Questions: Is the boy affected by the dead baby because he only knows a world full of death and destruction does the fact the death is of an infant make a difference?
Parallel: on page 190 the boy says, "what you put in your head is there forever?" this parallels a famous unforgettable line earlier in the book on page 12 " you forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget." this is important because the man is trying to hold on to the good memories of his wife but he only gets a little bit but he remembers fully the last night he saw her when she committed suicide.
Contrast: on page 191 the boy wakes up because he has a bad dream and the father comforts him however the dream was that the father did not comfort because the father did not wake up. this foreshadows that the father is getting sicker and it is obvious that he will not be there forever to comfort the boy when he has a bad dream.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
the road blog post 161-184
parallel: on page 173 the old man personifies death by saying "Nobody here but death and his days will be numbered too" earlier in the book his wife makes a similar personification when she says death is a new lover she will take instead of the man on page 58. death is a common theme throughout the book that everybody still living faces on a daily basis.
Contrast: in this passage the man and the boy meet and old man named Ely and the very fact that we know his mane is a contrast for the entire book because we have not yet learned the names the man or the boy.
Question: Why does the boy feel the need to help everyone he meets on the road especially when they would not return the favor as Ely tells the man?
Contrast: in this passage the man and the boy meet and old man named Ely and the very fact that we know his mane is a contrast for the entire book because we have not yet learned the names the man or the boy.
Question: Why does the boy feel the need to help everyone he meets on the road especially when they would not return the favor as Ely tells the man?
the road blog post 136-160
Question: beards have been associated with bad guys earlier in the book and the man has aboard as well until he shaves it on page 152. does this mean that the man is good because he no longer has a beard? what does shaving off a beard represent in the world they live in?
Contrast: on page 150 McCarthy writes " they passed a metal trashdump where someone had once tried to burn bodies. the charred meat and bones under the damp ash might have been anonymous save for the shape of the skulls." two pages later on 152 he says "they ate a sumptuous meal by candlelight. ham and green beans and mashed potatoes with biscuits and gravy," these are obviously very contrasting the world around them and the world between them that the father is trying to save.
Parallel: on page 153 McCarthy explains that the man is an alien to the boy because the world he comes from no longer exists and a similar occurrence is stated on page 129 that the boy is alien because he comes from a different world than the man.
Contrast: on page 150 McCarthy writes " they passed a metal trashdump where someone had once tried to burn bodies. the charred meat and bones under the damp ash might have been anonymous save for the shape of the skulls." two pages later on 152 he says "they ate a sumptuous meal by candlelight. ham and green beans and mashed potatoes with biscuits and gravy," these are obviously very contrasting the world around them and the world between them that the father is trying to save.
Parallel: on page 153 McCarthy explains that the man is an alien to the boy because the world he comes from no longer exists and a similar occurrence is stated on page 129 that the boy is alien because he comes from a different world than the man.
the road blog post 119-135
questions: why does the father always leave the boy file searches around for supplies? shouldn't he be tacking the boy what to look for?
contrast: on page 131 McCarthy describes a scene where the he is holding the son in one hand and the revolver in the other and i think this is an important contrast because the son represents life while the revolver represents death. in the last passage the man gives the revolver to the boy in case the boy has to use it as to not be captured the revolver represents would "save" the boy as well.
Parallel: on page 131 the man has a pleasant dream of his wife and this is a reocurring theme in the book that the father wishes was not. he believes the right dreams for a man in peril are dreams of peril. on page 18 he has a similar dream of his wife than that on page 131. it;s interesting that they are so far apart because the ma says soon as who start having good dreams who have given up. is the man forever on the brink of giving up?
contrast: on page 131 McCarthy describes a scene where the he is holding the son in one hand and the revolver in the other and i think this is an important contrast because the son represents life while the revolver represents death. in the last passage the man gives the revolver to the boy in case the boy has to use it as to not be captured the revolver represents would "save" the boy as well.
Parallel: on page 131 the man has a pleasant dream of his wife and this is a reocurring theme in the book that the father wishes was not. he believes the right dreams for a man in peril are dreams of peril. on page 18 he has a similar dream of his wife than that on page 131. it;s interesting that they are so far apart because the ma says soon as who start having good dreams who have given up. is the man forever on the brink of giving up?
the road blog post 72-92
contrast: a big contrast I noted in this passage was the on about good vs. evil that has been a common theme throughout the book. It is clear in the book that the man's job is to keep the son alive, if he fails at that there is no reason for him to live demonstrated by the dad washing brains out if the son's hair. but for other people they may have a different reason to live and therefore are willing to be bad as long as it doesn't violate there reason to live.
