Throughout pieces of literature, whether novels or short stories, imagery is an important literary device. Without the addition of imagery, readers would not be able to have emotional or sensational responses. In the interesting story of “The Road”, by Cormac McCarthy, readers encounter several situations where imagery is a prominent element which helps paint a better overall understand of the setting, plot and characters. Early on in “The Road”, readers are faced with a father and son looking to get to the coast in a post-apocalyptic United States. The two are looking to find a warm area to evade the freezing winters of the North, but must endure several weeks of hardships and horrors. McCarthy states, “He kept the pistol to hand on the
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About halfway through the story, the duo finds a hidden bunker containing hundreds of useful items, as well as food and water. The magnitude of the situation is hard to visualize and comprehend without the descriptive element of imagery. McCarthy states, “The bunker was walled with concrete block. A poured concrete floor laid over with kitchen tile. There were a couple of iron cots with bare springs, one against either wall, the mattress pads rolled up at the foot of them in army fashion… Crate upon crate of canned goods. Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots” (138). Through the use of graphic details, readers are able to visualize the situation of the duo viewing the bunker with alacrity. The application of imagery shows that after a long time searching for salvation and protection, the duo finally finds something worthwhile and able to shelter them from the elements. Furthermore, the plot is explained in that the group has been starving for a long time and the discovery of the bunker appears to be a light in the darkness of the world for them. Without finding the bunker and food, it would have been very possible that the father and son would’ve died. Progressing in the story, the father had been shot by an arrow and the situation is looking grim. The author attempts to show the magnitude of the situation through the quote “The arrow had cut a gash just above his knee about three inches long. It was still bleeding and his whole upper leg was discolored and he could see that the cut was deep” (265). The application of imagery on the sight of the wound shows how much trouble the father is in and the chance of survival being slim. Without extensive medical supplies, or possibly a doctor, the man may not be able to pull through, leaving the child on his own. All in all, the use of imagery in “The
About halfway through the story, the duo finds a hidden bunker containing hundreds of useful items, as well as food and water. The magnitude of the situation is hard to visualize and comprehend without the descriptive element of imagery. McCarthy states, “The bunker was walled with concrete block. A poured concrete floor laid over with kitchen tile. There were a couple of iron cots with bare springs, one against either wall, the mattress pads rolled up at the foot of them in army fashion… Crate upon crate of canned goods. Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots” (138). Through the use of graphic details, readers are able to visualize the situation of the duo viewing the bunker with alacrity. The application of imagery shows that after a long time searching for salvation and protection, the duo finally finds something worthwhile and able to shelter them from the elements. Furthermore, the plot is explained in that the group has been starving for a long time and the discovery of the bunker appears to be a light in the darkness of the world for them. Without finding the bunker and food, it would have been very possible that the father and son would’ve died. Progressing in the story, the father had been shot by an arrow and the situation is looking grim. The author attempts to show the magnitude of the situation through the quote “The arrow had cut a gash just above his knee about three inches long. It was still bleeding and his whole upper leg was discolored and he could see that the cut was deep” (265). The application of imagery on the sight of the wound shows how much trouble the father is in and the chance of survival being slim. Without extensive medical supplies, or possibly a doctor, the man may not be able to pull through, leaving the child on his own. All in all, the use of imagery in “The