Jamel D's English Journal

1. One of the most prominent ways in which the contents of the novel suggest that the post-apocalyptic world is the result of nuclear war is in the ubiquitous presence of ash. The man and boy are explained to be ‘shuffling through the ash’, taking into account that often the most identifiable effect of nuclear weapons is destruction mainly through burning suggests that perhaps the extent of ash is a remnant of widespread destruction stemming from the detonation of a nuke. Also, when the man and boy pass through the city, it is described as ‘mostly burnt’. This follows on from the supposed origins of the ash: burning caused by a bomb, for an area as large as a city to be noticeably burnt can only point to one source, a nuclear warhead; furthermore in the occurrence of a nuclear war its likely metropolitan areas would make prime targets for weapons of mass destruction.

2. By assuming that a bomb was the cause and comparing it with the horrors experienced by those in the novel it seems the main message McCarthy is trying to convey is one of anti-war. In times of disaster or war, often statistics play an overbearing role in reports about such events, but by focusing on two ordinary characters McCarthy shows just how devastating war can be on individuals. Additionally the depiction of a complete breakdown of society and values as we know them suggests that war can not only do great damage to particular groups of people but is detrimental to a nation in its entirety. Overall I think the themes present in the book and the traumatic events the reader is exposed to are a reflection of McCarthy’s fervent anti-war sentiment.

3. Keeping in line with some of the Christian themes in the book the description of a scorched landscape covered in ash might be the aftermath of an apocalyptic event (i.e. ‘fire and brimstone’) in which most of the world which didn’t live up to Judeo-Christian ideas about morality. Also the Bible espouses that ash is the source of life and the manifestation of the finality of death (ashes to ashes, dust to dust) which suggests that a prosperous country had reached the pinnacle of development was forcibly returned to its humble origins. The reference to a deficiency in ‘godspoke men’ is presumably a reference to the breakdown of organised religion as such and the patrons who represent it which ergo presents the man and boy as some sort of forsaken sinners who weren’t rescued before the onset of the apocalypse.

Jamel Essay on Places

The Road is a harrowing tale of the journeys of an unnamed man and his son, it features major themes including spirituality, violence, isolation and a continuing idea of good vs. evil. However one thing that remains constant is the structure within the book which all revolves around the continuing journey of the dual protagonists.

One example of repetitive language is the repeated reference to the road itself; the word is used 25 times in the novel and is also the inspiration for the title. Despite the momentary diversions from travel, such as when the two find a bunker, the entirety of the novel is based on travelling along the road and stopping for short periods of time for rest. The fact that such a vague word, and subject in fact, is repeated so much time makes clear to the reader the importance of the road itself transforming it from a physical structure to almost a deity which is the only constant existence in a world permeated by death, destruction and deterioration.

Furthermore, the other concrete nouns tend to consist of objects necessary for survival with words like ‘tarp’ and ‘cart’ being mentioned almost 200 times collectively. In a novel of a different genre McCarthy would have been criticized for being repetitive, but within the post-apocalyptic genre not only is monotonous nature of living shown which suggests how desolate the landscape. Also the constant repetition of these words is indicative of just how essential the items are because at any point where the cart is lost or there is no means of building shelter then the man and his son will effectively be condemned to death.

The monotony of events in the post-apocalyptic world is also repeated in the dialogue, most of the communication between the man and the boy is composed of questions asked by the boy, met with answers which he accepts with the phrase ‘okay’ which is repeated a total of 195 times in the novel. As with the nouns used in normal cases such an excessive use of a simple term would be met with criticism but it functions as a means of showing how isolated the people and place is. The difference in age between the two characters means that regardless of mutual understanding the conversational ability is largely limited and with little choice both have to be happy with what they have.

Finally, the emotional descriptions provide insight into how the characters perceive the situation they have to deal with. Emotions like despair and terror are mentioned but oddly enough the word sadness is not used a single time in the novel. This does not directly show how monotonous life is, but the fact that the characters cease to feel sadness suggests that the experiences along the road have become so repetitive that reactions have become near non-existent: fear and desperation remain but there is no proverbial ‘licking your of own wounds’.

