The boy and the man didn't have too much to say to each other, but their words were very powerful. These are some phrases that came up most often in the novel:
I dont know. - The clear uncertainty and anonymity of everything around them was both devastating and chilling. Despite the want for answers, it became apparent that not knowing the names of people (think Ely) or the time or even the next step in the journey was vastly insignificant compared to the sheer challenge of survival. "Why fret over questions to which you don't have the answer?"
It's all right./It's okay. - This was a favorite saying of the father, for he was constantly reassuring the scared boy that he would protect him and that nothing would happen to them. This was mostly a comfort to the man, though, as it voiced his singular purpose for trudging on down the road towards death. The son of course became immune to the father's comfort, for he knew better than to trust in simple words.
I'm sorry. - Only in the first third of the novel (or so) did the father apologize to the son. He stopped when he realized that it upset the boy more than anything. The phrase became meaningless as promise after promise was silently broken.
Don't look back. - The only way that the father and son could keep moving was to forget their past life, as well as the strange marauders following behind them, and try to think only of the rewards of continuing on the road. This one-track mindset was the only mental protection against thoughts of failure.
Okay. - At first it was a reply of certain courage and willingness to survive. It slowly transformed into a sign of helplessness. The quiet submission of the boy to his father's remarks and requests are what force his rapid maturity. One wouldn't think that such a simple word would change in meaning so drastically over the course of the book.
Are we going to die now? - This is a favorite of mine, for it becomes clear that there is no true distinction between life in that horrible world and death. The boy, I believe, is referring to mental and moral degradation - the fading of memories, the loss of caring, the death of hope.
I dont know. - The clear uncertainty and anonymity of everything around them was both devastating and chilling. Despite the want for answers, it became apparent that not knowing the names of people (think Ely) or the time or even the next step in the journey was vastly insignificant compared to the sheer challenge of survival. "Why fret over questions to which you don't have the answer?"
It's all right./It's okay. - This was a favorite saying of the father, for he was constantly reassuring the scared boy that he would protect him and that nothing would happen to them. This was mostly a comfort to the man, though, as it voiced his singular purpose for trudging on down the road towards death. The son of course became immune to the father's comfort, for he knew better than to trust in simple words.
I'm sorry. - Only in the first third of the novel (or so) did the father apologize to the son. He stopped when he realized that it upset the boy more than anything. The phrase became meaningless as promise after promise was silently broken.
Don't look back. - The only way that the father and son could keep moving was to forget their past life, as well as the strange marauders following behind them, and try to think only of the rewards of continuing on the road. This one-track mindset was the only mental protection against thoughts of failure.
Okay. - At first it was a reply of certain courage and willingness to survive. It slowly transformed into a sign of helplessness. The quiet submission of the boy to his father's remarks and requests are what force his rapid maturity. One wouldn't think that such a simple word would change in meaning so drastically over the course of the book.
Are we going to die now? - This is a favorite of mine, for it becomes clear that there is no true distinction between life in that horrible world and death. The boy, I believe, is referring to mental and moral degradation - the fading of memories, the loss of caring, the death of hope.
2 comments:
I agree with you. They did have rather short and seemingly awkward conversations, but each conversation meant so much. They never really asked questioned about where they were going which led me later in the novel to stop questioning what they were doing and just go with it. I was confused still but I knew that they were traveling and it was clear that even they didn't know what they would be do in the next hour and for sure not the next day.
Also, I never looked at "Are we going to die?" in that manner. It is really interesting and actually makes a lot of sense because I was thinking more on obvious terms of how they didn't know what was ahead of them and who was going to find them and attack them. They always seemed to be on the run and thats why I looked at that quote that way.
I love this post.
A lot of these phrases I never thought too in-depth about, especially "Okay". The part of the book where the boys maturity begins to show is one of my favorite parts. It's after the father gets shot in the leg with an arrow, and I like it so much because McCarthy's style of conversation without quotation marks makes the reader kind of do a double take. The boy takes charge of the conversation for once, he asks the questions and the father's the one giving the one word answers. Unfortunately, I think this is the only time it happens in the book, but that's what makes it so great.
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