‘Write about McCarthy’s methods of telling the story (21 marks)’

Throughout the book, Mccarthy uses a variety of writing techniques and devices to present the story including the setting and mindsets by the use of narration and specific use of language.
When firstly taking into account the setting, the reader is able to distinguish the very dark theme promoted, as Mccarthy describes the boys and fathers voices to be lost over the “darkening shorelands”. This specific use of language and the constant repetition of the word “dark” allows Mccarthy to use the device of imagery, to enable the reader to gain some form of visual image of the location and to some extent emphasise with the characters through there mindsets in being at these places.
Another use of setting to signify the story is when Mccarthy explains how “they made a dry camp with no fire”. This idea shows due to the lack of resources they have no fire, which is something that can be considered into today’s society in certain parts of the world with these extremely deprived area’s other known as ‘Dystophias’. The dry camp shows the basic standard of living with scarce resources and this also allows the reader who has seen the father and son with a fire before, to question that whether the ‘fire’ symbolizes life and that either the sun or father or both will just run out like the fire did.
Mccarthy through the plot uses very tension related terminology to show the chronological structure bringing along more occurring events as the book goes on.
As the book progresses there tends to be a more insight to the characters mindsets rather than the constant descriptions of the settings they are at, due to events occurring such as the father killing the man, the boy discovering the baby on the skewer as it takes a big psychological impact on both these characters and McCarthy makes it crucial for the reader to understand constantly what they are thinking.
Through the use of the applied third person narrative type, the reader is able to pick up on events occurring that the father and son wouldn’t always be able to, an example being when the father shoots, this device of the use of the third person narrative allows McCarthy to feel almost as if they were, through the in depth descriptions of settings and also understanding the mindset aswell as visually imaging a specific characters actions.
When exploring the form of the book, there are two methods that McCarthy uses.
Firstly during the dialogue between the father and son, it is apparent to the reader that there conversations to each other are of short replies and one word answers at times, an example being when the dad asks “Let’s start over” then the son replies “okay”, the use of these short dialogue’s is to firstly enable the reader to distinguish the quick use of dialogue, going to and from the father and son, but to also allow the reader to understand the boy and father’s relationship, through the fact they are able to communicate and comprehend each other with lack of communication and one words answers.
Secondly with the use of the third person narration Mccarthy is able to describe the upcoming of events in greater depth, the scene where the father enters the house with the flare gun shows two three lined paragraph’s broke down into lots of short sentences, “He entered the back door with the flare gun loaded at his waist. The wall was stripped out the house studs.” The use of the the full stops’s in context to the structure showing a change in character of the father from the more ‘old world valued’ man to a more ‘survival of the fittest’ plan abiding character, allows McCarthy to create a build up of tension through the reader constantly stopping and pausing, on the event of the father holding a flare gun loaded.