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Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Pages 1-29
Explanation and Analysis:
In keeping with its subject matter, The Road cuts a dark and despairing mood. The apocalypse has not only upended the earth but destroyed all that previously held meaning. The “wall of smog” lingers on the horizon and “burnt” cities ominously loom, and in its account of this new world the novel mourns for the loss of the old one. McCarthy repeatedly appeals to these desolate surroundings in order to point towards a deeper, nihilistic absence of joy and meaning:
Lying there in the dark with the uncanny taste of peach from some phantom orchard fading in his mouth. He thought if he lived long enough the world at last would all be lost. Like the dying world the newly blind inhabit, all of it slowly fading from memory.
Related Themes:
Pages 246-287
Explanation and Analysis:
In keeping with its subject matter, The Road cuts a dark and despairing mood. The apocalypse has not only upended the earth but destroyed all that previously held meaning. The “wall of smog” lingers on the horizon and “burnt” cities ominously loom, and in its account of this new world the novel mourns for the loss of the old one. McCarthy repeatedly appeals to these desolate surroundings in order to point towards a deeper, nihilistic absence of joy and meaning:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Lying there in the dark with the uncanny taste of peach from some phantom orchard fading in his mouth. He thought if he lived long enough the world at last would all be lost. Like the dying world the newly blind inhabit, all of it slowly fading from memory.
Related Themes:
