Quotations...

This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.


When read aloud, the sentence reads with such a mundane feel. It lours the reader into a false sense of security, making the horror nearly miss able. But when re read, the line bares its self fully, the short, blunt sentences show the mans guilt and almost embarrassment of the situation. As if he wishes to get it facts of what has happened over with, as quickly and emmotionlessly as possible. 'That is my job' comes across to me as if the man is trying to redeem himself, showing he takes his role of fathering the boy responsibly, just as you would take a job responsibly, doing whatever necessary. However it could also be argued that the man is being completely selfish, keeping his son trapped in such a terrible world because he knows he could never face it on his own. The use of the word 'job', makes the man feel like by protecting his son he is getting some kind of payment from it, not being alone, or completely losing his mind. In addition it could also be argued that the use of 'job' is harsh and cold, as if the man does not see parenting the boy as something he chose to do, more something he has to do. Washing the boys head and hair also has strong links to baptism, the man could be figuratively washing away what the boy has experienced and witnessed, his sins; just like a priest washes away a persons sins through the baptism ceremony. 



Yes I am, he said. I am the one.


The man ‘stating’ he is the one could be seen as arrogant and selfish, especially in such a bleak and despairing time. However if we think about it, he is the one, the one that makes everything happen, and by ensuring he is looks after himself he can more importantly look after his son, physically and mentally. He has to take on this selfish character because if he didn’t ultimately they would die. He may have to steal food, force the boy to keep walking day after day, and keep the boy going even when they are on the brink of starvation. Because if he didn’t they would be in a far worse state than they are now, wallowing in self-pity and self-loathing, both wanting their lives to be ended. The father gives his son life, without him he would never survive and you can see the how adamant he is to say he is ‘the one’ because he knows if he was not what his sons life could easily be like.   

Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricot. Canned hams. Corned beef.

Initially reading these words, they are filled with joy and beauty; marvelling not only at the amount of food but also the types, and the vibrant colours that quickly pop into my mind. It is such a fantastic contrast from the incessant bleakness and monotony. But is it really? Before finding the supply they man and the boy were on the brink of starvation, which also meant on the brink death. It all could have been over, this horrible world finally not haunting them anymore, and they wouldn’t have been giving up, killing themselves, they would have been fighting till the bitter end. However finding the supply means they will live on, but they cant stay there, they can’t carry enough food to last forever and it will eventually run out. And when it does the physical and mental pain of the endless searching and hunger starts all over again. It’s like a vicious cycle. Also all of the food they find is in tins, obviously so it will last, but this means it has all been modified in some way, altered by mankind, nothing is fresh and natural. Just as you feel that whatever happened to the world for it to become such a desolate state was not something that naturally occurred, it was perhaps a human alteration gone wrong, or maybe mankind just tried to modify the world to much? 

Are we still the good guys, he said.     

The lack of punctuation in this line makes it a statement not a question, in doing this it almost become an accusation towards the father and how he is running their lives now. The boy can obviously see a change in how they have begun to morally live their lives, and want to confirm what they are doing is still ‘good’ as throughout the novel we see time and time again he is a massively considerate to everyone and everything around him. Also it is as if making the line into a question would have been pointless, as there is no one to hear and respond to the boy, or no one to compare their deeds too. Conjuring up an image a completely isolated image, showing just how alone the man and boy are, in this vast world.  

We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didnt.   

The man’s reluctance to leave could be seen as a metaphor for his reluctance to leave his old life behind. I think the realisation he will never return to his old life has already almost sunk in, however he knows that to move on, look the after the boy and ensure they live, he must stamp out any flicker of hope that he will ever see a life like that again. He needs to rip the memories and the feelings from his mind and get rid of them, otherwise he knows he will cause him and in turn his son immense psychological pain that could be the end of them.  

The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.

This quote covers the past and present tense, showing that the snow also covers the past and present tense, as do all the horrors the man and the boy are facing. They are endless. The snow is a metaphor for their lives, that just like snow their lives are a vast expansion of cold, bleak, nothingness, one day merging into the next, with no flicker of joy or hope. And this is snow that doesn’t melt away to expose a healthy, vibrant new world underneath, this snow is here to stay.    

Okay? Okay.

This may be a little irrational, and is only an idea but for me this statement could sum the book up. The first ‘okay?’ is a question; someone is searching and asking for an answer, the second ‘okay.’ Is an acceptance, the answer has been found or acceptance there is no more the person needs to know, it is final, shown by the abrupt full stop. This questioning, finding the answer and then the acceptance is like the book as a whole. The book starts with the man and the boy both searching for answers to why the world has ended up in this post-apocalyptic state, shown by the boys intrigue with the past and also intense questioning to the father. Although we never find out why the world became such a state, and I don’t think the man or the boy fully know ether, there is a sense of acceptance between them like the know they have no power to change what has happen, it is a fact and it final, just like the full stop.  

They sat on the edge of the tub and pulled their shoes on and then he handed the boy the pan and soap he took the stove and the little bottle of gas and the pistol and wrapped in their blankets and they went back across the yard to the bunker

This sentences has to be one of the very few long sentences McCarthy writes throughout the whole novel so it stands out a prominently, Also with the repetition of ‘and’ eight times, The actions the man and boy are carrying out seem tedious and monotonous. Almost like they have developed a routine, So practiced that there is no need for ether of them to question the situation as they know exactly what the next move is. Things are predictiable and what the man and boy have come to know as normality.    

Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth

The word tolling draws out the sentence when read aloud, reflecting how slowly time seems to be passing as if time itself feels it has no purpose anymore, it too has nearly given up. ‘Silence of the earth’ is a chilling thought, but for the man and boy a chilling reality. For the world to be utterly silent, for there to be no sound at all is something try as we might we can’t even imagine, everything has gone and there is nothing left to even prove it ever existed. A haunting image, and we as a reader want something or someone to blame, but who is there? No one.  

She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift

For coldness to be classed as a gift, shows the man’s utter desperation to cling onto a past memory or an emotion he once felt, as he seems to feel nothing of any positivity anymore. He knows he need to cling onto something, or else he will start slipping away, from his son as his life. However when read, the line itself is completely emotionless, showing the gift wasn’t a thing he asked for or requested it was just thrust upon for him to deal with. It could be argued, linking to the first quotation where the boy goes through the horror of a dead man’s brains on his head, as hard as he tried he has unintentionally passed this ‘gift’ on to his son. We as readers start to realise that the boy receives and feels nothing but coldness.