A Vines' Online Journal

1. An example to show that The Road is set during a nuclear war or disaster is shown when McCarthy states that ‘the clocks stopped at 1:17.’ This shows the exact time of impact which changed the USA and possibly the world forever. Another factor which contributes to the setting and lacking scenery is when the father ‘stood there thinking about cows and he realized they were extinct’, this leads to the conclusion that a nuclear disaster caused the extinction of a wide spread animal. Another possible theory is that there was a nuclear war that caused barren land leading to the air in the surrounding areas to not being clean, which would cause the father to see a vast change in the ‘open country to the east’ where ‘the air was different’, suggesting the air nearer the coast was cleaner.

2. If The Road is based on a nuclear disaster then the only remaining resource on Earth is humans who need the biosphere to survive; without a substantial food flow human social groupings would break down causing civilisation to come to a halt. During The Road no one comes to rescue the father and boy; they are simply left to fend for themselves. I think a simplistic overview of McCarthy’s message from the book is that when in a time of isolation, love and care can triumph the gruel reality. This idea is shown by the instinctive choices the father decides to make so that his son can have food and simply be a child again and go swimming. The trust between the pair played a key part in their survival!

3. The father states that ‘on this road there are no godspoken men, they are gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world.’ This quote refers to the people that are left who are strictly in survival mode, and ignore morality. The father implies that he is not a godspoken man and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him and his son alive, even if that means shooting a man who possibly did not have any intentions of hurting the boy. The many descriptions of a scorched landscape covered in ash paint a very bleak and lifeless existence that perhaps will never recover from the disaster. The ash seems to linger everywhere as if it’s a constant reminder of the devastating situation that the father and son currently face and will continue to battle for the near future.

Write about the significance of the ways three writers you have studied have used places in their narratives

F.Scott Fitzgerald uses location to distinguish between different social classes. For example Nick describes East Egg as the wealthier location when compared to West Egg. Although West Egg is the less financially secure ‘Egg’ , Gatsby lives there despite his great wealth. Therefore suggesting that Gatsby does not think highly of himself; his physical state pours wealth and happiness yet his mental state dramatically contrasts by being trapped in a postwar society where necessities were scarce and precious. Another way Fitzgerald draws importance to location is the water that separates Gatsby and Daisy. The water acts as a physical barrier between the two lovers where their feelings and emotions drown due to the strain of separation.

Christina Rossetti uses religious locations within her poems to set the scene. For example in the poem ‘The Covent Threshold’ Rossetti displays a great interest in ‘stairs that mount above’ and ‘stairs are meant to lift us higher’. The location of stairs entwined with religious beliefs allows the reader to interpret their own ideas about where religion allows you to go. The reader can determine whether the stairs lead to heaven or a wooden door. Rossetti also makes reference to rural locations such as ‘hills’ and ‘mountain’ which link to the idea of open space and freedom; Rossetti’s physical heaven on Earth.

Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ does not contain concrete evidence of exact locations, only vague insights to where the father and son are heading. This concept allows the reader to be part of the journey, somewhat the third traveller due to only discovering where the duo are as soon as they realise their coordinates. McCarthy also puts locations under questioning, for example the father’s childhood home once a safe haven turned into an isolated corner of the land where memories have faded into pieces of furniture. This contrasts with an unfamiliar location where the boy and father are at ease; the waterfall. Entering unknown territory would naturally make the reader feel cautious yet the duo let their guard down and go swimming. McCarthy always keeps the reader, father and son on their toes when introducing a new location, never allowing anyone to know whether a site is going to be safe or hazardous.

‘The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live’

Using this statement as a focus point, I collected evidence from the book to back up the broad statement. The three quotes I found were:
1. ‘No sign of life.’ Page 20
2. ‘They lay in a field until dark watching the road but no none came. It was very cold.’ Page 198
3. ‘Tomorrow they would find something to eat.’ Page 92

The first quote is short but packs a big impact of just how bleak their life is. This makes me think of an oxymoron, because the quote would stick out on a page due to it only being four words long, and the father and son who need to keep a low profile and not gain attention.

The second quote uses language that is very simple and child-like, as if its the child who is thinking its very cold. McCarthy uses the word ‘cold’ 106 times and ‘dark’ 98 times throughout the whole novel to stress just how basic their lives are. McCarthy could have chosen more intricate words for describing the setting but its for a reason he chose unelaborate language.

The third quote implies how the structure of their day controls how they live. The quote sounds like it has a pattern to it ‘tomorrow they would find…’ Implying their lives follow a set structure over and over again.

dys·to·pi·a [dis-toh-pee-uh]
noun
a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

The idea of dystopia relates to The Road due to the various situations the father and son are experiencing. For example they are overwhelmed with the idea of battling through each day like its their last, this idea relates to the quote by Friedrich Nietzsche which states that ‘in the process he does not become a monster.’ The father and son should not fall into a state of mind where they survive by living off of fear…

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Free Verse

Right, let’s get the ball rolling with a quote from an American poet Robert Frost, who once said “Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” From what I can work out, the quote implying that free verse is a form of poetry where ideas can be thrown back and forth on the page until satisfactory.

The historical context (yes I know…the dull part but don’t give up on free verse just yet!) …here are some quick pointers about this writing genre:
It is said to have first been written during the 19th century in France, the aim was to create unrhymed French poetry of varied line lengths using free rhythms of natural speech, it was labelled ‘ver libre’…that’s ‘free verse’ to you and me. Contradicting the previous point is that some recon free verse dates back as late as King James Bible in 1380s, in the John Wycliffe’s translation of the Psalms.

Although free verse poems do not require rhyme, some poets will be sly and add rhythm through punctuation such as commas and also through repeated phrases. Poets were able to express their emotions through either rhyme or no rhyme.

I know you’re all thinking free verse must be easy to write due to not having to follow any rules, but you daren’t disagree with arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century…T.S.Elliot who wrote ‘No verse is free for the man who wants to do a good job’. Careful consideration is to be taken when choosing exact words due to the sound pattern. Due to the lack of fixed form, free verse poems have the potential to take unique shapes, simply because the writer has more control over the development of the poem and has the license to express emotion.

Here is an example of ‘ver libre’ by Carl Sandburg – Fog (1878)

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Welcome to your student blog, where you will be able to use the power of technology to display the power of your mind. I cannot wait to read your postings and to communicate with you about your work. All the best, Ms Turner.