Reading Journal of Cormac McCarthy's The Road
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Monday, 11 June 2012
Final post
251-End of Book
In the last pieces of the book we face three key points. The first one is that they encounter a man in rags who steals all of their things. The second and the most important is that the farther dies and the boy finds a man who will look after the boy. We are first cnfronted with the farther and the boy goinjg to look for things to later find a man who has stolen all of their things. To deal with that they find him and leave him naked on the road. I think that is harsh and at the same time its is right because the man was straving and didn't have anything, but he left them in same situation so they left him the same way. The most important bit is that the farther than gets even worse, and he dies telling the boy to continue living and doing what they have done so far. This leaves an empty feeling in the reader as there is now only one character in the story instead of two, and theis makes me feel pitiful for the boy as he is left alone. However the boy then meets another man who isn't bad, and he takes him in. the man also has smaller children and a wife as well. This brings reliefe to the reader as we now know that the boy is no longer alone. The story ends there.Overall, 'The Road' was a very good and thrilling book, which would grip you for a long time. Even though it does have areas of gore and violence, which makes up quite a chunk of the description, The book itself isn't that bad and it is very mature as it doesn't have any childish and playful language and descriptions within it. Finally, I enjoyed the book a lot and i learnt from it that you should treasure every single possible thing that you have, because one day it all might disappear leaving you with nothing. This is the end of my blog and I hope you enjoyed reading it so far.

Monday, 28 May 2012
Pages 200-250
Pages 200-250
This chunk follows on from the meeting with Ely. A series of events happen after that. The farther and the boy run out of food quicker than they presume, they run out of gas, they find a Spanish house, They get to the coast and they explore a shipwreck. One of the important scenes is when the boy and the farther spot that they are being followed by a 4 people. one of them is a pregnant woman and later on they see the camp that they have abandoned before leaving. the Thing that horrifies the reader is the description of the infant who is on the spit, with his head being punctured and cooked. This shows that the world has become so savage that the adults are ready to eat their children in order to survive and that everyone is a lone wolf. However the boy sees a Spanish house dense within the trees quite a distance from the road. The son is very scared of going in as he thinks that there could be cannibals in there again, but the farther tells him it will be alright. when they explore the house they find a lot of jars with food inside and there is nobody there. they stay in house for a couple of days and leave as soon as possible with new blankets, masks, clothes and food. The most striking scene though is when the farther and the boy finally reach the coast to find the ocean dark and murky, and the area barren and cold. Once again they run out of food and they discover a shipwreck. the farther examines the shipwreck and finds some provisions, but also a sextant. This makes the farther emotional as he hasn't seen such an object for a very long time and this suggests that the farther was connected to some sort of sailing. That is it, I'll post more soon when I read the next extract. 

Pages 119-199
Pages 119-199
This extract was very long and large and a few important scenes have happened throughout the extract. First of all, the farther and the boy and starving and they find a barn with fresh water and lots of apples in the yard. This creates a sensation of relief and some peacefulness, for the reader, after the incident with the cannibals, because we now know that the son and the farther are not going to die as soon and will live a bit longer. However the crucial scene in the extract is when the farther and the boy find a bunker filled with masses of food. This creates a feeling of joy and the charred life in the book as if gets a shade of color to it. In the bunker they find meat, wheat, clothes, water and other essentials for survival. however the farther doesn't find a gun but a lot of ammunition, which doesn't fit the revolver, so this suggests that the owner and creator of the bunker must have left and taken the rifle with him. Nevertheless the boy and farther leave after a few days of staying there because it is dangerous for them as others might find it. Finally the boy and the farther see a old man on the road who is called Ely. The boy pleads to give him food and after long persuasion the farther allows him. This points out that the farther is not as friendly to others as the boy, probably because the boy is little and doesn't fully understand the concepts of the world. Ely, also, symbolizes a scavenger who lives off of what he can find. The man is also touched when he sees the little boy, implying that the world hardly has any children in it. new post coming soon.

Thursday, 17 May 2012
Pages 87-118
Pages 87-118
In this extract we find out two moments which are key for the story. The first one is when the farther and the son are encountering a 'ragged horde' on the road. The farther describes them as the bad guys even without knowing them implying the point that everyone is untrustworthy in the world in post-apocalyptic times. The seen is significant mainly because it is the third time the man and the boy encounter other people, and they still don't trust them. Before this encounter the farther leaves behind the cart taking only the most needed items and leaving it in the snow. This shows that the trek from now on will be much harder and tougher for them. The second most important and gruesome scene in the book is when the boy and the farther find a house on the edge of a city. Inside they don't find food, but in the cellar they find a lot of humans. Then when a group of people come over the fields, this makes a vivid picture in the readers head as along the exploration of the house there are small hints given that the people are cannibals, such as the pile of clothes, the pot for cooking pigs in, etc. the writer also uses descriptive words such as 'little dance of terror' and 'Coming across the field towards the house came four bearded men and two women'. Such lines are rugged and unusual as the men described aren't showed the face at all. Other than that, that is it.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Pastiche
Pastiche of McCarthy's The Road
He woke in the night and lay listening. The breeze blowing through cracks in the ruins. Ash was settling on his face. He rolled over and started to cough up blood and wheezing in pain he slumped back down on the rock surface. Why am I doing this. Should I take the same path as her? He climbed out from the shelter and sat on the rock and rested his feet on the branches below and leaned on the ruins behind him. the cold pierced his skin like needles of ice transmogrifying him. Why did she leave? The boy awoke.Parody of McCarthy's Style
He shut his eyes from the light. The distant screech pierced his ears. A distinctive noise was coming from under the pillow. His eyes widened and he reached underneath his pillow. His fingers clasped the small rubber object, most precious to him. He slid his finger across the bottom and the sound stopped. The screech continued. School need to get up. Just 5 more minutes.
The man burst into the room to find him still sleeping. He jumped out and glanced at his watch. Its out of battery again. He rushed and prepared himself. The bleakness of the room was replaced with sunlight.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Pages 54-86
Pages 54-86
The following extract, which was read earlier, describes three main events. the first event is that the farther has a flashback or a dream of him remembering how his wife has died and the consequences were that she slit her resists with obsidian. I think that the world has become so controversial and indistinguishable than usual, that people would prefer death then live in such a horrible world and knowing they were going to die. This was also the idea that was set inside the wife's mind. The second most important bit was when the man and child encounter a number of scavengers, who were trying to survive in a ruthless way. The farther was forced to shoot one of the men due to the consequences. the shot was clean and the man described many knowledgeable things to the man. These small number of facts show a hint of a background that the man was trained and was able to survive. This is also shown in another snippet, when the man starts to fill up the bath tub with clean water in order for them to survive when the apocalypse is about to happen. The final important moment is when the writer describes the carcass of what is presumably the man. this settles the idea in the readers mind that the man was eaten and that the group are cannibals as nothing but guts and bones are left on the ground. the image is extremely gruesome and is one of the most described objects throughout the book so far. That is it, more soon. ©

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