The Road The Significance of Setting

Setting vs. place/location Place is just the physical location. Setting also includes time and weather.

Post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster

Dystopia An imaginary place where everything is as bad as it possibly can be

Setting: Questions 1.What is the apparent setting for this novel? (Think of both time and place.) 2.Why don’t we know the real names of the boy and the man? 3.Describe the world in which the boy and man are trying to live. What do you think happened to the planet? 4.Why did the man look ‘to the east’ for light? Why was there none? What do you think the light symbolises? 5.How long after the apocalypse are the events taking place? 6.How do the opening sections create a sense of danger?

1: What is the apparent setting for this novel? In the rough present Urban Setting (They are living in an abandoned city) After some sort of end of the world situation Eg: Destroyed trees, ash everywhere, dead lake, deformed animal, overgrown roads, the condition of their clothes, the food they eat, they wear masks

2. Why don’t we know the real names of the boy and the man? They don’t have names so they can be symbolic of everyman, every boy, every family By being every person the audience can imagine themselves as the man or boy

No Light (Nuclear Winter) Destroyed City Abandoned City Dead Lake Burnt Trees Mutated Animals Little light; land is barren No Colour Roads overgrown The planet seems to have been destroyed 3. Describe the world in which the boy and man are trying to live. What do you think happened to the planet?

Movie Still STILL FROM THE MOVIE. NOTE THE SETTING, THE ROAD, THE CART, THE MAN AND THE BOY. IS THIS HOW YOU PICTURED IT WHEN READING?

Movie Still 2 HOW ABOUT LIKE THIS? DO THEY LOOK HOW YOU IMAGINED?

Look east for the light everyday because that’s the sunrise There wasn’t a sunrise, because sun dampened out by ash in air Light is often symbolic of knowledge, society, civilization, hope and goodness None of these things are left. He describes the land as “godless” 4. Why did the man look ‘to the east’ for light? Why was there none? What do you think the light symbolises?

5. How long after the apocalypse are the events taking place? Things have taken place a while ago Gas station gasoline only has a faint odor, station has already been rifled through by others, condition of roof, floor, etc. The fact that the water is marking time in years as it drips into flues long abandoned (clock analogy) The fact that they wouldn’t survive another winter The overgrown nature of the roads Hadn’t kept a calendar in years No trace of civilization, few people, abandoned road works, everything abandoned

The country now seems to be “godless” Civilization has broken down With so little supplies left to forage for, perhaps others may steal what you have The man carries a gun for protection so obviously they fear others. Also, they are worried if they can be seen from the road. Mirror on their cart to see behind them. The knapsacks they could run away with if they have to 6. How do the opening sections create a sense of danger?

Setting? The Road The woods Night Not sure of the year but around near present future Location (includes scenes and places) The significance of the ‘setting’ goes way beyond what merely happened Allows us as critics to go deeper McCarthy is taking advantage of the possibilities of creating meanings

Why is the setting significant? Fictional stories, if they are to represent in some ways the real world, need to be set in significant places. Stories are condensed versions of reality- they are representations, authors take bits of real places to suit their purposes What sort of place(s) does McCarthy describe and what details does he provide? Is it symbolic? Does the title of the novel carry connotations relevant to the narrative? Write 300 words on the significance of setting in Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’