THE INFLUENCE OF SETTINGS TOWARD THE MAJOR
CHARACTER IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S
THE ROAD
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
FUJA RIANDY
Student Number: 054214100
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
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THE INFLUENCE OF SETTINGS TOWARD THE MAJOR
CHARACTER IN CORMAC McCARTHY’S
THE ROAD
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
FUJA RIANDY
Student Number: 054214100
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2011
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI
KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Fuja Riandy
Nomor Mahasiswa : 054214100
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas
Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah yang berjudul:
THE INFLUENCE OF SETTINGS TOWARD THE MAJOR CHARACTER
IN CORMAC MACCARTHY’S
THE ROAD
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada
Perpustakaan Sanata Dharma hak unuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain,
mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan
mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu
meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan
nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 30 November 2011
Yang menyatakan
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK
KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS……….
B.
Problem Formulation………
5
C.
Objectives of the Study ………
5
D.
Definition of Terms ………..
6
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW
……….
8
A.
Review of Related Studies ………..
8
B.
Review of Related Theories ………
10
1.
Theory on Setting ……….
10
2.
Theory of Character and Characterization ………
13
3.
Character and Setting ……….
16
4.
Theoretical Framework ………..
16
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY
……….
18
B.
Characterization of the Major Character ………..
36
1.
Caring ……….
37
2.
Consistent ………
41
3.
Religious ……….
42
4.
Informative ………
43
5.
Sagacious ………
44
C.
The Influence of Settings toward the Major Character ………
45
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION
………. 53
BIBLIOGRAPHY
……… 56
APPENDIX I: The Summary of
The Road
……….
58
APPENDIX II: The Bigraphy of Cormac MacArthy
……….
63
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Writing a long narrative, such as an epic and a novel, is a matter of not only evoking imagination and feeling but also conveying them to the readers. It is the art of minds revealed so everybody that reads it is involved in the world created by the novelists. Through a creative, reflective, and deep exploration of sense and imagination which somehow involve his or her own experiences, a novelist will be able convey his or her depiction he or she got in order to construct a new imagined world in the written form. As stated by Anderson that no one can write intelligibly unless he lets his own mind do the writings (Guth, 1966: 1).
As stated by McNamee, Cronin and Rogers:
The novel’s length and multiplicity of episodes give the author room enough to explore in some details the complexities of human nature, and the reader is given an opportunity to follow the development and change in the characters of the story through the successive episodes which motivate their action (1962: 283).
A novel provides a spacious room for the exploration, reflection and narration of the idea. It is in the hand of novelist to make it the room momentous. Transporting the readers to that room via literal and figurative language somehow is a challenging one. The setting which is embodies in place and time makes the world inside the novel live through the atmosphere created. It is the general feeling that is conveyed to the readers later influences the readers’ opinions whether the novel is as an entertainment or a literature.
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The setting plays a significant role in a novel for it colors and shapes the story. It refers to both time and place where the action takes place. It includes all of the forces and institutions acting on the characters. Furthermore, it includes the geographical location, social climate, the historical period, and the cultural mores – any and all factors that influence the characters and against which the characters act and against which their actions are measured.
The setting of the novel is the background against which the characters live out their lives (Murphy, 1972: 141). It concerns with the place in which the characters live and also the time where they live. The setting is also able to establish mood or gives atmosphere to the action, so that it makes the action possible, believable, or meaningful (Beaty and Hunter, 1989: 109). These have a great effect upon the personalities, actions, and way of thinking of the characters.
The similar idea is also affirmed by Rohrberger and Woods that setting can contribute to the atmosphere or predominate in the moods. It can be active in foreshadowing and it can be symbolic (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971: 22). As a consequence, the setting offers the readers a living situation and picture of certain place and time to either foreshadow or symbolize meaning which means that there is the something that will be revealed by the novelist by using the social circumstances on the story. Despite the fact that the novel has privileged as a “window” opening onto the characters of nations and peoples, it is more than a reflection of the social history happening outside its confines (Lynch and Warner, 1996: 4).
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Many novelists prefer to give long and detailed description of the scenery like often found in nineteenth century novels (Laar and Schoonderwoerd, 1963: 172). Frequently, the place and time chosen by a novelist refer to the real one; nevertheless some create the fictional one. Though the novelist has determined the time and place which finally arrives at the atmosphere creation, he or she still has a limitation to run the narratives. As a result, some use images to identify the places they refer to, mentioning some physical typical features such as the custom of its natives or the significant events occurred in that place on a certain time.
One of the novelists who use brilliant image of the setting is Cormac McCarthy in his brilliant and outstanding novel, The Road. The Road was a novel by American writer which was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Additionally, he also won some awards such as the finalist 2007 National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Winner 2007 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and also the winner 2007 Quill Book Award
(http://www.randomhouse.com/book/110490/the-road-by-cormac-mccarthy/9780307265432/?view=praise#awards). The novel was released by Alfred A. Knopf on September 26, 2006.
The Road follows an unnamed father and son who go on a journey together toward the sea across the cold, wretched, wet, corpse-strewn, ashen landscape. The setting is atrocious and extremely miserable. It is described that the sun is obscured by a layer of ash so thick that the unnamed father and son must breathe through masks. In addition, the land seems devoid of any living
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flora. The surviving remnants of civilization have been largely reduced to cannibalistic tribalism and nomadic scavenging of urban detritus that is almost entirely depleted. Using the unnamed father as the major character, McCarthy has served not only a clear identification of the lost world but also providing the reader with more and more clues about what destroyed it. The identification specified by McCarthy is viewing the characteristics of the setting in the story. By referring to those characteristics, the influence from the setting toward the major character can be revealed.
The Road is worth dealing for it proposes various attention-grabbing things. One of them is the ruined setting of The Road which is strewn with terrible and revealing artifacts. Its artistic atmosphere finally guides the readers to the new and precise experience. In this case, Janet Maslin states her argument on the expressions on McCarthy’s The Road as follows.
