The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I walk this lonely road, the only one that I have ever known...  

 

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The Road by Cormac McCarthy

"The snow fell nor did it cease to fall. He woke all night and got up and coaxed the fire to life again. He'd unfolded the trap and propped one end of it up beneath the tree to try and reflect the heat from the fire. He looked at the boy's face sleeping in the orange light. The sunken cheeks streaked with black. He fought back the rage. Useless."

Considering that this story is about a very desolate barren landscape, it often reflects in the language characters use. As this passage progresses, it goes from longer sentences down to a single word. There is use of polysydeton in the second and third line, building on his actions as they occur. But it's nothing more than describing basic actions. Yet there is more put into describing action or setting, than the characters emotions. Ironic considering emotions are meant to be complex things, but they are described in the briefest of sentences. When it comes to the character's emotions, the sentences are short and very basic. It's as if the character has very little to say when it comes expressing emotions.  It also shows how little energy the character is able to put into his thoughts, other than the briefest words, it's all he can manage.