TomKalo

EnglishAHL
Mr.Corkill
30thofJune,2016
TheRoadPaper2Practice
CormacMcCarthyisasuccessfulAmericanwriterandscenarist,whoseworksrankin
fieldsofwesternclassics,southerngothicalongwithpostapocalypticgenresthatthefamous
novelpublishedin2006TheRoadisabout.Thispieceofworkisratedasoneofthebestfrom
McCarthysarsenalandwasevengrantedwithPulitzersAwardin2006.Thenovelnarratesa
storyofawidowerandhissononajourneythrougheradicatedanddevastatedAmericanlands
andtheirbattleagainstthenaturalconditionsinthestruggleforsurvivaltoreachtheSouthand
coexistwiththerestofthelivinghumanpopulation.Byvirtueofthesefacts,thisnoveldeserves
acloselookontoMcCarthyspast,socialinfluenceandpersonalbackgroundwhilst,also,
investigatingthereceptionoftheworldononeofthebestMcCarthy'sworks.
BeforelookingatMcCarthy'sinfluencewhilehewasworkingonthenovel,theinfluence
beforewritingtheworkshouldbegivenattentionaswell.Tobeginwith,McCarthystarted
workingonthenovelwhenhevisitedElPasoinTexaswithoneofhissonsJohnin2003.The
cityhadmanycontrastsandoneofthemwasthecivilized,denselypopulatedcenterandthe
countrysidesthatweresparselypopulated,mainlycoveredwithdesertanddeadground.Onceat
midnight,McCarthywaslookingoutofthewindow,imaginingthecityfifty,hundredyearslater
withonlyhissoninit.Afterseeingthis,CormacMcCarthyhadavision.Hestartedwriting,
withoutagoalofevenpublishingit.Atfirst,itwasafewpages,however,whileonhisstayin

Ireland,herealizedhewroteawholealovestoryofhimandhissonwhoheperceivesasa
cowriter.
On5thofJune,2007,McCarthyprovidedhisfirstTVinterviewonTheOprahWinfrey
Showstatinghedoesnotknowanyotherwritersandthatheprefersthecompanyofscientists.
Furthermore,hementionedhewasvisitingtheSantaFeInstituteforsciencessincetheyearof
1992,whichexplainsthedetailed,vividandscientificdescriptionsoftheexterminatedAmerican
landscapes,palingawayintothemurk.Thesoftashblowinginlooseswirlsovertheblacktop,
(McCarthy,2006,pg.4).
ThereisalsoanotherpersonalcontextthatMcCarthyintentionallymentionedandthatis
thesettingsofthestory.Atthestartofthenovel,theboy,andthefatherwalkbyaroofslope
statingSeeRockCity,whichisafamousdestinationfortouristsintheSoutheasternUS,
Tennessee.ItisworthgivinganotetothefactMcCarthygrewupinTennessee,attendedthe
UniversityofTennesseeandsetsomeofhispreviousnovelsinTennesseeaswell.
McCarthyhasalsoinfluencedJamesJoyceandErnestHemingway,whowerethe
representativesoftheicebergtheory,whichincludesasmallamountoftext,however,presentsa
deepthoughtandstrength.Inadditiontothetheory,inalreadymentionedinterviewwithOprah
Winfrey,McCarthyhimselfsaidhepreferredsimple,declarativesentencesandthatonly
capitalletters,periods,commasandcolonsarenecessary,butnothingelse.Healsoexplainswhy
hedoesnotusequotationmarksandthatisbecauseaccordingtohimitboltsupthepagewith
weirdlittlemarks.

CormacMcCarthyalsofindsthispieceofworkverypersonalduetoaspecificreason:it
wasdedicatedtohisson,John.Thewritercallshissonacowriterandoftensaysheisoneofthe
reasonshewrotethenovel.Thelovebetweenthefatherandtheboyisaffectedbythelovefrom
McCarthytowardshisson,andthosefragmentsareoccasionallyreflectedinthework.Inthe
novel,therelationshipshowsastrongbondbetweenbothofthemandthefather'slovetowards
thesonviceversa.Bothofthecharactersareverycaring,anditisevenemphasizedinthenovel
whentheboyasks,WhatwouldyoudoifIdied?,andthefatherreplieswith,Iwouldwantto
die,too,highlightingthedependenceofthefatherontheson,andshowinghissonisthe
fathersonlyreasontosurviveandkeepmovingforwardtowardstheSouth.
Moreover,oneofthethemesislove.Whilesurvivinginaworldofchaosdevouredby
death,thenovelfindsitselfplaceswhenitdoesnotmatter.Ashandgrayclouds,spreadwith
burnttrees,grass,andpollutedwater,theauthorsetshighstandardsforloveandemphasizeson
thehumanitythebothfatherandsonhaveinspiteofthecircumstancesWhenhewokeinthe
woodsinthedarkandthecoldofthenighthe'dreachouttotouchthechildsleepingbeside
him.
Tobeclear,TheRoadisstillrelativelyrecentandthereisstillalottobesaidaboutthe
novel,however,themajoritymadepositivereviews.Thecriticsandthegeneralpublicbelieve
theworkisspectacular,andthatithighlightsthebondbetweenthefatherandsonduringtough
timeswhileexplainingtheterrificsituationinthestruggleforsurvivalalongwithdeathsof
individuals,throwbacks,kidnappings,cannibalism,hungerandfearofdeath.Furthermore,the
novelhasreceivedaPulitzerprizeforliterature.Also,manyofthepeoplefindthelackof
punctuationappealingandperceiveitasasymbolofthelossofhumanity.In2009,thenovel

wasadaptedintoamoviebytheCoenbrothers,whoalsoadaptedhispreviousworkNo
CountryforOldMen,whichreceivedfouracademyawardsandmostlypositivereviews.
TheworkTheRoadcreatedmanypositivereviewsandbroughtupagainathemethat
theaudiencemaydiscussandprofoundlycontemplatethefutureofourcivilizationwhilereading
thenoveljustasMcCarthydidinElPasoin2003whilethinkingabouthissonandTexasinthe
nextfifty,hundredyears.

980WORDS

Sources:

Smrsmr0502."CormacMcCarthyInterviewontheOprahWinfreyShow."YouTube.YouTube,08
June2014.Web.03Sept.2016.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3kpzuk1Y8I>.

ShmoopEditorialTeam."TheRoad."Shmoop.com.ShmoopUniversity,Inc.,11Nov.2008.
Web.04Sept.2016.<http://www.shmoop.com/theroadmccarthy/>.

Sources:
Frye,Steven.UnderstandingCormacMcCarthy.Columbia,SC:UofSouth
Carolina,2009.QuestiaSchool.Web.29June2016.

Greenwood,WillardP.ReadingCormacMcCarthy.SantaBarbara,CA:Libraries
Unlimited,2009.QuestiaSchool.Web.29June2016.

ShmoopEditorialTeam."NoCountryforOldMenIntroduction."Shmoop.com.
ShmoopUniversity,Inc.,11Nov.2008.Web.29June2016.

ShmoopEditorialTeam."TheRoad."Shmoop.com.ShmoopUniversity,Inc.,11
Nov.2008.Web.29June2016.

"Oprah'sExclusiveInterviewwithCormacMcCarthyVideo."Oprah.com.N.p.,n.d.
Web.29June2016.

"CormacMcCarthyonJamesJoyceandPunctuation."Oprah.com.N.p.,n.d.Web.
29June2016.