Structure and the Handling of Time

References and quotes (passing of time)

• "Spent the afternoon sitting" Aftenoon shows passing of the day. (Page 131)
• "They stood in the door watching the light draw down over the world to the west" Sunset shows end of the day. (Page 131)
• "Long a night" (Page 132)
•  "The dawn was a long time coming" (Page 133)
• "In the morning when he woke the rain had stopped" (Page 195)
• "Long days" (Page 229)
• "Went up the road calling out in the empty dusk" Empty dusk = sunset/evening. (Page 278)
• "In the long cold evening with the darkness dropping" (Page 69)
• "It was colder" Passing of seasons. (Page 31)
• "With dark they built a fire" (Page 233)
• "It's getting colder everyday" Passing of seasons. (Page 42)

Throughout the road, McCarthy uses the daylight, and weather to mark the passing of time. This could symbolise the decay of civilisation, as time is simply a human conception to organise and structure our lives. In a post-apocalyptic word, 'civilised' organisation is no longer needed; the people remaining only need know day and night and the weather. For example, the main gaol for the boy and the man (with survival being put aside) is to move south and reach the sea. By moving south, the man is trying to keep alive for longer, as the weather is warmer thus easier to survive in. They do not need to know exact times during the day, because they aren't living each day by a schedule or time table. However, the man seems to want the day to remain slightly structured as he and the boy have breakfast and dinner in the morning and evening respectively.