This is a picaresque novel, loosely structured around Billy's three journeys down into Mexico and back.

These three failed quests are also echoed by Billy's three unsuccessful attempts to join the army. Despite the episodic progression of the plot, some circularity is achieved by the fact that both the first and last sections of the novel culminate in burials.

In this novel, McCarthy also makes his most extensive use to date of the "story within the story" technique.

Through this method he explores the power of stories both true and false and he reinforces the metaphor of life as a tale.