Since the cataclysm has presumably incinerated all dictionaries, Mr. McCarthy’s affinity for words like rachitic and crozzled has as much visceral, atmospheric power as precise meaning. His use of language is as exultant as his imaginings are hellish, a hint that “The Road” will ultimately be more radiant than it is punishing. Somehow Mr. McCarthy is able to hold firm to his pessimism while allowing the reader to see beyond it. This is art that both frightens and inspires (2006).
Although the narrative in The Road is entirely unsentimental, McCarthy’s capabilities to build the atmosphere through elegant language enables everyone dealing with this novel feels entering a natural world exists only in effigy where the remaining humans have mostly sacrificed their humanity as the price of survival. He is succeeding in conveying the existences of a moral structure – the will to do well – his scourged planet. Beyond the unfathomable struggle is that of
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raising a child in a world without hope, The Road offers nothing in the way of escape or comfort, yet, its fearless wisdom is more indelible than reassurance could ever be.
This thesis attempts to reveal the setting of The Road in which considered as unique. The writer is enthusiastic to analyze and discuss this topic further since it offers something challenging, setting influencing. Many people infer that it is in the United States of America because in his interview by Oprah Winfrey, McCarthy indicated that the inspiration for The Road came during a 2003 visit to El Paso, Texas, with his young son. It does not take a great deal to infer that the story told in The Road might be located elsewhere. Nevertheless, there are things in the story putting into limitations on the kind of places it might be set, and these are the things which the writer is attempting to observe.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study explained above, three problems can be formulated as follows.
1. How is the setting of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road depicted? 2. How is the major character described in the novel?
3. How do the settings influence the major character in the novel?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation, there are three objectives to achieve. First, this thesis tries to find out the setting of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
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Identifying the setting in this novel is considered essential since it has “intimate” relations with the characters and situation. Moreover, the setting contributes to the atmosphere and predominant mood of the situation and the characters appear as a representation of the reader to get him or her involved. The setting sometimes is used to foreshadow the events in the novel. The relations between both will lead the writer to answer the second question.
Second, this thesis will try to analyze, comprehend, and describe the major character in the novel. Understanding the character, especially the major character, functions to understand the whole narration, conflict and resolution. Therefore, the characteristics, and characterization will assist in comprehending the character. As a result, the description of it will be deeper and analytical.
Lastly, after finding the setting and character description, this thesis will attempt to reveal the influence of the settings toward the major character pictured in the novel. The influence in a narrative is symbolized through the setting. The interpretations of setting are explored deepen and enlarged by the readers’ association towards the existing situation they sense. In The Road, the settings are evoked much by any experience of the senses. Therefore, to reveal the problem formulation in The Road, the writer will try to analyze the setting and the character first, before he analyzes the third question.
D. Definition of Terms
In this part, the writer would like to clarify the terms that are used in this
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thesis referring to the limitation of discussion. 1. Setting
Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms states that the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs (Abrams, 1981: 192). It has two senses: limited and large one.
2. Major Character
According to M. H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, major character is defined as the most important person in the story. It can be the center of the story. Usually the acts of the story are focused on this character from the beginning to ending parts (Abrams, 1981: 20).
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part is the review of related studies and criticisms related to the writer’s work and topic. The second part is the reviews of the related theories on the writer’s work and topic. Lastly, there is a theoretical framework to show the contribution of the studies and theories to the writer’s work and study.
A. Review of Related Studies
In order to support the analysis, the writer includes some criticism on The Road. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road with its excellence has risen many comments and critics. John C. Snider criticizes on the language used in which he considers it as limited and repetitive.
McCarthy's language is, for the most part, stripped down, and so spare it could have been written by Ernest Hemingway. This limited use of vocabulary leads to stretches of prose that are Biblical in cadence, but also sometimes frustratingly repetitive.
(http://www.scifidimensions.com/May07/theroad.htm)
He states that McCarthy’s language is stripped down since the limited use of vocabulary. It leads to stretches of prose that are biblical in cadence. Occasionally, McCarthy emerges from repetitive minimalism to indulge in the kind of baroque descriptions that tend to impress other writers.
The second criticism comes from the study from a student of Sheffield University named Anthony Warde. He said:
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I addressed spatial concern that are specific to McCarthy’s novel 2006 novel, The Road, demonstrating how the protagonist’ desire for positional and directionally is both heightened and hampered by an apocalypse that has reduced the world to dust and ashes. (http://www.pdf-freedownload.com/search/view/view.php?urllink=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.llc.ed.ac. uk%2Fcurrent_issue%2F10%2FWarde.pdf&searchx=the%20road%20Cormac%20 McCarthy)
He states that the changing of the world in the novel has totally gives a significant motivation for the both protagonist to survive. The novel uses the setting of future in the sense of “no time, no place.” It gives a chance for the writer in portraying the intend of disastrous culmination as the projection of what happened in the personality from the major character after he got some influences from the setting.
The literary critic Mark Mordue acclaimed McCarthy’s The Road as the father’s storyline.
An end-of-the-world misery causes him to reflect that “each memory recalled must do some violence to its origins”.
(http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/the-road/2006/10/06/1159641513176.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1). He declares that the narration in the novel is the father-centered stories. This is the story of an unnamed father who lives in the world where everything is destroyed. The life at that time which is described by the author as unpredictable, full of cannibalism and sub-human madness finally triggers the memory of the unnamed father that the world is basically full of violence.
The end-of-the-world misery forces the unnamed father to reflect the reality that the situation in the world is totally different. He can no longer believe that there is good human left in the era of apocalyptic. The unnamed father becomes more realistic that the situation faced by them is possible to create violence.
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This study is trying to offer something new by seeing the work from the setting point of view. The writer will see some aspects of the setting that are the time, place, and atmosphere. Not only revealing the unnamed place, but also examining the characters and their life. Then, those elements will be connected to the influences of the setting toward the major character in the novel.
