- the type of novel
- the story
- themes
- characters and relationships
- how the story might be told
One may learn from this extract that the relationship between the man and his son is very distanced and lacks emotion, this is due to the fact he refers to him as 'child' which shows no emotional bond or passion unlike the word son does. As he is washing a 'dead man's brain out of his hair' we may infer that they could die at any moment or that they are in danger which could be the reason for this. This also suggests that this novel is postmodern as it is obviously horrific, there are no speech marks although someone is speaking and the gore may be based on low culture horror movies produced in the 1950s. Strong themes created by this extract are of gore, thrill and danger. If there is a dead man's brains on a child's head one may infer someone has been shot violently, creating questioning as to why. The structure of this extract lacks complexity giving the impression that this novel will be told in a basic repetitive way, this may reflect the style of the events or journey that these people will embark on. The way the person is describing the situation shows no shock, disgust or confusion which highlights the fact that whatever is going on is no longer out of the ordinary to them.
'Yes I am he said. I am the one.'
The reader becomes aware that there are at least two people in this situation, someone is telling another that they are the 'one'. From this small portion we are not aware what being that 'one' exactly entails, creating an element of mystery. By being 'one' it singles out one person and may effectively put them on a pedestal in comparison with others. It may also suggest that this 'one' will be relied on by others, making them of utmost importance. The speech is not presented in speech marks making it seem unnatural to regular books, this highlights the fact that this is a postmodern novel.
'Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Canned beef.'
From this quote alone one may infer that there are many foods in this situation, however these foods appear to be limited. The use of the word 'canned' twice suggests that all of these foods are tinned and therefore are not perishable, they are all very basic. Due to the fact that they are being presented in a list may show that whoever is narrating is pleased and excited to find these foods, this may highlight the fact that they are starving and that they have not seen a selection quite like this in a long time. This may present the novel to be a post apocalyptic novel, if the person is struggling to find foods it could possibly be the result of the 'end of the world' as there are few people to carry on production of food. The structure is a basic list followed by two short, simple sentences creating the presentation of the novel to be basic and that limited sentences will be used.
'Are we still the good guys, he said.'
This quote alone creates huge mystery. If someone is questioning whether they are still the 'good guys' it implies that there are bad guys existing who are committing crimes in some way making them bad. The fact that this person is questioning whether they are still 'good' suggests that they are starting to question their own morals and values. This may lead us to infer that they are in a situation where they are being pushed to the brink both emotionally and physically where views are beginning to become clouded along with life itself. Being 'good' or bad alters the whole way you live your life and how you perceive things around you, reinforcing the fact they are in a confused state. The fact that someone is asking someone else suggests there are more than one of them, they must know each other well and trust each other if they have been the good guys all along. The theme of trust is presented as the person questioning themselves is resting their whole persona on the other persons response. There is no punctuation to create speech which highlights that this is a postmodern novel as it is ignoring the conventional elements in novels. The sentence is basic with limited punctuation further implying this. After establishing that there must be bad guys for there to be 'good guys' one may infer that this novel will include fear and violence.
'We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.'
From this extract we learn there is a child speaking to their 'Papa', the use of the word 'Papa' may suggest that these people are of middle or high social class. One may infer that they are in a situation they shouldn't be in as the child says 'we should go' to which the man agrees. However, they 'didn't' leave. This may suggest they are in a curious state of mind. To put themselves into a situation they should not be in may also imply they are desperate for something or at a point mentally where they no longer care about their fate. The child may have strong emotional bonds to the man as he is referring to him as 'Papa', the man responds bluntly which may create the impression that he is not as emotionally attached. The sentences are short and simple suggesting the whole story will be told like this, which may reflect the concepts presented in it being simple. The type of novel appears to be postmodern as there are is no punctuation in the speech, effectively removing it. This ignores conventional ways of writing novels, contradicting them. The story presented is one of mystery and rebellion as they are somewhere they shouldn't be.
'The snow nor fell, nor did it cease to fall.'
This sentence appears to contradict itself as the snow was not falling but at the same time it did not 'cease to fall' creating an awkward reading. McCarthy may have done this to portray the fact it is a postmodern novel. Postmodern novels are novels after modern which is initially a contradiction as you cannot have something after modern creating controversial ideas. It may have been written this way deliberately to call attention to the fact that the novel is unusual, one may also infer that the situation/weather they are experiencing is bizarre. The voice of a character sounds archaic and almost poetic, this may suggest they are of high intelligence. From this extract it may appear to the reader that the book will be archaic and intriguing.
