Cormac McCarthy got some style!
Hey guys, it's me again. In this edition of CQ's Boulevard of Broken Dreams (where I keep you updated on Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road) we will take a look at McCarthy's writing style he uses throughout the novel.
Throughout the first half of the novel, McCarthy constructs a pattern to his writing that is unique to anything I've ever read. There are two characters in the story: the boy and the man. Each of them has their own unique structure of writing that only applies to them. For example, the speaker only reveals the thoughts of the man: "He'd been visited in a dream by creatures of a kind he'd never seen before." (153) We can see the man's complex thoughts such as his dreams.
It is common for McCarthy to list tasks being done by the man, with short sentences without the use of commas. "The ashes were cold. Some blackened pots stood about. He squatted on his heels and picked one up and smelled it and put it back. He stood and looked out the window. Gray trampled grass. Gray snow." (108) This sentence structure makes up 90% of what's been read so far. This serves to prime the appearance of a deeper thought, making it that much more powerful. It is often, for these deep passages to come at the end of Cormac's 'listing'. "Hold him in your arms. Just so. The soul is quick. Pull him towards you. Kiss him. Quickly." (114) That line comes at the very end of a passage in which the man lists off the ammunition he'd stored for his revolver. The line is placed their so the reader gets re-engaged after being hypnotized by the ever-so-long lists. Cormac's words are powerful when he wants them to be, and he does this about once or twice a section. Notice also, this novel has no chapters, no parts. Just breaks (***) in the paragraphs to note a shift in the story.
Just when you think Cormac's book couldn't break anymore ethics in writing, he decides not to use any quotation marks during dialogue. The father could be thinking something and then completely out of the blue the son will abruptly say something like If they find us they'll kill us, won't they Papa. (115) No quotations. At first, it was hard to pick up when the boy or the father was actually speaking in the story, but as I got more and more used to it, I began to realize the effect Cormac's decision to not use quotation marks has on the flow of reading. He makes it clear and spaced out whenever the characters are talking about something important. This stands out to the reader and adds emphasis. However when it is just useless blabbing, or anything non-important Cormac randomly places the dialogue into his bulk passages.
So, overall if you are a slow reader and prefer to not have to read every line four times just to get the underlying meaning-this book is for you. I must say, Cormac really gives you the exact words you need to hear, and sometimes they can be a little too exact for the normal citizen's liking. However I'm glad that I chose to read this thriller because it has showed me that a writer can have structure even when he/she writes a basic stream of thought. Cormac has done this throughout the entire first half of the novel, and it creates the suspenseful flow that this story depends on. Cormac McCarthy, why can't every author write like you do? It makes things so much easier I must say.
PS
In this passage, there was a house containing trapped and starving humans that are soon to be preyed on by the cannibals. And yes, our two main characters venture inside. You're welcome :)
Throughout the first half of the novel, McCarthy constructs a pattern to his writing that is unique to anything I've ever read. There are two characters in the story: the boy and the man. Each of them has their own unique structure of writing that only applies to them. For example, the speaker only reveals the thoughts of the man: "He'd been visited in a dream by creatures of a kind he'd never seen before." (153) We can see the man's complex thoughts such as his dreams.
It is common for McCarthy to list tasks being done by the man, with short sentences without the use of commas. "The ashes were cold. Some blackened pots stood about. He squatted on his heels and picked one up and smelled it and put it back. He stood and looked out the window. Gray trampled grass. Gray snow." (108) This sentence structure makes up 90% of what's been read so far. This serves to prime the appearance of a deeper thought, making it that much more powerful. It is often, for these deep passages to come at the end of Cormac's 'listing'. "Hold him in your arms. Just so. The soul is quick. Pull him towards you. Kiss him. Quickly." (114) That line comes at the very end of a passage in which the man lists off the ammunition he'd stored for his revolver. The line is placed their so the reader gets re-engaged after being hypnotized by the ever-so-long lists. Cormac's words are powerful when he wants them to be, and he does this about once or twice a section. Notice also, this novel has no chapters, no parts. Just breaks (***) in the paragraphs to note a shift in the story.
Just when you think Cormac's book couldn't break anymore ethics in writing, he decides not to use any quotation marks during dialogue. The father could be thinking something and then completely out of the blue the son will abruptly say something like If they find us they'll kill us, won't they Papa. (115) No quotations. At first, it was hard to pick up when the boy or the father was actually speaking in the story, but as I got more and more used to it, I began to realize the effect Cormac's decision to not use quotation marks has on the flow of reading. He makes it clear and spaced out whenever the characters are talking about something important. This stands out to the reader and adds emphasis. However when it is just useless blabbing, or anything non-important Cormac randomly places the dialogue into his bulk passages.
So, overall if you are a slow reader and prefer to not have to read every line four times just to get the underlying meaning-this book is for you. I must say, Cormac really gives you the exact words you need to hear, and sometimes they can be a little too exact for the normal citizen's liking. However I'm glad that I chose to read this thriller because it has showed me that a writer can have structure even when he/she writes a basic stream of thought. Cormac has done this throughout the entire first half of the novel, and it creates the suspenseful flow that this story depends on. Cormac McCarthy, why can't every author write like you do? It makes things so much easier I must say.
PS
In this passage, there was a house containing trapped and starving humans that are soon to be preyed on by the cannibals. And yes, our two main characters venture inside. You're welcome :)
Upon making the bold decision to click on this blog post I was pleasantly surprised to be rewarded by the sight of the name Cormac McCarthy--the author of my own free choice book. Even more surprising though was the realization that you chose to write about McCarthy's writing style for this particular blog post--the exact same topic that I chose to write about in my own blog post (a coincidence too close for comfort if you ask me). However, after eventually moving past my suspicions of plagiarism I found your post to be quite interesting because of how it allowed me to see how McCarthy's writing in the "The Road" compares to his writing in "No Country for Old Men." For instance, your description of the structure of McCarthy's sentences as short and matter of fact resonated with me because of how well it reflects his repetitive and often nondescript writing in my book. Furthermore, McCarthy's refusal to use common punctuation including commas and quotations admittedly required some acclimation over the course of my reading--an experience that you seem to be able to relate to quite well. In conclusion, I found this post to be especially interesting because of how your analysis supported and furthered my own understanding of McCarthy's writing style.
ReplyDeleteCarter, good job talking about the style. I like how you mention how short each sentence and dialogue normally is along with how the novel has no chapters. Why do you think Cormac decided not to put any chapters into the book and have the only character who speaks more than a few words the mother who so far we have only met like twice?
ReplyDeleteCarter, you mention that McCarthy writes the "exact words you need to hear, and sometimes they can be a little too exact." Is there an example of something that's too exact? And why are they too exact? Students in the past have disliked the lack of chapter breaks, since there is no natural place to stop reading. Why do you think he chose this strategy, as it isn't typical for all of his novels?
ReplyDelete