As a whole, McCarthy’s deliberate choice to restrict his use of words adds to the themes presented in the novels, a flamboyant medley of unnecessary language would have defeated the ideas within the genre the novel belongs in, so the limits McCarthy has placed on his writing definitely have been instrumental in making clear the monotony of life on the road.

Place is a narrative device paramount to effectively helping the plot progress but also conveying ideas about mood, themes and time-period. Rossetti, Fitzgerald and McCarthy are three writers with three very different writing styles however the one constant is the importance of location in their writing.

Christina Rossetti was a notoriously religious poet known for her writings which often feature bohemian re-makings of literary archetypes. One poem which features heavy use of place is ‘the Convent Threshold, rather than expected Rossetti’s references to place are not actual physical locations but allegories for her christian worldview. In the poem the protagonist states ‘I choose the stairs that mount above, stair after golden sky-ward stair’ this shows that the unnamed narrator has chosen to live a moral life which reflects in her ascent to paradise; this contrasts with her lover whose ‘eyes look earthward’. Presumably the protagonists lovers’ choice to maintain ‘worldly’ wants results in his condemnation to hell as opposed to her salvation. Through descriptions of not only places but character perceptions of them Rossetti is able to write an engrossing narrative with implicit suggestions about morality. A second poem in which place plays a considerably large role is the famous ‘Goblin Market’ which charts the exploits of two sisters which results in a fall from grace, descriptions of the ‘brookside rushes’, ‘the glen’ make the area seem comparable to paradisaical Garden of Eden with the ‘goblin men’ fulfilling the role of the serpent who coaxes the well-meaning protagonist(s) into consuming forbidden fruit: this relates to Rossetti’s connection with nature because the juxtaposition of enticing appearance with sinister undertones further reiterates her idea that nature is beautiful and admirable but at the same time dangerous. Overall the significance of place within the writing of Rossetti is largely symbolic with the aim of conveying ideas only obvious when looked at in context.

Similarly to Rossetti but in a more metropolitan context McCarthy and Fitzgerald also make great use of place in their writing. In the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ the antithesis to the beacon of upper-class living is the drab, grey ‘Valley of Ashes’ and in McCarthy’s ‘the Road’ ash is one of the few constants in the novel. In terms of symbolism relating to the substance, the most obvious of which is seeing ash as destruction physically manifest. Ash can only be produced by the burning of a material, within the context of ‘the Road’ the situations suggests that the ash may be the by-product of some sort of conflict or major natural disaster but as with ‘the Great Gatsby’ the ash may also be symbolic of the breaking down of morality, societal conventions and society itself. Furthermore both of the novels are based in the USA, a nation famous for promises of opportunity however the contrast between excessive wealth and disadvantage in Gatsby; and the swift decline from global superpower to lawless state are a more ‘warts and all’ depiction of the country in two different time periods.

Ultimately whilst in differing contexts the writings of Rossetti, Fitzgerald and McCarthy all make use for descriptions of place as not only a plot device but a discreet means of conveying ideas.

The value attached to hardship by Nietzsche at times seems overbearing and harsh, however it can’t be argued with that the views espoused by Nietzsche and his approach to life are undoubtedly true.

The theme of suffering being a catalyst to greatness permeates innumerable philosophies and views of life,the great ‘prophets’ of Abrahamic religions and the enlightened ones of Eastern religions, but even in a secular context the idea is still prevalent. Homeric heroes like Hercules and Odysseus undergo trials and tribulations but emerge from the proverbial ‘tunnel’ victorious in the end.

Especially within Cormac Mccarthy’s ‘the Road’ moral nihilism, the idea that there is no right or wrong but only survival or death, is a key theme and arguably the reason why the man and the boy remain alive for such a long period of time. Within an orthodox society taking food from abandoned homes would still be seen as morally dubious however the dismissal of such opinions means that the two characters are able to find nourishment. Furthermore the lack of overbearing theology means that in deciding that suicide is the best option if circumstances encourage it, there is no sense of guilt or fear of being condemned to some sort of spiritual punishment.