B. Review of Related Theories
In this study there will be two theories used, they are theory on setting and theory of character and characterization. These theories are used to understand the setting and story, and also to analyze how the authors build settings in the stories that influence the major character which will end up in sacrifice of a father to the son as the ultimate point of the story.
1. Theory on Setting
Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms states that the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs (1981: 192). The setting can be noticed in a limited sense and in a large sense. In a limited senseit refers to “the general place” that is particular physical location in which the story takes place. It also refers to the “historical time” that shows when the story takes place. In a large sense, setting refers to “the social circumstances that are situation or conditions and environments in which the character live.”
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Murphy in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novels for Overseas Students classifies setting into three classifications, that is setting of time, setting of place, and setting of atmosphere. a. Setting of Time is classified into four: present time, future time, past time,
and no specific time. They are differed by the time the story took place, except the setting of no specific time which there is no specific time for the story.
b. Setting of Place is classified into three: familiar place, unfamiliar place, and imaginary place. These types are differed by the reader’s familiarity to the place where the story takes place.
c. Setting of Atmosphere. The word “atmosphere” is used in the same way as it would be used in everyday speech. The illustration can be seen through the meeting of a worker and the management which is conducted in a genial atmosphere. The genial atmosphere created is reflected in the speeches among the characters and also from the narration of the setting. Thus, we can discuss of the atmosphere of a novel or of part of it as being: gloomy, somber, terrifying, evil, cheerful, happy, sordid, pessimistic, optimistic, and so on (Murphy, 1972: 141-148).
Many books which discuss the theories on setting can become the reference. One of them is A Handbook to Literature (5th ed.) which is written by Holman and Harmon. In that book, they define setting as the physical and sometimes spiritual background against which the action of a narrative takes place (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 465).
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In How to Analyze Fiction, Kenney proposes four elements of which setting is composed. They are listed under four headings:
a. The actual geographical location. This element includes topography, scenery, and even the details of a room’s interior. This element is the basic element commonly found in every novel.
b. The occupation and modes of day to day existence of the characters. Both help the atmosphere building which tries to “invite” the readers to the world of the narrative.
c. The time in which the actions take place. This element comprises historical period, or season of the year. A more specific time is somehow possible to be mentioned, such as the hour and the minute.
d. The religious moral intellectual, social, and emotional environment of the characters (Kenney, 1966: 38-39).
Furthermore, Kenney’s How to Analyze Fiction also emphasises that setting has at least five functions. First, setting functions as a metaphor. It means that setting is the projection of the internal states of the characters. It reflects the novelist’s imagination indirectly so the readers are “trapped comfortably” in the narratives built. Second, setting functions as the atmosphere. Setting arouses a kind of mood or emotional aura. A suggestion of mystery or foreboding may be established. For example by a description of shapes dimly seen in the darkness, a stormy night carries with it one’s emotional aura. Third, setting functions as the dominant element. Like character, setting is also the important element in literary works. It shapes the narratives and guides the readers to the picture tried to be
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conveyed by the novelists. Fourth, setting of time functions as the dominant element. In many literary works, the time in which the action occurs is the most important element. For example, the customs and moral conventions in a particular time may also be the important elements even in a fiction which is not really a historical one. Lastly, setting of place functions as the dominant element. When setting of place becomes the dominant element in a story, especially when it presents the manners and customs of locality, the writing is called local colour writing of regionalism. The regionalist tries to investigate the effects on characters of a particular geographical setting (Kenney, 1966: 39-44).
The interpretation of setting that is said to have relation with character is also stated in another book. In Guth’s The Literary Heritage, he wrote:
Setting is the time and place of the events of a story. Often the setting helps shape the characters and events. Village or city, north or south, poor or wealthy neighbourhood, mountain country or coast—all these help decide how people live. They help decide what the people will be like and what is most important in their lives (Guth, 1981: 729).
2. The Theory of Character and Characterization
Characters in the novel must be alive like human beings in real life which means that characters in the novel have to be in human being’s situation and act like human. The novelist can present their characters wholly from all aspects of the characters. The characters that are presented in all aspects of themselves are called round characters. It is complex in temperament and motivation. However, characters are also presented in one single aspect only and in some way without much individualizing detail. These kinds of characters are called flat characters. Unlike round characters who sometimes offer surprise, flat characters never give
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surprise. Characters, whether they are round or flat, should develop as the respond of the actions in the novel and the plot of the novel (Laar and Schoonderwoerd, 1969: 170-171).
Abrams in his book entitled A Glossary of Literary Terms defines character as follows.
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and by what they do-the action (Abrams, 1981: 23).
Characters do not only refer to the persons in a literary work. They are more than a fictional creature for they bring a moral value with them. Both major and minor characters play significant role in the novel. They are presented by the author to deliver “something” to the readers. Here, the readers will try to interpret what “something” is.
McCrimmon in his book Writing with A Purpose writes characterization is the author’s method in creating, revealing and developing the changes of the characters. He also points out that:
An author may describe character directly, telling the reader what people look like, how they behave and what they think; or an author may reveals characters indirectly, suggesting their appearance, personality, and values trough theirs words and deeds of other (McCrimmon, 1984: 335).
In Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novels for Overseas Students Murphy writes some ways which anauthor attempts to make his characters understandable to, and come alive for his readers: a. Personal Description. The author can describe a person’s appearance and
clothes.
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b. Character as Seen by Another. Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him through the eyes and opinions of another. The reader gets, asit were, a reflected image.
c. Speech. The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what that person says.
d. Past Life. By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, though of the person’s though, through his conversation or through the medium of another person.
e. Conversation of Others. The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him.
f. Reaction. The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events. g. Direct Comment. The author can describe or comment on a person’s
character directly.
h. Thoughts. The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can tell us what different people are thinking
i. Mannerisms. The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies which may also tell us something about his character (Murphy, 1972: 161-173).