parallel: I think a common theme is the boy looking to the man for advice and reassurance. the boy asks of the man many questions like on page 77 when the boy asks if they are still the good guys and the man answers yes they are. on page 83 the boy again asks if they are going to be okay and the man replies yes they are because they carry the fire. the boy doesn't realize yet but the man will not be there forever and the man is gradually teaching the boy to survive on his own.
questions: why does the boy care so much about the dog when they live in a world where everything is dead or dying? is it because he is trying to hold on to whatever humanity the boy and the man have left?
parallel: I think a common theme is the boy looking to the man for advice and reassurance. the boy asks of the man many questions like on page 77 when the boy asks if they are still the good guys and the man answers yes they are. on page 83 the boy again asks if they are going to be okay and the man replies yes they are because they carry the fire. the boy doesn't realize yet but the man will not be there forever and the man is gradually teaching the boy to survive on his own.
questions: why does the boy care so much about the dog when they live in a world where everything is dead or dying? is it because he is trying to hold on to whatever humanity the boy and the man have left?
Monday, December 2, 2013
the road blog post 52-71
question: the mother chooses to take her own life because she says sooner or later they will catch us and rape us and kill us. she also says that if he cannot do it without her then he should not, there are still two bullets in the gun for him and the son. why does the man choose to stay alive and go on? what does he live for now that the world they knew is gone?
contrast: on page 54 inn the middle of the page at the end of the passage it says " So, he whispered to the sleeping boy. I have you." this means to say that the father has the boy and that is his one responsibility in this world all he has to do is take care of the boy, also the boy is his soul purpose. on the next page the says at the top "I wish i was with my mom" the boy means he wishes he was dead like his mom. this must be terrible to hear because the father has the boy but the boy doesn't want the father he wants the mom and not only that he wants to be dead with his mom.
parallel: on pages 52-53 the man dreams about a night when the mother is supposedly pregnant and the power goes out and the man gets up to check on the power. it is off. then on pages 56-57 he thinks about the mother again and she gives him a speech about why she is committing suicide. these parallel because they represent the beginning of the son's life the father's reason to live and the end of the mother's life begining the story that they are living now.
contrast: on page 54 inn the middle of the page at the end of the passage it says " So, he whispered to the sleeping boy. I have you." this means to say that the father has the boy and that is his one responsibility in this world all he has to do is take care of the boy, also the boy is his soul purpose. on the next page the says at the top "I wish i was with my mom" the boy means he wishes he was dead like his mom. this must be terrible to hear because the father has the boy but the boy doesn't want the father he wants the mom and not only that he wants to be dead with his mom.
parallel: on pages 52-53 the man dreams about a night when the mother is supposedly pregnant and the power goes out and the man gets up to check on the power. it is off. then on pages 56-57 he thinks about the mother again and she gives him a speech about why she is committing suicide. these parallel because they represent the beginning of the son's life the father's reason to live and the end of the mother's life begining the story that they are living now.
the road blog post 32-51
question: what is "The Gap" and why is it important. what does it mean to the man? he says he and his father also stood there as well.
contrast: on page 38 the man and the boy find a little pool with a waterfall and they go in to wash themselves. I seee this as a good father son moment and ethey are possibly enjoying themselves swimming in this pool. on the very next page at the bottom after they get out of the pool "a rich southern wood that once held mayapple,pipsissewa, Ginseng. the raw dead limbs of the rhododendron twisted and knotted and black." this phrase is very bleak to me and i noted the contrast from the pool and the father son moment to the reality of the world they are back in.
parallel: on page 34 the father and the boy are sharing a cup of hot chocolate and because the father only has enough for one cup he gives it to the boy and he has a cup of hot water. the boy noties and makes him take some back. i think this parallels back to the scene in the shopping market when the man finds the coke and gives it to the boy but the boy makes him drink some as well. Also the boy is always watching the man making sure he is taking nourishment as well as for advice and guidance. for example. on page 39 the father finds some mushrooms and he tells the boy that they are ok to eat.
contrast: on page 38 the man and the boy find a little pool with a waterfall and they go in to wash themselves. I seee this as a good father son moment and ethey are possibly enjoying themselves swimming in this pool. on the very next page at the bottom after they get out of the pool "a rich southern wood that once held mayapple,pipsissewa, Ginseng. the raw dead limbs of the rhododendron twisted and knotted and black." this phrase is very bleak to me and i noted the contrast from the pool and the father son moment to the reality of the world they are back in.
parallel: on page 34 the father and the boy are sharing a cup of hot chocolate and because the father only has enough for one cup he gives it to the boy and he has a cup of hot water. the boy noties and makes him take some back. i think this parallels back to the scene in the shopping market when the man finds the coke and gives it to the boy but the boy makes him drink some as well. Also the boy is always watching the man making sure he is taking nourishment as well as for advice and guidance. for example. on page 39 the father finds some mushrooms and he tells the boy that they are ok to eat.
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