For homework you need to complete an essay style response based on your work on McCarthy’s writing style. You are using one of the statements we discussed, and the evidence that you found in the lesson. Also try to include some ideas based on the work we did on the frequency of certain words used by McCarthy and the close reading you did on an extract of the book.

Here are the statements we discussed:

The limited linguistic palette and repetitive techniques echo the monotony of the post-apocalyptic world that is described.

The repetitive language echoes the idea of being on the road, constantly travelling.

The death of everything living – plants, trees, creatures and most other human beings – is evoked through the bleakness and ‘deadness’ of the language.

There is a powerfully poetic effect in the simplicity of the language. By avoiding rhetorical flourishes and elaborate language the writer makes a stronger impact. The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live – essentials only.

Avoiding emotionally language and keeping it simple makes the narrative all the more emotionally engaging.

The pared down language of the narrative reflects the pared down life the characters have to live.

The limited palette makes the story more universal, a fable for all time, rather than pinning it down with lots of elaborate details describing specific places.

There’s something rather dull about the style that makes it hard to read and difficult to distinguish one part of the book from the next. All the events seem to merge together.

The lack of hyperbolic language highlights the extremity of the situation.