Though a few things are identified loosely, McCarthy's lack of identity, more specifically lack in naming things, in the novel disconnects the reader from the text. Some may argue that this lack of identity doesn’t necessarily disconnect reader, but it could connect them in a different way. Most of the novel is considered detached and vague when it comes to identifying with characters and places in the novel.
The lack of names for the characters is one of the first things that the reader might notice in the novel. The lack of identifying the protagonists with specific names creates an uncomfortable distance between them and the reader. Though the father and son do not have specific names, their specific personality traits can be identified through their actions and dialogue. In most novels, the author tries very hard to connect the reader with the characters and make them feel as though they are partaking in the story. McCarthy, on the other hand, specifically detaches the reader from and connections the reader might feel to the protagonists and makes the reader feel as if they are watching this journey from the outside.
Through the conversation between the father and son, you cannot tell what particular diction or dialect their dialogue contains. You never can tell exactly where they are from in the country by the words they use. All we know of their original location is that it is somewhere northeast of the coast. This partially disguises their identity from others on the road, as well as the readers.
The lack of a connection to where a character is from bothered me personally, because I didn’t know exactly how long their journey to the coast would be, or the route they are taking to get there. Where a person is from, their roots, is usually very important to that person’s identity. The protagonists have no home anymore; they had to leave after the apocalypse and are then forced to live on the run. They travel the road; that is what they know. They have no specific home to call their own, so the road becomes their home. No matter how far they travel along the road, or even away from it to camp for the night, they always find their way back. This is important to identify a path for them to follow. The road does not have a name anymore, as it probably did before the apocalypse, but now that name is irrelevant. Though, the road lacks a specific identity, so do the characters that follow it, continuing in the disconnected feeling that McCarthy intended.
McCarthy begins the novel many years after the actual apocalyptic event occurs. He never actually tells the reader what the event was or even describes what happened. This leaves the reader wondering for most of the novel what actually left the Earth in this charred state. The lack of identifying the event slightly detaches the reader, giving them a constant sense of wonder and curiosity every time McCarthy describes the grey, dull and burnt setting. The official website of the Cormac McCarthy society states, “Some unnamed catastrophe has scourged the world to a burnt-out cinder.” The “unnamed catastrophe” is what leaves the reader constantly wondering what could have happened to leave the Earth in such a desolate, bleak condition.
Another important example of identity is the withholding of your true identity from strangers. On the road, the father and son encounter an old man who is barely clothed and moving at quite a slow pace. They pass him by at first, but the optimistic son who always wants to see the good in people, begs his father to help the old man. The father is very reluctant, not wanting to help strangers and lessen their own chance of survival. Finally, he lets the boy help the man by giving him food and staying with them when the camp for the night. Earlier, on the road, the father asks the old man what his name is and he replies with “Ely,” but later by the fire, he admits that it isn’t really his name. It is important to mention, though, that after he admits to the fake name, he does not offer his real one either. I find it interesting that he would be so quick to give a fake name, when he would not give a real one. If it is so important for him to withhold his real identity, why would it be okay to give another one so quickly? The father obviously found that odd, too, considering he assumed later that it was not his real name. Ashley Kunsa agrees in her critical essay that “the narrative rejects the lie that is "Ely"--the idea that a person can invent a convenient identity to hide who he is and what he has done.”
In the novel, McCarthy chose to have his traveling characters wear masks to cover their faces. This mask could be for different reasons. The most practical reason that one would assume at first glance is to hide their faces from the ash and poisonous dust that still linger in the air from the apocalyptic event. This would make sense to most readers, but as this article points out, “the mask is a very logical addition to clothing if the air is poisoned. The boy also has a mask although he pulls it off in his sleep. The father willingly removes his own. Both of these acts, followed by nothing horrific, suggests that the air is not as polluted as one might think.” This means McCarthy could have incorporated the masks for some other reason, like to hide the characters’ identities from strangers on the road.