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3. Character and Setting
The setting points out that the setting never exists by itself and it explains the characters and the situation and it influences the atmosphere (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971: 22). Meanwhile, Larr says that the characters and the setting cannot be separated and they need to fulfil each other (Larr, 1963: 173).
The setting of the story is also important in affecting action of the character. It can influence the way of acting, the way of speaking, or even the way of thinking, as Murphy said in his book, “Setting of the novel has a great effect upon the personalities, action, and way of thinking of the characters” (Murphy, 1972: 41).
C. Theoretical Framework
The review of related studies is used as additional information for the writer to find out more the characteristics of the novel and to acknowledge deeper understanding about other elements that have not been revealed by the writer. Critics and comments from other writer will be very helpful to explore the work objectively.
The review of related theories will be used as the guideline in the analysis. Each theory that is presented has its own focus and function in assisting the writer to solve the problems formulated. The theory of setting as the basis of this study will be used to identify the time, place, and atmosphere where the story happened. Using these theories, the writer will be able to acknowledge the story more, especially from the time, place, and atmosphere that made up the story.
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The theory on Character and Characterization becomes the basis in analyzing the major character created in the novel. Later, the review of setting is mainly needed to get clear description of the influence toward the major character. Since this study is focusing on revealing the influence from the setting in the novel, so by using the relationship between the setting and the character, the writer will be able to make a decision influence between the setting in the novel and the major character while he survive. In short, using those theories, this study will be able to answer the problems formulated.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was released by Alfred A. Knopf on September 26, 2006. The novel was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2007 and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In this study, the writer will use The Road published by Vintage Books, New York in 2007. This version consists of 287 pages in softcover. The original one was published in black-colored and hardcover.
The Road is a narrative of two main characters, an unnamed father and his son, who go on a journey together toward the sea across a landscape after a great, unexplained cataclysm which has destroyed human civilization and almost all life on Earth. The setting, which is extremely bleak, is shown through the falling ash, cannibalistic tribalism, and nomadic scavenging of metropolitan that is almost entirely depleted.
In the setting shown through the falling ash, cannibalistic tribalism, and nomadic scavenging of metropolitan detritus the unnamed father keeps maintaining the pretense, while his boy holds on to the real faith that there is a core of ethics left somewhere in humanity. Both repeatedly assure one another that they are “the good guys” who are “carrying the fire.” Despite having succeeded in defending the boy through extreme hardship, the unnamed father has failed to find the salvation hoped for his son. He succumbs to his illness and dies,
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leaving the boy entirely alone. The Road offers nothing in the way of escape or comfort. However, its fearless wisdom is more indelible than reassurance could ever be.
B. Approach of the Study
This thesis uses the new criticism approach in analyzing two elements making up a novel, namely character and setting. Butler (2006) said that the theory of new criticism is to investigate the elements and meaning of a work from the inside, from the things that the author himself put into the text, where he put it, and how it related to the elements or pieces surrounding it. The fundamental principle of new criticism is that a work of art is independent in itself, a unified entity.
Meanwhile, Guerin (1999: 80-81) argued new criticism shares and promote ideas in which the literature viewed as an organic tradition, a conservatism related to classical values, and the ideal of a society that encourages order and tradition. It sought precision and structural tightness in the literary work.
In order to relate to this approach, this analysis will be concerned with the work itself. Therefore, the writer only focuses on the intrinsic elements of the novel, particularly the elements of the characters and the setting where the social values occur.
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C. Method of the Study
In making the thesis, the method used by the writer was library research. This research was conducted in the study by reading and collecting data and information from certain books in order to enrich the writer's knowledge about the work and to find the theories needed. The primary data used in this study was Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.The secondary data were essays and articles taken from books and internet. The sources of information from the internet were also needed and used to elaborate and deepen the analysis of the novel. There were some books used to facilitate the writer getting a comprehensive understanding about the topic discussed. The theories of setting were sum up from the following books. M.H. Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms and Hugh C. Holman and William Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature (5th ed.) were the sources that defined the term setting. In order to understand the elements that built the setting in a novel, the writer found that Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novels for Overseas Students by M.J. Murphy and How to Analyze Fiction by William Kenney were two excellent and qualified-enough books to be references. Meanwhile, Hans P. Guth in his book entitled The Literary Heritage mentioned the relation between setting and characters.
The review of related theories will be used as the guideline in the analysis. Each theory that is presented has its own focus and function in assisting the writer to solve the problems formulated. The theory of setting as the basis of this study will be used to identify the time, place, and atmosphere where the story
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happened. Using these theories, the writer will be able to acknowledge the story more, especially from the time, place, and atmosphere that made up the story. The theory on Character and Characterization becomes the basis in analyzing the major character created in the novel. Later, the review of setting is mainly needed to get clear description of the influence toward the major character. There were four steps taken in this study. The first step was a meticulous reading to get deep and more comprehensive understanding about the work, so that the writer could comprehend the story well. This activity was done several times in order to create a clear picture of the narration and note-taking was considered essential in this step. As a result, by having a good comprehension of the story, the writer was able to identify the setting and other details that were needed. The setting was identified by examining the environments and the people in the story. Since this study is focusing on revealing the influence from the setting in the novel, so by using the relationship between the setting and the character, the writer will be able to make a decision influence between the setting in the novel and the major character while he survive. In short, using those theories, this study will be able to answer the problems formulated.
After all primary data had been collected, there were two activities conducted in the second step, first examining and dividing problems formulated in problem formulation, and second, collecting secondary data by conducting library and internet research. Afterward, the data gained to answer problem number one were separated from the data to answer problem number two. All the data, though being categorized into two parts, were closely related to each other.
