Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Road ( post2, question 6)

One of the questions that I have about the book is why did people become cannibals? I know it was due to the fact that food was scarce but didn't the thought of farming or replanting came across their heads, I mean the people were from our time( century ) weren't they or at least they were civilized. They would have known other ways to survive other than eating each other.
It was like someone said in their post didnt they hear or learn about the slash-and-burn process of farming, if they all had stopped and thought maybe they could have rebuilt what was lost but I think that they went into panic and rushed into things.

An observation that I made was that the book put women as weak and strong unlike the other book "on the road".

" Such as what?I should have done it a long time ago. When there were three bullets in the gun instead of two. I was stupid. We've been all over this. I didn't bring myself to this. I was brought. And now I'm done...."
The conversation that they had when the woman left shows that women were weak because they lose hope for survival but instead they hope for death. It also shows that they are strong because they have accepted the fact that there was nothing else to do and that they are strong because they can make the toughest decision which in this case the mother wanted to make the decision of dying than suffering she wanted to bring the boy with her. She also knew that it was best to leave because if anything happens the father wouldn't accept it.
A last question that I have is about the men at the end who picked up the kid, who was he? Have they encounter him before because the men knew that the kid was with someone and asked about him. Where in the book did they met( besides the end)?
Posted by Cecilia at 5:18 AM

3 comments:

Maya Wilson said...

Hi, Cecilia!

I read your post of course, and i was amazed most of those questions didnt even cross my mind. I assume when your talking about cannabals your refering to the novel The Road, and it nevercrossed my mind, that the people in the novel where infact cannables. And are you talking about the basement chapter in the book, where the father finds the people.
Some of the questions i have refering to the novel are who are the people trying to kill them? Why did this particular town burn down? (did you think about that as well.)
Get back to my comment if you can. Can't wait to see you at school.

-Maya .

August 10, 2011 at 11:53 AM
Cecilia said...

Hey, yes those questions did crossed my mind. I was also wondering from the beginnning who were they running from? But was it a town? I thought it was the whole world because if it was only a town wouldnt aid come from other towns or countries. And then again how big was this town for everyone to become cannibals?
And that chapter of the people in the basement was disgusting, I got scared for the son and the father. Isnt there a movie about this book? Cause I would like to see it, to see if what I picture was as the movie shows it.

August 12, 2011 at 7:42 AM
Sophie said...

I also wondered what exactly had caused the world to fall to such post-apocalyptic ruin that cannibalism was necessary. However, I think what McCarthy meant to do here was juxtapose the worst of all human qualities (war, ruin, cannibalism) against the best (the loving relationship between the man and his son). If we want to get technical though, I would hazard a guess that chemicals and/or atomic bombs wiped out all animal life. The man and his son spend all of their time in the woods, yet no animals are mentioned. The man also says that cows are extinct. Also, the man once looks up at the sky "as if there were anything to see anymore," which I figure is a habit he has to check for war aircraft, a habit the man who takes the boy under his wing in the end also has.

Also, as the boy and the man move through several different towns, and the boy asks how many people are alive in the world, "The Road" takes place over a large tract of land, and whatever horrors happened before the story is set, happened to the entire world.

A movie was made out of this, I think only like 2 years ago too. I haven't seen it but I've heard from other people that it's pretty good!

One last thing--Cecilia, you say that women are the strong ones in "The Road," exhibited by the man's wife who is courageous enough to make the hard decision to kill herself. Is this really bravery though? Isn't it, in fact, more courageous to attempt to live and find pleasure and hope in such a desolate world? Death seems to be the easy way out.

Just some food for thought.

August 12, 2011 at 11:09 PM

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