Ultimately Nietzsche was correct in viewing suffering and pain as a defining factor in the life of human beings, because whilst the reader parts with the boy when he meets the almost Messianic ‘good guy’ it is highly likely that were the story to continue the boy who has become wise beyond his years would be instrumental in rebuilding and re-establishing society.

Number Crunching

• Connectives – the connectives within the books sentence structure seem to be quite consequential; words like ‘although’ and ‘but’ suggest that following a main point there is another side which in-line with the general structure of the book is almost definitely negative. Aside from consequential negatives there are also leading connectives which make way for additions to events.
• Adjectives – these tend to be largely bleak and in a sense pessimistic as the negative adjectives greatly outnumber the examples of positive negatives which are only found in the more idealised areas of the novel (i.e. the dreams)
• Other Patterns – the patterns of terms such as ‘okay’ and ‘said’ in comparison to the non-existence of the phrase ‘replied’ show that the dialogue is largely simplified, this is generally because of the depth of the relationship between the twin protagonists. Furthermore the prevalence of words referring to others like ‘somebody’ and ‘someone’ reiterate just how prominent the father and son are within the story arc and also the extent of isolation and suspicion towards any individuals outside of the duo.
• Nouns – in terms of number there is a fairly balanced distribution of concrete and abstract: the concrete nouns tend to refer to either the landscape ‘ash’ and ‘road’ are examples or refer to items necessary for survival i.e. ‘cart’ and ‘tarp’ whereas the abstract nouns generally refer to emotions such as ‘despair’ .and ‘terror’. This shows how the environment presented tends to have direct influence on the emotions experienced. Also the concrete nouns relating to survival are the most often repeated which gives insight into survival being the ubiquitous theme. Overall the nature of the concrete nouns and the rarity of pronouns appears peculiar but is reflective of the genre because it further hammers home the prominence of the major theme: survival in extreme circumstance.

Key Episode – Questions about mortality (pg. 9)

1. This episode is the first in which I learned just how strong the bond is between the ‘Man’ and the ‘Boy’ actually is, within a simple page of dialogue between the them, the two are able to have a feasible discussion about death and the implications of it which in itself to me appeared ominous ergo giving me a slight sadness because the naivety of the boy compared with the affection of the father makes the notion of them being separated quite depressing. In order to evoke these emotions McCarthy makes the boy ask multiple questions which are met with fairly simples answers, also the fact that the child asks questions about death despite his blatant innocence shows that the experiences are not befitting of a child and the father is paramount to his survival.
2. Conforming to dystopian genre it is likely that the moment of relative peace and quite will be followed directly by a violent or tumultuous event. Emotionally it will probably change from sadness to a tense, fearful atmosphere.
3. This episode, as I mentioned before, is the first in which it is made clear that the relationship is an idealised representation of a father-son bond because they understand one another without need for much verbal communication. Through the events within this episode the individual personalities of both characters are established as well as the nature of their relationship.
4. The main story-telling device employed by the author in this particular episode is language, the episode almost completely consists of language and is similar to other parts of language in the novel: specifically how the boy proceeds to ask numerous questions that are met with fairly simple answers that still manage to satiate his curiosity.
5. I think that this is a key episode; it merges well into the story progression particularly as the novel manages to flow well without chapters and this event does not stray from the structural integrity of the story. In addition to this ominous nature of the episode greatly contributes to the reader’s understanding of events as well as being a major vehicle for character and relationship establishment.

The foremost relationship presented in the poem is that of the unnamed protagonist and her sister Maude, the narrator seems to have a deep-seated resentment towards the aforementioned sister. The poem begins with a rhetorical question which is answered with the revelation ‘Oh who but Maude, my Sister Maude’: although a simple answer the fact that her name is not only referred to once, but repeated, suggests that the narrator has strong feelings about what happened as well as being hurt even more knowing that the source of her distress is her own sister.

In addition to this the narrators condemnation of Maude to hell ‘Bide you with death and sin’ and ‘Sister Maude shall get no sleep, Either early or late’ is indicative of the narrators belief that Maude is deserving of an eternity and hell but also her desire for Maude to go to hell because of her betrayal, a punishment she hopes and wants to be eternal and without reprieve.

