Symbolism in the Novel.
- The road or journey has often been used as a metaphor for life itself – the journey from birth to death.
The road may represent life as the man lives and dies on the road. It could be argued that the man is walking to his death. The two grow on the road, they change and mold into the people they are.The boy grows in to a positive and moral character. All the boy has ever know is the road, he has been brought up travelling along in the dark of night and the foggy days, his life began on the journey and may possibly finish on the same path however we don't find out as the boy is left walking along the road with the mysterious new family. Although the man is close to death we still see how he has changed throughout the novel and his journey along the dreary road, 'you have my whole heart. You always did' as the man is dieing we finally see the emotion between the man and the boy. It is as if the dark and long journey down the road has changed the man, he has grown to show the boy that it is okay to love something or someone. The man hid his emotion for so long i think this could be because his wife wanted him to hate her before her death. She hurt him. The man has never got over her death so he is never really open to his son until now. This shows the change throughout his life. The journey along the road represents the change within the mans life and how he dies happier now he has let out all of his feelings. I agree with this metaphor as many people live and die on that same road.
2. In American culture, the road is an important symbol. America is a large country and crossing the continent has been seen symbolically as representing a pioneering spirit – striking out into the unknown – or searching for oneself. Many classic American novels (and films) make a journey by road the focus for the narrative, for instance John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Jack Kerouac’s On The Road or the film Thelma and Louise.
2. In American culture, the road is an important symbol. America is a large country and crossing the continent has been seen symbolically as representing a pioneering spirit – striking out into the unknown – or searching for oneself. Many classic American novels (and films) make a journey by road the focus for the narrative, for instance John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Jack Kerouac’s On The Road or the film Thelma and Louise.
I agree that it could be argued that the man has a pioneering spirit. He is symbolised as a head- strong character that knows what he needs. This could be because of his past life? Maybe he was a soldier? Or a spy. He understand the world now, its as if he was trained for the end of the world, this is why he has a leading spirit. In my opinion McCarthy uses the road to present an adventurous narrative within the novel. It is a journey that represents hope. Where will it lead? Happiness or just more sadness? The reader follows the road as if they were there with the man and the boy. Although the man and the boy could be presented as having a pioneering personality, they have this kind of pioneering spirit because they have to. They have to keep following the road to survive. They don't want to give up because they don't want to die.The two are determined, they are determined to make it to the south to be safe. Therefore the road shows determination within the book, it shows hope. The road is an endless path. The road is symbolised as a endless path of sorrow, that no one knows if it will lead to happiness.
3. The epic journey has a much longer literary and cultural history. Going back to Greek literature, in Homer’s The Odyssey, Ulysses goes on a long journey and encounters many tests and trials, both physical and mental, before returning to his homeland. The epic work The Divine Comedy by the Italian medieval poet Dante shows the poet on a journey in the afterlife, to Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, shows the pilgrim Christian leaving his home in this world and travelling to the ‘Celestial City’. Gulliver’s Travels is a fantastical journey to other worlds, in which the main character discovers more about his own world by contrast with the societies he encounters.
I agree the journey shows tests for the man and the boy. The man is tested, 'just help him papa, help him' the boy is testing his father. Will he show morals and help a man who has wronged? Will he give a man a second chance in life, or will he take no pitty on the weak.
There are mental challenges for the man, challenges he can not overcome, 'i cant hold my son dead in my arms. i thought i could but i cant'. This is the constant challenge presented to the man throughout the whole of the novel however in the end we understand this challenge is just to hard for the man. He is distraught at the thought of this mental and physical challenge. The man is shown as a strong character and nothing can knock him down although towards the end of the novel we see his character deteriorate, we see he is not as unyielding as we once thought. In my opinion the road finally cracks the man's hard exterior. It gradually breaks his spirits, once he See's there is no hope left at the beach, he cannot keep going down the dark and gloomy road that never seems to end.
4. The journey as a structure for a novel implies a particular kind of pattern, where there are episodes along the way. The journey involves meeting new challenges and dangers, the chance of luck to bring fortune or difficulties, and is often structured around a struggle for survival, away from the routine and security of a home environment.
The journey along the road is split up into sections as if they were chapters. The road has so many challenges along the way that it could be presented and symbolised as hopelessness. Eventually everyone along the road will have to give up as there will always be a new challenge around every dingy corner. One day it will be a challenge that they can not defeat. There is a on-going struggle for survival as the man and the boy are always searching for food. They are always hiding from the 'bad men'. The only routine the man and the boy have is the constant mention of breakfast and dinner. This shows the man wants to keep an inch of routine in the boys life, this will show the boy some normality.
3. The epic journey has a much longer literary and cultural history. Going back to Greek literature, in Homer’s The Odyssey, Ulysses goes on a long journey and encounters many tests and trials, both physical and mental, before returning to his homeland. The epic work The Divine Comedy by the Italian medieval poet Dante shows the poet on a journey in the afterlife, to Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, shows the pilgrim Christian leaving his home in this world and travelling to the ‘Celestial City’. Gulliver’s Travels is a fantastical journey to other worlds, in which the main character discovers more about his own world by contrast with the societies he encounters.
I agree the journey shows tests for the man and the boy. The man is tested, 'just help him papa, help him' the boy is testing his father. Will he show morals and help a man who has wronged? Will he give a man a second chance in life, or will he take no pitty on the weak.
There are mental challenges for the man, challenges he can not overcome, 'i cant hold my son dead in my arms. i thought i could but i cant'. This is the constant challenge presented to the man throughout the whole of the novel however in the end we understand this challenge is just to hard for the man. He is distraught at the thought of this mental and physical challenge. The man is shown as a strong character and nothing can knock him down although towards the end of the novel we see his character deteriorate, we see he is not as unyielding as we once thought. In my opinion the road finally cracks the man's hard exterior. It gradually breaks his spirits, once he See's there is no hope left at the beach, he cannot keep going down the dark and gloomy road that never seems to end.
4. The journey as a structure for a novel implies a particular kind of pattern, where there are episodes along the way. The journey involves meeting new challenges and dangers, the chance of luck to bring fortune or difficulties, and is often structured around a struggle for survival, away from the routine and security of a home environment.
The journey along the road is split up into sections as if they were chapters. The road has so many challenges along the way that it could be presented and symbolised as hopelessness. Eventually everyone along the road will have to give up as there will always be a new challenge around every dingy corner. One day it will be a challenge that they can not defeat. There is a on-going struggle for survival as the man and the boy are always searching for food. They are always hiding from the 'bad men'. The only routine the man and the boy have is the constant mention of breakfast and dinner. This shows the man wants to keep an inch of routine in the boys life, this will show the boy some normality.
- I was a little un-sure on this task.
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