Let's Get Technical

The Road isn't exactly known for its difficult variety of vocabulary words, but it does have some words that bring out the meaning of the content. For example, there are no true curse words in the book, because it is all descriptions and dialogue with a child, but the author did use the word "crap," which is normally considered vulgar, to say that the animal needs of the man are the only thing he has left. (63)

Another word that is used a lot in the book is "knapsack," which is the type of bag in which they are carrying all their belongings. Basically, all they own is in their knapsack, which means they don't have much. Sometimes, when McCarthy starts up on these long descriptions about what is going on, he includes lots of words I had never heard of in one single paragraph. After so many pages with no unknown word, the appearance of many helps add to the complexity of the situation. These are some words I found that I didn't know their meaning (all were found in the same paragraph on page 63):

• emaciation:  abnormal thinness caused by lack of nutrition or by disease
• lacquered: a protective coating consisting of a resin, cellulose ester, or both
• stropping: any of several devices for sharpening razors
• collared: anything worn or placed around the neck
• grime: dirt, soot, or other filthy matter
• shears: to cut something
• rachitic: rickety, characteristic of rickets
• billcap: False word
• (source)

 It is very strange to find these many unknown words in a single descriptive paragraph, but as I said, it is very effective to emphasize the importance of a scene and to show just how different it is from the rest of the journey. It is a very good example of using words to embellish the meaning of the content. By simply reading the definitions of the unknown words I found, it is possible to infer what the paragraph means. In this case, McCarthy wants the reader to focus in his word choice.

I really like how the author defines his word choice depending on the mood of the scene he is describing, and how he repeats words when nothing has changed, and finds extravagant words to describe an unimaginable experience. He is definitely an amazing writer, as simple as he may seem.