The middle of the book has been reached, and frankly I am yet to feel like I am reading a novel. Thus far, we have been given a broad plotline: survive, and move South. After that we are left to watch the journey of the two characters. To me, this does not feel like a novel. It feels like a collection of memories that occur in chronological order. What I have perceived so far is that there have been many small events, like the viewing of the army, the cannibalistic group, and the finding of the shelter, however the story lacks a plot that ties all the events together. I feel as though any of the events could have been removed, and the story would not have been changed. The plot of the story seems to be 'survive' however the events during the survival process lack any connection.
With that being said, perhaps this is McCarthy's style at work. With what we have read, it seems as if McCarthy is creating a new model for novels to take place on. He has skipped or altered many of the steps in a stereotypical novel. For example, we have not received any exposition on how the new world came to be. McCarthy began the story with the father and son and has ignored the underlying question; how did that world come to be? McCarthy doesn't seem to have a specific roadmap in mind. There are not set obstacles or objectives that will be conquered one by one until the climax, it is just a series of events, with the only linkage coming from the fact that they all take place of the long road. With what has been read so far, I do not expect for McCarthy to place any rising action or climax into the story. If I had to place my bets now, I would say that we will be led down 240 pages of unconnected events, ending with the inevitable deaths of our characters. I do not believe that our protagonists will come across a massive obstacle, which will become the climax of the story. I think it is impossible for the story to end in any way other than the death of our characters because the mood of the story seems to show the consistent battle for survival, on which the characters come close to starvation, only to be saved by some stroke of luck. McCarthy's style for the book will lead to the continuation of a timeline of events, and end with our protagonist's' demise.
While I have a bleak view for the outcome of our characters, I cannot say that I did not enjoy this section of the reading. I found that the events that transpired showed much more about the characters, especially the relationship between the father and the son. The most significant scene for me was right after leaving the house of the cannibals, where the father temporarily gives his son the gun, making sure he knows how to kill himself rather than be caught. For me, this helped to show the relationship between the two because it shows the fathers outer strength, and inner worry. He lost no time in preparing to cause a distraction, which would save his son from any form of torture, but not himself. To me this shows what has been going on inside the mind of the father. On the outside he has constantly said that they were not going to die, however he seems to have come to terms with their predictable demise, and wants to make sure his son does not suffer before his death. I found this scene to really show the inner conflicts and the outer actions of the father, and it continues to show how he will suffer in order for his son to feel no pain.
I like this interesting take on the novel! Personally, I never really thought there was much plot other than survival as well but this makes me see the bare bones of McCarthy's style. Do you think this was purposeful to represent the current state of civilization and lack of direction? Also, the parts about characterization stood out to me. The man said he would go distract the people to save his son, however, he doesn't because he cares too much about his son and can never leave him. Do you think if the man had left, and the boy was caught, he would actually shoot himself?
ReplyDeleteI was able to better understand your novel because there is a high amount of significance in the relationship between father and son in my novel as well. There are many interconnected relationships and one of them happen to involve a father and his son. The only difference is the father and son relationship in your novel seems to be more positive. I am interesting in reading more of your blog posts!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your points of McCarthy not really writing a novel. So far, it has just been survive and move South like you said. That is basically it. I talked about a similar idea in my blog post and I completely agree with you. However, I feel like McCarthy is leaving out information to allow the reader to have a better idea of what the father and son are going through. They really have no idea what is around them and they are constantly on the move, there are no breaks. Just like how their are no chapters and how we really don't know much about their surroundings. It is finally good that we are getting more information about the characters and their relationship though!
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit on an important part of the novel, that the plot is really a given and the focus is instead on the relationship of the father and son. There are some books which are far more character-driven than plot-driven, though they are not for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI'd be careful about assuming that the path the characters are on in a series of unconnected elements. You might consider how this fits the journey cycle, or you could consider the progression of plot details as they escalate throughout the novel.