Please complete all blog posts pertaining to The Road in the comments section of this thread. Blog posts are assigned weekly for the duration of the Lit Circle, and are due by 10pm on Thursday nights.
Students posting in this thread will be: Richard, Dan, Rachelle & Ashley
Happy Reading!
15 comments:
The first thing I noticed was the style of writing McCarthy uses. I like how it is a mix of flashbacks and stream of consciousness. It keeps me interested. I also found the dialogue between the father and the son to be intriguing. It seems to me as if the father always answers enough to satiate the boy's curiosity, but never gives any background information. Why do you think that is? Also, the dialogue is very short and concise. Do you think their dialogue is evidence of a loving relationship between the two?
I feel, torn between whether they have a loving relationship or whether it is just a simple relationship. At times, I feel that the father expresses a genuine love for his son. For example, how he always looks at how peaceful the boy sleeps or when the father helps and encourages the boy when they go for a swim in the water. As far as the dialogue goes, I feel that there lacks a depth in the relationship. Perhaps they truly love each other but have problems expressing that love in words. Then again, maybe the father doesn't give a depth in what he tells his son because he fears that it would hurt his son or make him scared or uneasy.
The author's writing style was the first thing that interested me while I was reading. I really enjoy the stream of conciousness and the precise attetntion to detail. At times I feel a bit confused is the moving from section to section so quickly, but the unique style makes me want to continue on reading.
Also, I find the relationship between the father and son very interesting. They both seem to understand what each other is thinking, like they have an unspoken language. I am still unsure of the closenss of their relationship, but I look forward to getting deeper into it as we read further on in the book.
I feel like the missing element in their relationship is created by the deep depression of the man's wife and most of the world being dead. The whole situation they are in is very sad and it's hard for them to have good times together. I felt as though in the beginning the plot wasn't much more dynamic than them walking, eating, or sleeping. I did enjoy, however, the moments when the author steps back and tells a back story to tell us more about our characters motives and personalities. This is a good book so far and I think I will like where it goes.
I'm really captivated by this book. With every incident or run in, I find myself becoming more attached to the father and son. The main thing that I thought about during this week's reading was how much we take things for granted. When the father and son found the storeroom of food, it was like heaven to them. It made me realize how much I'm ungrateful for things in my own life. I also enjoy how we get to see more interactions between the father, son, and other humans. I think it characterizes a lot of the flaws that exist within the nature of humans today.
Wow Ashley! I never thought of that aspect in the book, but it is so obvious and important to how we live our lives and view essential things in our lives. Like we addressed at the last lit circle meeting, there is a definite theme of good vs. evil. It becomes more and more obvious to me the more I read the book. I feel that I have it figure out that the father and the son are the good guys in the book, and then McCarthy puts in events such as when they leave the people captive in the basement. I love how he makes you feel that you have the book figured out and he pulls you back to remind us that he is the one writing the story. Another example is when they find the storeroom. With all of their lack of success, I was almost sure that the father's discovery of the door in the ground would be another dead end, but McCarthy doesn't make it to be that way. I love this book and am having difficulty keeping myself from reading ahead.
When reading this week, I found most interesting the part where the father and son walk into the basement of the house and find prisoners down there saying "help me". It shocked me that they were being kept alive in the basement of a house only to be killed and eaten later by their capturers. Also, I was shocked when the father told the son to pretty much commit suicide by shooting himself in the head if he were to be found by the hunters. It amazes me how the situation was so extreme that suicide would have to be a better option than anything else, because otherwise he would be tortured and eventually eaten. Back to Ashley's comment, we do take a lot for granted. No matter how extreme the situation, most of us are lucky enough to have food on the table everyday and not be fighting for survival. I am liking this novel more and more everyday and it just breaks my heart to see the struggles in it.
While reading this book I have noticed a theme of them man mentioning the phrase "We're carrying the fire". At first I didn't know this was meant literally, but then I realized what he was talking about. The man is saying that they are the only good left in the world and it's their responsibility to carry on the flame of "good" the next generation (if there is one). This is the sense of hope the father and son need to push them to survive.
About Dan's comment, I like that the father is still trying to keep hope for his son by always saying they are the good guys and they are "carrying the fire". I think it gives the boy something to look forward to in such a bleak world. That being said, the father is also preparing his son to survive when he himself has died. I have seen this preparation more evident in this part of the novel as the boy has started to notice things like the house on the hill whereas the father is slowly dying and noticing less. The boy's independence is starting to become apparent, and I'm interested to see if it will affect his relationship with his father.
OMGsh Ashley, you always talk about the exact same thing I want to. I need to beat you next time. LOL. I completely agree. The boy is starting to show independence and abilities that are going to be required in order for him to live on his own, which I am starting to believe will occur. By seeing the house on the hill and seeing smoke from far distances, the boy is showing that he is becoming more mature in the post-apocalyptic world. But then on the other side, the boy does show signs that he won't be able to live on his own. After finding the house off to the side of the road, the boy is pleading for his dad not to go in, and once they enter he begs his father not to go upstairs. In both circumstances they found things required for survival (food, shelter, warmth and water). Without the father, I believe that the boy would have passed this blessing up in a heartbeat. This whole situation reminds me of the situation with the underground bunker. When they were almost done for, they found sustenance.
Like Richard and Ashley discussed above, I find it intriguing to watch the boy develop into a more mature and independent young man. Up until now, I have thought that the whole goal of the father was to see that he and his son survive as to "carry the fire" or keep the human race going. But now, I see more that his one true goal is to help his son develop more independence in order to survive without him, because as the audience sees, the father knows he is slowly dying and eventually his son will be left on his own. But, it is seen that the son is not quite ready to go off on his own as shown in instances such as the house on the hill. He still is in the process of developing independence; he still encompasses some childhood innocence and immaturity that I think we will see dwindle further and further away as the novel goes on.
You're right Richard, I still see the boy being scared and lacking courage in certain situations. I also notice the boy is still very childish when he cries at the sight of the skewered baby over the fire. My prediction is that as we finish the book, the boy will gain more and more independence, survival skills, and toughness then the man will die and the boy will be left on his own to survive. I feel like that's what this has all been leading up to.
I am glad that I was right about the foreshadowing of the father's death, however, I feel that it was rushed. At the end it seemed as if the father dies and the boy simultaneously finds help from a man. This does not really show any sort of maturity on the boys side. But, at the same time, it doesn't show a lack of maturity. I was hoping that McCarthy would show how the boy used some of the knowledge learned from his father in order for his own personal survival, but the ending of the book doesn't suggest anything like this. Overall I feel disappointed that the book ended the way that it did. The events leading to the father's death only vaguely hint that the father died out of supreme love for his son. All in all, the ending seems rushed to me.
I agree with Richard. The death of the father happened so fast that it seemed very insignificant, as he died in less than a paragraph on a page. The ending was not horrible, however it definitely was not the best. Everything came too easy for the boy, he never had to do any work of his own. I actually liked the book a lot even though it was a little depresssing. I feel as if it offered many discussion topics that can be applied to our lives.
After finishing the book, I was not quite surprised with the ending. I was somewhat familiar with Cormac McCarthy's work when I started so I thought it might end without much closure. I did enjoy reading the book. I liked how as you read, you feel as if you are almost there with the characters. If they seemed down on there luck, I seemed to not be in the best spirits ether. I believe that is the sign of a good fiction novel author, one that can keep the reader "in" the text and connected to the characters.
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