Colloquial Yet Poetic
Although this is a serious play dealing with serious themes, McCarthy's willing to let the dialogue get pretty funny and down-home at times. Black will say, for instance:
"They got a train for all them dumb-ass crackers that just feels bad and then they got this other train for you cause your pain and the world's pain is the same pain and this pain requires an observation car and a diner." (128)
He's making a super-serious point—talking about people's reasons for committing suicide—but it's expressed in an entertaining way. When Black and White make their big speeches and philosophical arguments, the dose of Big Ideas tends to be mixed with a spoonful sugar or two. It makes the mental medicine go down a bit easier.
That said, though, when they get on their philosophical high horses, these guys can still get pretty deep. For example, Black says at one point:
"Aint none of that. At the deep bottom of the mine where the gold is at there aint none of that. There's just the pure ore. That forever thing. That you dont think is there." (95)
And White, at his most poetic and intellectual, says things like, "The shadow of the axe hangs over every joy" (137). And when he does, through the beauty of his language, we just may find ourselves glimpsing the dark beauty of his arguments, too.