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In the third step, the writer tried to explore all elements that supported the setting, such as the place and the people. As part of the analysis problems, though the theories of setting were mainly used, it was also supported by the theory of character and characterization. After that, the writer tried to reveal every element the settings that would be used as the guide to reveal the influences to the major character in the novel. After completing those processes the writer then would be able to identify whether the settings of The Road are proper to influence the character.
As the last step, the writer was drawing a vivid conclusion at the end of the study. This step was done by relating all the data into general statements in order to answer the problems.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
A. The Setting of The Road
Murphy in his book entitled Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novels for Overseas Students argues that setting is concerned with three points, namely time, place, and atmosphere. For time and place, he gives further explanation by mentioning their classification. Time is divided into present, past, future, and no specific time. Meanwhile, place is divided into imaginary place, familiar and unfamiliar place (Murphy, 1972: 143-148). Another theory on setting is stated by Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms. He argues that the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs (Abrams, 1981: 192).
Using those theories, the writer is going to reveal the setting of The Road. Murphy states that some writers may choose to give the readers no identification of time and place in which the story takes place (Murphy, 1972: 144). This kind of condition happens in The Road. Cormac McCarthy does not mention explicitly the name of the place in the story, nor the time. However, there are things that put limitation on the kind of place it might be set.
The Road sets in an unnamed continent. It is not familiar, but it can be identified by focusing on the narrator's comments and experiences. Referring
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to Murphy's theory on setting, then writer will analyze the setting by examining the time, the place and the atmosphere in the story.
1. The Setting of Time in The Road
The writer will begin with the theory based on Murphy, but unfortunately this novel has no specific time or place, but surely it happened in the future time because there is no chance that those post-apocalyptic happened at present (because we live in the present time). An unexplained cataclysm has destroyed civilization and ruined the landscape. The surroundings are desolate and devoid of color. Ash hangs thickly in the air, forcing the father and boy to wear face masks. The ash is so thick so that it blocks out the sun; the vegetations have no chance of revival. Everything in the setting on the novel is not clear to determine.
In the beginning of the novel, it is already proven that the story has no specific time. The character just takes a brief horror time in the post-apocalyptic era.
When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world (McCarthy, 2006: 3).
Everyday has gone in the dark because of some kind of disasters and there is no warmth of the sun either. Another sense that the story tells about the time is when the author writes
Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth and the hours and the days of it and the years without cease (McCarthy, 2006: 3).
As we can see, the key word such as “hours” and “days” on the text shows us that the time in the novel is absolutely zero. That means that even the narrator also
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does not know what day is now or what time is it.
Late in the year. He hardly knew the month. He thought they had enough food to get through the mountain but there was no way to tell (McCarthy, 2006: 29).
What the unnamed father can see is the darkness beyond the coldness of the day he walks with his young boy, especially in the night. Even though he does not know when exactly the time is, the narrator still can feel and see the dawn, morning day, afternoon, and also the night. For the evidence, “In the morning they went on. Desolate country. A boar-hide nailed to a barn door. Ratty.” (McCarthy, 2006: 17). The previous quotation shows us that the time of the story experienced by the character was in the morning when they decided to keep going on. Meanwhile, the next evidence tells us about the time of the story in the afternoon as quoted, “He sat by a gray window in the gray light in an abandoned house in the late afternoon and read old newspapers while the boy slept”.(McCarthy, 2006: 28). The third evidence is going to prove to us about the story in the night as quoted, “They camped against a boulder and he made a shelter of poles with the tarp. He got a fire going and they set about dragging up a great brush pile of wood to see them through the night”. (McCarthy, 2006: 30). Lastly, the following quotation is going to tell us about the dawn time. For the evidence, “When he woke again the snow had stopped and the grainy dawn was shaping out the naked woodlands beyond the bridge, the trees black against the snow” (McCarthy, 2006: 75).
The interesting part of the setting of time in this novel is that the author tries to mention the name of month. He writes the name of month, but not giving any
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hints of it. No calendar or time reference, as stated in “the days sloughed past uncounted and uncalendared” (McCarthy, 2006: 273). Moreover, there is no clock. The major character of the novel is put in the situation and condition where he must trigger all the memory of his to predict the time. In the unpredictable situation, guessing is considered as normal and common to happen as quoted, “He thought the month was October but he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t kept a calendar for years” (McCarthy, 2006: 4). The weather can be the indicator of the month though it cannot give a precise answer. For evidence, “So cold. It could be November. It could be later” (McCarthy, 2006: 89).
The setting of time is also indicated by the presence of natural signs. One of them is the fall of snow. It can be the reference of time, especially the month. Probably, it is winter. Unfortunately, because of the apocalypses it is more difficult to predict the month precisely.
In the morning they pressed on. It was very cold. Toward the afternoon it began to snow again and they made camp early and crouched under the leanto of the tarp and watched the snow fall in the fire. By morning there was several inches of new snow on the ground but the snow has stopped and it was so quiet they could all hear their hearts (McCarthy, 2006: 34).
The sun can be the indicator to show the time. In the past, there was a sundial. It is one of the oldest time indicators, besides hourglass. However, this type of time indicator requires a bright day where the sun shines freely. In the situation where the sunlight cannot penetrate through the thick layer of smoke or snow, then the sundial is useless.
He stood with it resting on his shoulders and looked out at the day. A light drizzle falling. Impossible to tell what time of the day he was looking at (McCarthy, 2006: 154-155).
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Based on the quotation above, the writer concludes that the evidence of the absence of time is the drizzle falling. There are no natural signs such as the dark cloud or cold air. No natural reaction that can be the indicator. This implies on the unclear of time, especially day and month. A sudden drizzle falling indicates the climate changes quickly.
The earth itself contracting with the cold. It did not come again. What time of year? What age the child? (McCarthy, 2006: 261).
The quotation above shows the effect of the climate change, the absences of calendar and time. Confusion emerges when the unnamed father question himself the year which finally leads to the question of the boy’s age.