As well as the betrayal itself perpetrated by Maude the narrator appears to resent her also because of the motives for betraying her saying ‘Though I had not been born at all, He’d never have looked at you’ this choice of words implies that the only reason why Maude did what she did was out of jealousy aimed at the protagonist.

Another relationship within the poem is between the protagonist and her deceased lover. Some of the ways in which she refers to the man seem to convey a sense of regret. ‘You might have spared his soul sister’ by saying this, the narrator seems to believe that her lover may have committed some sort of sin, but still manages to deflect the blame for his shortcoming onto Maude, this seems fairly rational considering that presumably Maude did have a part in the failure of the protagonist’s lover however her ignorance regarding the responsibility of the lover himself shows that whilst to an extent the hate directed towards Maude is justified but may be a accentuated by the narrators view of her lover as being almost infallible.

One of the elements of Goblin market that suggests that feminism is embedded in the poem is the theme of sisterhood present throughout the entire poem. The only human characters referenced in the poem are sisters Lizzie and Laura, there is no reference to a community, even following the traumatic events they both experience the response is initiated by the sisters without the assistance of others. Furthermore as the poem comes to a close in line 562 Rossetti states ‘For there is no friend like a sister’ this is quite an ambiguous thing to say considering that not all sisterly relationships would be as idyllic as depicted in the poem: from a feminist perspective however it becomes apparent that the concept of sisters may not necessarily mean in a genetic sense but more the connection between all women due to experiences that bind them i.e. motherhood; this in turn creates the idea that phrases in the poem such as ‘to cheer one on the tedious way’ means that the mutual understanding between women makes them more apt candidates for the proverbial ‘shoulder to cry on’ in times of hardship. On the other hand, in the context of Rossetti’s life the recurring theme of sisterhood being important and other relationships being potentially harmful (the fruit, considered to be representative of sexual desire ultimately does more bad than good) may be a swipe at her brothers, Rossetti’s brothers formed an artistic movement named the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, they encouraged her to write poetry but denied her request to join the movement itself. Rossetti writing about a mythical world which is inhabited by only women with the only males being hideous goblins, could be perceived as her showing that a male-dominated world that thought itself to be progressive and causing society to advance was at it’s source inherently misogynistic and even further that Rossetti and other female authors of the period did not need men at all.

A second aspect of the poem that makes it seem feminist are the multiple references to Biblical stories, particularly those which make out women to be antagonists, and creating a different perspective (similar to what Milton does in ‘Paradise Lost’). The most obvious case of this is the fruit, Lizzie is tempted by Goblins who are in possession of certain fruits and despite warnings by her sister she consumes the said fruit, this results in her falling ill and in turn means that Laura has to return to the market and undergo a crude baptism by fire so to speak in order for her to nurse the ailing Lizzie. The concept of enticing fruit ultimately bringing destruction is reminiscent of the story of Adam and Eve, in the story Eve is tempted by a presumably male Serpent into eating a ‘forbidden fruit’ which causes a literal fall from grace and inflicts ‘sin’ on the world, briefly afterward her husband Adam eats the fruit and faces the same fate. In the play the roles are reversed, instead of a perfectly innocent man losing his status due to the sinful exploits of his wife, two innocent sisters fall prey to goblin salesman with a sinister agenda. As well as subtly criticising the macabre actions some men commit it may also be a challenge to the blatant misogyny present in the Bible which during the period when the poem was written was slowly losing it’s credibility with the rise of logical scientific thinking. Another biblical tale which is reversed is that of Samson and Delilah, Samson has his hair removed by his lover Delilah and subsequently loses his strength. In Rossetti’s poem, Laura must give up some of her hair in order to pay the goblins, however rather than strength what Laura loses in the play can more accurately be described as her innocence.

Ultimately the themes present in ‘Goblin Market’ as well as the language employed by Rossetti suggest that the poem has feminism at it’s core which potentially reflects the opinions of the poet herself; but when analysed with context in mind it suggests that Rossetti may be using the poem as a release of emotions and an almost vengeful way of responding to disappointment and distress inflicted by those around her, just as Dante Alighieri does in ‘Inferno’.

