desperate to forget about her, but simply can't.

Is she strong or weak for committing suicide?
Both. She couldn't face to go through any of the horrors that await her and continue to fight to see what happens. However, for her to choose death over life, there must have been a significant amount of pressure and extreme stress on her mentality without outlets for relief. This would have consequently weakened her psychological stability. I feel as she detached herself so much by being realistic, it made it easier for her to be swayed to choose death over life.
She needed someone else to make her want to stay alive and the man wasn't enough as his mentality was also being weakened. 'I've taken a new lover.' > She wants to be with death more than with the man.
'She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift.'
In this quote, the 'coldness' being referred to as a 'gift' almost personifies her death into a positive, pleasant thing. The 'gift' to the man and the boy was her non-emotional death. This meant they didn't have to suffer and neither did she - in a way it was what they all wanted. The woman had 'gone', just like many other people in the novel and McCarthy doesn't focus on this event over any other death suggesting it's almost normal to the two. The father doesn't comfort the boy, as he wants him to be strong enough to handle situations like this. This shows the relationship between the father and son being distant but supportive.

Task 2: Relating 'The Woman' to the statements:

Think about: 

• –  The context in which the woman is mentioned (What is occurring when she's mentioned)
• –  Representation 
• –  Thematic functions 
• –  Symbolic functions 
• –  Structural functions 
• –  Possible reasons for absence

Statement 5;

'The woman has a powerful and ambiguous symbolic function in the novel: she represents both the giving of life and the temptation of death.'

> She is an counter-example to the man: someone who can't adjust to the brutal, new world and chose to give up by slitting her wrists with obsidian. 'She would do it with a flake of obsidian. He'd taught her himself.' (60)
> McCarthy describes her as seductive & cold because of the temptation to be with her

>The 'giving of life' is the Boy, however,  'my heart was ripped out of me the night he was born' (59). This quote the woman gives shows that as her 'heart was ripped out', life isn't a positive thing. The devastation she feels knowing the boy will grow up in decay and destruction may be why she feels so negatively and hopeless towards life, as nothing will ever get better. 

Statement 8;
'For the man, the woman’s absence is a constant reminder of the alternative to struggling to survive.'

> The man checks the gun and keeps count of how many bullets he has left suggesting his temptation and thoughts are always with him.
> He leaves behind the picture of her to detach himself from her in order to survive  else he'll always think of her and the temptation will always be there. In order to survive, he needs to abolish that temptation.
> When he shoots the Roadrat, it's the end of his temptation because he's only got one bullet left. This means he can longer kill himself AND the boy. 

This novel makes me think of:

5 + 5= 1

Post-Apocalyptic Literature -  This type of literature is associated with ‘end of the world’ events.

Low-culture - The novel is influenced by B-Movies(Films to do with Aliens, Zombies, Gore) McCarthy took ideas from these low- cultured films and transformed them into a more profound, sophisticated perception of the horror genre.

Missile Crisis - The road was also influenced by the Cuban Missile crisis. McCarthy took his son to Nevada and was inspired by the thought of him and his son being the only people left in the world.

Post-Modern -  ‘The Road’ is deliberately mixed genres which suggest a more post-modern way of thinking.

Bricolage – This is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process. McCarthy took a range of influences when writing this novel, including those from low- culture interests.

Final word to summarise everything so far: 

Dystopia