2. The Setting of Place in The Road
According to Murphy, the setting of place can be classified into three: familiar place, unfamiliar place, andimaginary place. These types are differed by the reader’s familiarity to the place where the story takes place (Murphy, 1972: 141-148). The author in this novel is never determined about the place he writes either. But there are some hints that its location has been destroyed by some disasters and some kind explosions.
It neared, growing louder. Everything trembling. Then it passed beneath them like an underground train and drew away into the night and was gone. The boy clung to him crying, his head buried against his chest. Shh. It’s all right.
I’m so scared.
I know. It’s all right. It’s gone. What was it, Papa?
It was an earthquake. It’s gone now. We’re all right. Shh. (McCarthy, 2006: 28).
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The earthquake is not the only disaster that cause the earth destroyed. The forest fire also contributes in making the earth blankets with the smoke layer, as quoted “A forest fire was making its way along the tinderbox ridges above them, flaring and shimmering against the overcast like the northern lights” (McCarthy, 2006: 31). They are always about dark and dull. Nothing more and nothing less.
Nights dark beyond darkness and days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world (McCarthy, 2006: 3).
The quotation from the novel at the beginning of the story has proved well that the place is not confirmed by the author.
The earth is truly damaged. The air is polluted with ash. The river also gets the impact of the natural disaster. It is described that the river is motionless, flow less, and has no signs of life. Along the shore, the burden of dead trees covers the river. It represents the picture of a pulp factory in which the trees are sent via river. Unfortunately, there is no pulp factory along the river shore.
Below in the little valley the still gray serpentine of a river. Motionless and precise. Along the shore a burden of dead reeds (McCarthy, 2006: 6). There are some clues which indicate the existence of an urban area in the past. It is showed directly by mentioning the word ‘city’ or indirectly by showing the symbol of an ever-existed city.
The city was mostly burned. No sign of life. Cars in the street caked with ash, everything covered with ash and dust. Fossil tracks in the dried sludge (McCarthy, 2006: 12).
The view of the office is also explained by the author. It is dust and ash everywhere. What becomes the focus here is the existence of the ash. It indicates
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that the environment is fully damaged, especially by the burning of the forest. The office is abandoned. It becomes the witness of the activities years ago. It leaves a brief story of human profession.
He went into the office. Dust and ash everywhere. The boy stood in the door. A metal desk, a cashregister. Some old automotive manuals, swollen and sodden. The linoleum was stained and curling from the leaking roof (McCarthy, 2006: 7).
This is the first time the author mentions the shore as the setting of place. It is described the view of the shore which is line with birchtrees. It was green years ago. The woods also become the witness of a great natural disaster, a hurricane.
The shore was lined with birchtrees that stood bone pale against the dark of the evergreen beyond. The edge of the lake a riprap of twisted stumps, gray and weathered, the windfall trees of a hurricane years past. The trees themselves had long been sawed for firewood and carried away (McCarthy, 2006: 13).
What makes this more remarkable is the mentioning of activity, the logging. It is said that the trees have long been sawed for firewood and carried away. It shows human’s activities. It is believed that the timber consumption for firewood because of the lack access toward the oil and gas. Moreover, the carried away activities show the commercial actions to exploit the woods.
The unnamed father and the boy journey to the south. The writer believes that the purpose to journey to the south because it is warmer than the north. Along the way of the journey, the sceneries are only the ruins and the burning forest. The snow falling is an anomaly nature phenomenon. It indicates the unbalance nature. Moreover, there is no sign of life.
They passed through the ruins of a resort town and took the road south. Burnt forests for miles along the slopes and snow sooner than he would
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have thought. No tracks in the road, nothing leaving anywhere (McCarthy, 2006: 29-30).
There is no more state. It means that there is no protection and place to rely on. Simply said, the world is anarchy now. The writer argues that the absence of the state influences the way the major character sees the situation and also shapes his paradigm towards the environment.
We cross a bridge here. It looks to be about eight miles or so. This is the river. Going east. We follow the road here along the eastern slope of the mountains. These are our roads, the black lines on the map. The state roads. Why are they the state roads?
Because they used to belong to the states. What used to be called the states. But there’s not any more states?
No.
What happened to them?
I dont know exactly. That’s a good question. (McCarthy, 2006: 43).
The absence of the state also brings a big question mark to the writer. The writer believes it is because of great natural disasters. The less capabilities of the state to handle that matter bring consequences of the losing of legitimate from the citizens. The state is abandoned and the citizens rely on themselves for protection. This is the starting point of having the gun as a self-protection.
What they came to was a cedar wood, the trees dead and black but still full enough to hold the snow. Beneath each one a precious circle of dark earth and cedar duff (McCarthy, 2006: 95).
Cedar wood is a symbol of northern America. This tree is strong enough and usually used as the foundation of houses. It only grows in the cold area (http://www.chroniclesofamerica.com/america/evergreen_forests.htm). This is the hint showing the characters in the novel are from the north who journey to the south. Moreover, this indicates the location is somewhere in the east coast.
Do you know where we are Papa? the boy said.
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Sort of. How sort of?
Well. I think we’re about two hundred miles from the coast. As the crow flies.
As the crow flies?
Yes. It means going in a straight line (McCarthy, 2006: 156).
As the writer mentions previously, the unnamed father and the boy are never far from the coast. The location of the coast is shown by the presence of birds. However, the birds which become the sign are crows instead of sea gull. The crow is the symbol of death (http://thecrow.tripod.com/myth.html). This bird only comes when there is a dead body. As a result, the writer concludes that there is no sign of life in the coast; probably it is already contaminated by wastes.
The following day they passed through the boarded ruins of a seaside resort and took the road inland through a pine wood, the long straight blacktop drifted in pineneedles, the wind in the dark trees (McCarthy, 2006: 271). Finally, the unnamed father and the boy reach the coast. It is clear that the coast is truly a dead coast. What are seen are only the ruins. It becomes a noiseless witness of all the beauty there. It is a ‘living monument’ that keeps all human memory, especially the unnamed father’s.
