Themes In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

Authors often use setting to present central themes in their novels in a way that the readers can understand. If this is a man is memoir written by Primo Levi in 1947, that documents Levi's experiences as well as his struggles. The novel acts as a testament to the cruelties inflicted on the prisoners but also to their level of endurance. Cormac McCarthy's novel, The road, follows the journey of a man and his young child in a post-apocalyptic world. The novel explores the perseverance of the father and his son to survive in a world destroyed of most civilisations. While both novels are set in unnatural environments, with The road is set in a post-apocalyptic America and if this is a man being set in a concentration camp during the Second world war, the setting of this is a man clarifies the reader's understanding of Levi's emotion whereas the setting of the road is almost unknown allowing the reader to imagine where and when the novel takes place. …show more content…
Levi uses imagery such as " low grey skies" and "cold and dark sidereal spaces" to describe the setting and atmosphere in Auschwitz. These physical features of Levi's surroundings function as thematic elements to describe the dehumanisation and cruelty inflicted on prisoners and by doing this he appeals to the sympathy of the readers, thus allowing them to understand the importance of survival. Furthermore, Levi uses irony to appeal to the audience. In the novel when he states" how comic face we have without hair" the audience through the description of the setting is able to understand that Levi uses comic relief as a coping mechanism and a method of survival in this harsh environment. His tone strikes the audience, forcing them to realise the austerity of his circumstance. Overall, Levi uses setting to emphasise the context of