Incomplete Audio ( PART 1)
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Excerpts from the BookWhy do they have to do that?
I dont' know Are they going to eat them? I don't know They're going to eat them, aren't they? yes pg 127 "Hideous screams came from the house, but after a while it stopped" pg.109-111 "There is no one to see . Do you want to die? Is that what you want?" " I don't care" "The man stopped. He stopped and squatted and held him. Im sorry, he said. Don't say that. You musnt say that." pg 85 " Then one by one they turned and blinked in the pitiful light. Help us, they whispered. Please help us." " Christ, he said. Oh Christ. He turned and grabbed the boy. Hurry he said." pg.109-111 |
SummaryIn Cormac McCarthy's book The Road he talks about his main characters which are literally called "The Boy" and "The Man" in a different approach than I am used to. The book is constantly describing the characters more and more as it starts off by giving them simple names and descriptions but further on describes both the Boy and the Man a bit more. The further dialogue that goes on the more is learned about both characters. McCarthy uses this strategy throughout the whole book to keep attention much easier as it gives details as to what is actually going on and why while also teaching lessons through the dialogue of the Man and the Boy. I felt this read very difficult in the sense as to understand some of the themes that were going on, it wasn't until I actually put thought into it that I actually understood what was going on. Through out the book I would recommend having notes or a journal to actually come back to think about the points as that would help you further understand whats going on in a deeper sense. Along with those benefits it helps you cognitively think so your brain is active, unless you want to read the book to enjoy a read for its content and not deeper meanings. Compared to other books I have read it stands out because The Road never actually gives it themes that easily it hides them in dialogue between the Man and Boy or descriptions of something else.
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The Road's pace is more stagnant than most books, I think this is due to it being literature because it makes it harder to understand along with the characters start in the middle of actions with nothing to explain. Nothing is ever clearly stated but more like spoken in riddles. McCarthy tends to focus on a dark style of writing keeping most themes and ideas in general more covert. If I were to go back and read the book again I would probably re-read the sections were there was Dialogue between the Man and the Boy because then I would understand furthermore than what I have already learned from the text. I would also want to reread the beginning because it was really slow to me and began to pick up some speed later on. Keeping more notes is something I would also like to go back and do as it would allow me to remember more details than the ones I already know.
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SPOILERS
MISC. Questions
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Mega-Cognitive Reader: I thought that the slow pace of the book made things often difficult for me in some points but struck images really well in some cases. Some of my peers had told me that the reading would be difficult at the start but once it picked up it would capture my eye, and cause me to not want to let go of the book. Having this in mind when I finished the book I thought that Cormac McCarthy's The Road made me really question what can be reality for individuals and people as a whole. My reasons vary but some of them have to do with the style McCarthy writes and details his novel. For example when he refers to the main characters as "The Man" and "The Boy" by doing this McCarthy shows how this story can happen to anyone. The reason as to why just by giving them basic names makes the story relatable is, it shows that this happened to two random people with no huge identity or impact on the world. This to me meant a lot as McCarthy opened my eyes by showing how in his stories the things that happen are not impossible which gives this freaky feeling that the nightmare the Boy and the Man live in is a possibility.
Some things that stuck out to me in this book were the situations that brought conflict to the characters, one of these would be a dialogue between the man and the boy. “We wouldn't ever eat anybody, would we? No. Of course not. Even if we were starving? We're starving now. You said we weren't. I said we weren't dying. I didn't say we weren't starving. But we wouldn't. No. We wouldn't. No matter what. No. No matter what. Because we're the good guys. Yes. And we're carrying the fire. And we're carrying the fire. Yes. Okay.” This dialogue stands out to me because it shows how the man shuts down any further ideas of the boy. Additionally I think the man does this on purpose in order to keep the boy from realizing how bad the world actually is at that time in the book. Something that also strikes me as interesting is that the Man refers to the boy as a light or Holy grail which strikes a theme to my head that is perseverance through death. The fire In my opinion seems to refer to the hope of both the man and the boy as it is really put into emphasis through many parts of the book not only as a resource but as something within which is displayed at the end when the boy father dies then the boy remember the father say that as the fire will be in his heart and so will the Man. McCarthy's style really made the overview of the book seem like a short amount of time with well described memories told. Lastly Overall I think that McCarthy described his novel in a fantastic manner as it made my brain think while also question my idea of what could happen to me in the future if i will be prepared for it. I think that it really made me feel like I had to think about what can actually happen and how far off "crazy" stories can be from reality. Most things that happened in the road were not out of place in context to the story and the reasoning behind it was not far from reality either. The world now if it continues to get worse with no improvement could definitely achieve this level of inadequacy in the world. It also shows how nothing is perfectly set and can be prepared for, this is learned from a quote said by Ely whom is an old man that the boy and his father decide to help out.I really loved the book, even considering the boy had a sad ending but, luckily out of the darkness came a light and the boy was able to continue the story is my assumption. |