3. The Atmosphere of the Story
The word “atmosphere” is used in the same way as it would be used in everyday speech. The illustration can be seen through the meeting of a worker and the management which is conducted in a genial atmosphere. Thus, we can discuss of the atmosphere of a novel or of part of it as being: gloomy, somber, terrifying, evil, cheerful, happy, sordid, pessimistic, optimistic, and so on (Murphy, 1972: 141-148).
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The Road is opened with a setting in the woods. It is described that the atmosphere is somber and the weather is cold. The nuance of loneliness appears and dominates the story. Somberness always leaves a feeling of remoteness on everybody’s memory. However, the movement of the father to touch the boy gives a touch of protection and warmness. The somberness showed in the beginning of the novel is not common. It is like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away.
“When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the day more gray each one than had gone before, like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world” (McCarthy, 2006: 3). The emergence of the somberness leaves a mystery. The lack of clarity of how it happens is unexplainable. The features lead to the environmental disasters is the blowing ash. It is from the burnt trees. It seems that a marvelous tragedy has been happened. There are no signs of life.
Everything paling away into the murk. The soft ash blowing in loose swirls over the black top. He studied what he could see. The segments of road down there among the dead tress (McCarthy, 2006: 4).
The situation is frightful. It seems that a great fire has destroyed the world. The black colour becomes dominant. Moreover, the earth is colourless but black. Everything is abandoned. Everything is burnt. The air is no longer healthy. The smoke of it is poisonous which is slow but certain take life those who breathe it. Truly, there is no sign of life.
On the far side of the river valley the road passed through a stark black burn. Charred and limbless trunks of trees stretching away on every side. Ash moving over the road and the sagging hands of blind wire strung from the blackened lightpoles whining thinly in the wind. A burned house in a
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clearing and beyond that a reach of meadowlands stark and gray and a raw red mudbank where a roadworks lay abandoned (McCarthy, 2006: 8). The weather is getting colder and colder. The sunlight cannot penetrate the earth as if a thick layer is covering it. No more warmth. The cold weather and the absence of the sunlight spread a gloomy atmosphere along the characters’ journey. In addition, the fire also burns the entire city and leaves a black sign of clinker. Black smoke and ash go through the sky and fall to the earth as ash rain. Simply said, the journey is colourless.
Cold and growing colder. Just beyond the high gap in the mountain they stood and look out over the great gulf to the south where the country as far as they could see was burned away, the blackened shapes of rock standing out of the shoals of ash and billows of ash rising up and the blowing down country through the waste. The track of the dull sun moving unseen beyond the murk (McCarthy, 2006: 14).
It is clear now how tremendous the disaster is. It burns everything. It leaves none. For evidence, “The roadside hedges were gone to rows of black and twisted brambles. No sign of life” (McCarthy, 2006: 21).
When the unnamed father and the boy go to the top of the hill, they witness odd scenery. The country is darkening as a result of the smoke. All the unnamed father and the son can see is only smoke. The atmosphere is gloomy. No sign of fire or lamp means no sign of life. Moreover, the cold wind blowing cannot diminish the condensed smog.
Then they walked out to the road and he took the boy’s hand and they went to the top of the hill where the road crested and where they could see out over the darkening country to the south, standing there in the wind, wrapped in their blankets, watching for any sign of a fire or a lamp. There was nothing (McCarthy, 2006: 9).
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The still poured shape of a river. The dark brick stacks of a mill. Slate roofs. An old wooden watertower bound with iron hoops. No smoke, no movement of life (McCarthy, 2006: 78).
The quotation above refers to the absence of hope. Smoke is the symbol of life since it symbolizes the activity in the kitchen, cooking. The word ‘no smoke, no movement of life’ creates the atmosphere of gloomy. It means that there is nothing left to cook. If you have nothing to cook, then you have nothing to eat. If there is nothing to eat, then there is no movement of life.
The nuance of death opens wide. The cold of the snow is irresistible. There is no sign that the snow will stop. Furthermore, if it stops the road is impassable. The sparks rise, dime, and die. In the time of uncertainty, the cold is the biggest enemy which is able to make the gut shriveled. The atmosphere of gloomy is showing by the contrast colour of snow – white – and the die of the sparks – black.
Even if it stopped snowing the road would be all but impassable. The snow whispered down in the stillness and the sparks rose and dimmed and died in the eternal blackness (McCarthy, 2006: 96).
The faintly lit hatchway lay in the dark of the yard like a grave yawning at judgment day in some old apocalyptic painting (McCarthy, 2006: 155). From the quotation above, the atmosphere is absolutely terrifying. The mentioning of the words ‘grave’ and ‘judgment day’ as if what has happened is the punishment of God. The writer indicates it as terrifying since ‘the grave is yawning at the judgment day’ showing how the death responses towards what happened to the world. Simply said, the Armageddon has come. The human beings must bear their deeds.
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The death is so closed and the terrifying atmosphere blankets it. It becomes so dominant. The description of the situation shows how the world is totally damaged so the seeds of hope are impossible to grow. It is stated in the view of the land which is described as gullied, eroded, and barren. Moreover, the bones sprawls left fearsome scenery. The damage is so tremendous.
The land was gullied and eroded and barren. The bones of dead creatures sprawled in the washes. Middens of anonymous trash. Farmhouses in the fields scoured of their paint and the clapboards spooned and sprung from the wall-studs. All of it shadowless and without feature. The road descended through a jungle of dead kudzu. A marsh where the dead reeds lay over the water. Beyond the edge of the fields the sullen haze hung over earth and sky alike. (McCarthy, 2006: 177-178).
They picked their way among the mummied figures. The black skin stretched upon the bones and their faces split and shrunken on their skulls. Like victims of some ghastly envacuuming. Passing them in silence down that silent corridor through the drifting ash where they struggled forever in the road’s cold coagulate (McCarthy, 2006: 191).
