Style:

Much of The Road is one and the same with its stylistic elements.  The Road is a novel that is very much made up of these elements as they reinforce and support the major themes of the book.  This is to say The Road would be an entirely different novel if some key, subtle, elements were not at play.   This is not the first post on this blog to discuss these elements. However, as I mentioned, these stylistic elements make up the very identity of The Road making it very difficult not to discuss at some point in a blog post.  Without further adieu, the three major stylistic elements utilized by McCarthy are the lack of names and identification of characters, the grind of the novel, one day to another, never skipping a beat, and the reality of the darkness of the post apocalyptic world, down to every gory detail.  

The initial element noticed right off the bat is the peculiar way in which the novel identifies and addresses its characters.  Rather than giving the characters names, McCarthy choses to refer to the characters as the Man and the Boy.  Subsequently, each following character, major or minor, is identified by age, appearance, or gender.  As mentioned in a previous blogpost, this style allows for the reader to further identify with the idea of the Man and the Boy.  By not giving characters a specific identity, McCarthy is  allowing them to be anyone, even yourself.  This style is unique to The Road and helps develop some themes of the book as  relatable and realistic.  

The second stylistic element that separates The Road from other novels is its seemingly refusal to skip a beat.  Ged Jorgensen's blog, On The Road, illustrates this idea nicely.  As Jorgensen mentioned, the novel never leaves the characters, following their every move as well as utilizing minor stylistic elements such as the lack of paragraph breaks and drawn out descriptions of scenes and thought processes.  This is done to further leave the impression with the reader that this is, in fact, a grueling journey, no minor hardship is forgotten.  The Man and the Boy seem to take you with them on their grind through every miserable night of sleep to every long, aching day of travel.   You as the reader, experience and feel it all.  

The last stylistic element, its innate darkness, can be considered with little thought to be more or less a quality of the novel rather than an element of style.  However, on further analyzation it becomes apparent that this "quality" serves a greater purpose and ties quite nicely in with the above two elements.  Because of this, it is safe to make the claim that this is in fact an element of style and not just a quality of the novel.  The Road, on any level of analyzation, is impossible to be argued a generally happy, positive, and fun read.  The Road takes no short cuts in detail when it comes to gore and horror as it takes a journey through the limits of humanity as we see the deterioration of what we consider to be "civilized" and "humane."   In other words, the last stylistic element is that The Road is a really disturbing book.  However, as I mentioned in a previous blogpost, the darker side of The Road (let's be honest there isn't really a 'light' side), serves an ultimate purpose.  It creates a more realistic environment for our characters and illustrates the reality of the deterioration of humanity.  The Road then takes this darkness and contrasts it with the Boy and the Man and the themes surrounding their characters (carrying the torch, i.e. the good of humanity) for some very interesting insights on humanity and its innate tendencies and capacities for hope, mercy, and ultimately what it's willing to do for survival.  

While much of this blogpost is a brief recap of previous posts, it is important to illustrate some of the stylistic elements seen in the novel and how they interact with each other to form The Road.  As mentioned in the introduction, The Road and its themes are very much developed and defined by these elements.  The Road creates a gory and dark post-apocalyptic environment for the reader, then proceeds to introduce two characters into this world.  The Road does not give these characters a name or identity as it is apparent their identity does not matter.  The Man and the Boy could be anyone, the story does not change.  The Road then continues to take you on this journey with these characters through every drop of rain, ache of hunger, and fear for death.  All the while reminding you of the reality of this world and the true horrors of humanity that could be in a post-apocalyptic environment.  The stylistic elements of The Road neatly reinforce the themes of the novel in a unique way that captures the interest of the reader and allows for the next step of understanding.