The nature of Rossetti’s writing is exorbitantly multifaceted and regardless of structural convention and supposed intent behind content her poetry is often a lot more meaningful than realised. Rossetti utilised descriptive writing for a myriad of purposes and did so very effectively.
One way in which descriptive writing is significant in Rossetti’s poetry is as a means of manufacturing realism even in cases where the places and people depicted are entirely fictional as well as noticeably fantastical. A major example of this is in the poem ‘Goblin Market’, the description of areas like the brook side rushes, restless brook and mossy glen add an air of realism to an otherwise mythical setting. The descriptions of these aspects of nature bring a sense of reality to a setting in which the only humans mentioned are females and where the antagonists and only presumably male figures are the goblins. Another example in which description facilitates realism is in the poem ‘Jessie Cameron’. The descriptions of her character and actions allow the reader to better understand and relate to the titular character, referring to Jessie Cameron as heedless with her tongue and apt at causing pain is elaborative in relation to actual quotations on her part and instead of using suggestive examples on multiple occasions to produce a vague idea of Jessie the descriptions of her personality allow the reader to understand her outside of the context of the events in the poem this is fairly peculiar in poetry but is testament to how effectively Rossetti used description.
Descriptive writing is also an essential means of conveying the messages Rossetti intended, to the uninitiated Rossetti’s poetry can be understood simply as being narrative however through inference and understanding of context her poetry is revealed to be a lot more meaningful. The poem ‘Cousin Kate’ scrutinises and challenges the rampant misogyny present in the Victorian era during which time Rossetti penned her works. Rather than presenting the male figure as the protagonist who comes and sweeps the poor maiden off her feet it chronicles the events of whirlwind courtship in less of a romanticised light. The unnamed main character is chosen by a lord to be his plaything this in itself is quite condescending description, furthermore the choice of the character to use the word when describing herself conveys a sense of regret whilst not foregoing the point that she is almost accepting of the inferiority inflicted on her by society. In addition to this the description of the man allowing her to sit with him on high suggests that by forcing women to basically accept a subservient placement in society Victorian men were almost apotheosised and given a status similar to that of deity (with the knowledge that Rossetti was not only considered in modern terms to be an early feminist but also a devout Christian) equating men with divinity is not a celebration of men but rather a subtle criticism. Furthermore the protagonists revelation that she is an unclean thing contrasted with the man choosing to marry her cousin the good Kate a name which actually means pure implies that not only has the man toyed with her emotions but has also stolen away her purity and will do the same to Kate who is seemingly representative of innocence manifest in human form. These factors coupled with contextual information reveal the poem to be a discourse on the evil nature of Victorian men.

From reading this essay I was able to extract information about Rossetti and her inspiration which seemed otherwise esoteric. What struck me as peculiar was that Rossetti was a devout Christian, from the subject matter of her poetry which seems questioning and critical of the religion I assumed that she had an Agnostic/Atheist understanding of the world. Especially in poems such as Goblin Market which effectively warp Biblical stories such as that of Adam and Eve to portray the characters as less evil and even in some cases the victim rather than the perpetrator. The revelation that Rossetti was devoutly religious and tried to reflect this in her work shows her poems in a new light and allows me to understand the presence of contextual factors. In addition to this, poems such as Jessie Cameron which present the ocean as an almost human presence is reminiscent of Pagan concepts of nature spirits and bodies of water having personalities of their own, reflected in how these things behaved (i.e. the sea is fickle, can be angry or calm); knowing of her religious affiliations suggests that choosing to depict the sea in this way could be a sort of veneration for God’s creations rather than more ‘spiritual’ perceptions.
The fact that Rossetti suffered from mental disorders and her being forced to accept denial of entry to the Pre-Raphaelite order (by her own brothers) and still was able to produce poems of the calibre she did is testament to her skill and talent as a poet and shows that regardless of how odd her poems may seem to the uninitiated her poems are to be read not at face value or with baseline inference but deeply read and understood whilst taking contextual factors into account during analysis.
What I learnt from this essay has significantly changed my perception of Rossetti and I now class her as one of my favourite poets: not only because of her work but because of her story.