Figurative Language In The Road By Mccarthy Mccarthy

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Set in a post-apocalyptic future, The Road describes a father and son’s fight for their lives as they journey the road south for the winter. An unknown catastrophe has plagued the world, leaving hell on Earth for all who inhabit it. Rotting corpses, abandoned homes, and devastated landscapes are an everyday sight. Worst of all, human beings have reverted back to barbarism, leaving humanity and any sense of morals behind. Critics argue that The Road has “no plotline or story arc of character development” (165). Although even though The Road explains nothing, it actually explains everything. In fact, the novel consists of deeper meanings intended for readers to uncover themselves. In particular, the road itself is a major symbolic aspect of the …show more content…

Metaphorically speaking, McCarthy sets a realistic comparison to humanity’s physical journey through life. Obviously, the world doesn’t end on a daily basis. Its extremity is only meant to make the readers aware, not to compare the setting to everyday lives. McCarthy accomplishes this through both descriptive and figurative language throughout the novel. Most notably, the post-apocalyptic setting has brought up discussion. From the very first pages, readers are exposed to the desolate and bleak landscape McCarthy creates. Conditions so harsh, layers of ash conceal the past world and force the father and son to wear face masks for protection. Ash so thick, in fact, that the sun is obscured from sight and the oceans are no longer blue. Life and all vegetation are also slain from the extreme cold, leaving only rotting corpses scattered along the roadside. That being said, the father and son are among the few specks of life remaining, everything else lifeless and gray. Such extreme conditions may seem unthinkable to many. Humanity doesn’t want to talk about death or even the evil within us. Although, that’s exactly what McCarthy had evoked in his reader's minds. He understands the idea that human life can’t flourish if humans themselves can’t coalesce. In the novel, when times got tough, human instinct was in full tilt. Violence, selfishness, and even cannibalistic “bad guys” had

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