Frances Moore Lappe once stated, “I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are.” This almost seems to be what McCarthy was aiming for when he stripped these characters of identities; he stripped them of themselves.
The lack of names for the characters is one of the first things that the reader might notice in the novel. The lack of identifying the protagonists with specific names creates an uncomfortable distance between them and the reader. Though the father and son do not have specific names, their specific personality traits can be identified through their actions and dialogue. In most novels, the author tries very hard to connect the reader with the characters and make them feel as though they are partaking in the story. McCarthy, on the other hand, specifically detaches the reader from and connections the reader might feel to the protagonists and makes the reader feel as if they are watching this journey from the outside.
Through the conversation between the father and son, you cannot tell what particular diction or dialect their dialogue contains. You never can tell exactly where they are from in the country by the words they use. All we know of their original location is that it is somewhere northeast of the coast. This partially disguises their identity from others on the road, as well as the readers.
The lack of a connection to where a character is from bothered me personally, because I didn’t know exactly how long their journey to the coast would be, or the route they are taking to get there. Where a person is from, their roots, is usually very important to that person’s identity. The protagonists have no home anymore; they had to leave after the apocalypse and are then forced to live on the run. They travel the road; that is what they know. They have no specific home to call their own, so the road becomes their home. No matter how far they travel along the road, or even away from it to camp for the night, they always find their way back. This is important to identify a path for them to follow. The road does not have a name anymore, as it probably did before the apocalypse, but now that name is irrelevant. Though, the road lacks a specific identity, so do the characters that follow it, continuing in the disconnected feeling that McCarthy intended.
McCarthy begins the novel many years after the actual apocalyptic event occurs. He never actually tells the reader what the event was or even describes what happened. This leaves the reader wondering for most of the novel what actually left the Earth in this charred state. The lack of identifying the event slightly detaches the reader, giving them a constant sense of wonder and curiosity every time McCarthy describes the grey, dull and burnt setting. The official website of the Cormac McCarthy society states, “Some unnamed catastrophe has scourged the world to a burnt-out cinder.” The “unnamed catastrophe” is what leaves the reader constantly wondering what could have happened to leave the Earth in such a desolate, bleak condition.
Another important example of identity is the withholding of your true identity from strangers. On the road, the father and son encounter an old man who is barely clothed and moving at quite a slow pace. They pass him by at first, but the optimistic son who always wants to see the good in people, begs his father to help the old man. The father is very reluctant, not wanting to help strangers and lessen their own chance of survival. Finally, he lets the boy help the man by giving him food and staying with them when the camp for the night. Earlier, on the road, the father asks the old man what his name is and he replies with “Ely,” but later by the fire, he admits that it isn’t really his name. It is important to mention, though, that after he admits to the fake name, he does not offer his real one either. I find it interesting that he would be so quick to give a fake name, when he would not give a real one. If it is so important for him to withhold his real identity, why would it be okay to give another one so quickly? The father obviously found that odd, too, considering he assumed later that it was not his real name. Ashley Kunsa agrees in her critical essay that “the narrative rejects the lie that is "Ely"--the idea that a person can invent a convenient identity to hide who he is and what he has done.”
In the novel, McCarthy chose to have his traveling characters wear masks to cover their faces. This mask could be for different reasons. The most practical reason that one would assume at first glance is to hide their faces from the ash and poisonous dust that still linger in the air from the apocalyptic event. This would make sense to most readers, but as this article points out, “the mask is a very logical addition to clothing if the air is poisoned. The boy also has a mask although he pulls it off in his sleep. The father willingly removes his own. Both of these acts, followed by nothing horrific, suggests that the air is not as polluted as one might think.” This means McCarthy could have incorporated the masks for some other reason, like to hide the characters’ identities from strangers on the road.
Frances Moore Lappe once stated, “I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are.” This almost seems to be what McCarthy was aiming for when he stripped these characters of identities; he stripped them of themselves.