The mummied figures reflected in this quotation tell us how formidable the situation is. When the unnamed father and the boy must walk among the mummied figures, the tension of scared is higher. Seeing how the mummies’ face split and the shrunken of their skulls will guide us to the unimagined process of how it could happen.
The illustration of apocalypse creates a dreadful feeling. It leaves no signs of life. It is not only the woods, river, and air but also human beings. The dead bodies spread everywhere, dried as mummies. The flesh cloven along the bones and the ligaments dried to tug and taut as wires.
The mummied dead everywhere. The flesh cloven along the bones, the ligaments dried to tug and taut as wires. Shriveled and drawn like
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latterday bogfolk, their faces of bolied sheeting, the yellowed palings of their teeth (McCarthy, 2006: 24).
B. The Characterization of the Major Character
There are two characters introduced in The Road, they are the unnamed father and the boy. The unnamed father in this novel acts as the major character. He, then, plays noteworthy role and becomes the central figure in this narration since all the stories focus on him.
In this subchapter, the writer analyzes the novel in order to find out the answers to the second problem formulation. Therefore, there are two aspects that become the writer’s concern, which is characteristics and characterization. Abrams in his book entitled A Glossary of Literary Terms defines character as follows.
Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and by what they do-the action (Abrams, 1981: 23).
Moreover, McCrimmon in his book Writing with A Purpose writes characterization is the author’s method in creating, revealing and developing the changes of the characters. He also points out that
An author may describe character directly, telling the reader what people look like, how they behave and what they think; or an author may reveals characters indirectly, suggesting their appearance, personality, and values trough theirs words and deeds of other (McCrimmon, 1984: 335).
The character analysis aims at providing comprehensive and analytical information towards the major character. The information then will give a clear picture of the relations between the setting and the major character in the novel.
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Briefly, understanding the character means canalling the writer to the third problem formulation.
The characteristics of the unnamed father can be tracked through his appearances and attitude towards the environment. The unnamed father who is described briefly as a real man has a big responsible to run his life and to take care of his only son, the boy. He travels to south with his only boy since he believes that there is a warm place there, a new hope. For that reason, the major character has special characteristics which are caring, consistent, religious, informative, and sagacious.
a. Caring
As the major character in the novel, the unnamed father plays important roles in many aspects. He must act as a father and a mother simultaneously, to protect and to take care of the boy. Considering the unpredictable situation, the unnamed father becomes more caring, physically and psychologically. For evidence, “When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.” (McCarthy, 2006: 3). This little touch is essential since the boy will feel more secure.
The expression of caring psychologically is also exposed by the unnamed father. The quotation below shows how the unnamed father tries to protect the boy’s memory when the boy sees a corpse. The memory of a child is like a white paper. It is pure, clean, and divine. The bad things that the boy sees will be easily recorded and stored in his memory. The unnamed father does not want that ‘dirty spot’ sticks on the boy’s memory.
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A corpse in the doorway dried to leather. Grimacing at the day. He pulled the boy closer. Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.
You forget some things, dont you?
Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget (McCarthy, 2006: 12).
As a responsible father, the unnamed father takes care of the boy all the way. When they have rested and the weather outside is not nice, full of thunder, the unnamed father is still awake. He makes sure that both of them will not get wet. To get wet means to die. This is a realistic view since there is no source of fire. Moreover, the weather is absolutely very cold.
He woke to the sound of distant thunder and sat up. The faint light all about, quivering and sourceless, refracted in the rain of drifting soot. He pulled the tarp about them and he lay awake a long time listening. If they got wet there’d be no fires to dry by. If they got wet they would probably die (McCarthy, 2006: 15).
They ate the little mushroom together with the beans and drank tea and had tinned pears for their dessert. He banked the fire against the seam of rock where he’d built it and he strung the tarp behind them to reflect the heat and they sat warm in their refuge while he told the boy stories. Old stories of courage and justice as he remembered them until the boy was asleep in his blankets and then he stoked the fire and lay down warm and full and listened to the low thunder of falls beyond them in that dark and threadbare wood (McCarthy, 2006: 41).
The quotation above displays a touching moment between the unnamed father and the boy. They share food, drink tea, and have tinned pears for their dessert. This moment is so affectionate. The unnamed father tries hard to create the atmosphere of love, pushes himself to be a reliable person especially for the boy. The story telling before going to bed is common in the American culture. This activity can bring close emotionally between the father and the boy. This is the moment when the child can deliver questions towards the story or anything.
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The unnamed father feels guilty when he kills a man by shooting out his brain in front of the boy. The boy is shocked. The unnamed father then runs and tries to find out the river in order to clean the boy’s head. He feels blameworthy since he tries to protect the boy’s memory. As a form his love, he wrap the boy with blanket and carries him to the fire.
This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man’s brain out of his hair. That is my job. Then he wrapped him in the blanket and carried his to the fire (McCarthy, 2006: 74).
The characteristic as a caring person, followed with a deep love feeling and the awareness of the responsibility as a ‘single’ father, eventually must face the reality. When his boy is under threat by an unknown man – holding the boy against the unknown man’s chest with the knife at the throat – the unnamed father reacts quickly by shooting that man in his forehead. This is the form of protection, unfortunately by using violence.
He dove and grabbed the boy and rolled and came up holding him against his chest with the knife at his throat. The man had already dropped to the ground and he swung with him and leveled the pistol and fired from a two-handed position balanced on both knees at a distance of six feet. The man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead (McCarthy, 2006: 66).
On the other hand, another contradiction is shown in this passage. This is the first time the unnamed father declares that killing in order to survive is good and they are still good guy. With the aim of supporting his reason, the unnamed father brings the name of God. Simply said, the unnamed father recognizes himself as the chosen one, the one who is given a privilege to do anything in the name of protection.
