December 3, 2009
Significant and Moving Quotes
On this road there are no godspoke men. They are gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world. Query: How does the never to be differ from what never was?-McCarthy 27
This is one of the father's epiphanies in which he realizes he and his son have had the terrible fortune of living the apocalyptic events. Religion is no more in this world. Unity is no more. Nothing remains. The question is also very intriguing. To me they differ because what is never to be has the potential of changing and you can have hope that it can happen. The things that never were can't be changed and can only burden you.
If you break little promises you'll break big ones. That's what you said.-McCarthy 29
This quote is a big stab to the heart for the father. His son is basically saying that the father will hurt him at some point. This is one of those moments that really touches you, especially so if you are a father.
No lists of things to be done. the day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.-McCarthy 46
I really like this one because it shows how they really are living in the last moments of the world. There will never be a later. It is also a really eerie moment because it is described as almost being beautiful. McCarthy says that things of beauty come from grief. And no greater grief could occur then the end of the world, what great beauty is to come of it?
People were always getting ready for tomorrow.-McCarthy 142
I didnt believe in that.
Tomorrow wasnt getting ready for them.
It didnt even know they were there.
This is a small part of a very interesting conversation between the father and a survivor. The survivor is the one saying he doesn't believe in getting ready for tomorrow, almost as if it is unfair to it. I like how McCarthy makes tomorrow become real and have a mind of its own. It's like tomorrow is an unsuspecting creature, yet no matter what we do to prepare it will always win. The personification used is brilliant in my mind.
Listen to me, he said, when your dreams are of some world that never was or some world that never will be, and you're happy again, then you'll have given up. Do you understand? And you can't give up, I won't let you.-McCarthy 160
This little rant by the father is very significant in the story because dreams show a lot about the characters. The father has many mixed confusing dreams throughout the story-some happy, most sad. The boy has regular nightmares that evolve into something much worse. It is very ironic that the father would tell his child, who he wants to protect, that as soon as his dreams made him happy he has given up. And stranger still, the boy seems to subconsciously take that to heart because his dreams only get worse.
Ten thousand dreams ensepulchred within their crozzled hearts-McCarthy 230
As I have mentioned before this is my favorite line of the entire story. It is perfectly phrased to make you realize the true extent of how depressing a world they live in. It is a world that has killed ten thousand dreams and undoubtedly more. This line destroys any hope they have left of survival.
You forget some things, dont you?-McCarthy 10
Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
In a destroyed world the things you want to forget are gruesome and will scar you. And what you have to remember, at least in the father's case, is what you had and unfortunately will never have again. Memories are the only happiness that can be found in this wasteland and forgetting them is like loosing any chance at being happy.
December 2, 2009
The Victims of the Apocalypse - "Ten thousand dreams ensepulchred within their crozzled hearts"
Quote in title: McCarthy 230
Note: Character descriptions will contain information that may spoil the story if you have not read the book yet.
McCarthy has a very unique way of telling this story- he leaves the main two characters unnamed. They simply are known as the father and the boy. Oddly enough I feel closer to these two unnamed characters than most of the characters that I have read about previous to this that have names. I believe McCarthy's reasons for doing this are that in leaving the characters unnamed it lets the reader visualize any farther and son, and subconsciously the reader would pick someone closer to them, such as their father, thus making the story much more powerful.
The Father
The father is very admirable and good willed. All he wants is for his son to live and reach the coast. His son is all he has left and nothing is more important to him. Although at times he questions whether or not he should kill his son to end his misery and sadness in a place that's almost worse then hell.
The father does go through a little bit of a transformation throughout the story. You see him slowly give up on the belief that they will make it through alright. And it's not that he necessarily thought they would make it, but he didn't want to admit they would die because at the point all hope would be gone. He also slowly gives up on keeping his son from seeing the horrors in this world. They were everywhere and impossible to hide but as a father he wanted to keep his son pure and protect him.
This first conversation shows what I saw as the first weakening of the fathers will just because he realized that the boy really does know the horrors of what happened.
We see the father consciously admit that the boy was right and he couldn't hide what surrounded them.
When the story starts the father is also very patient and understanding with the boy-such as when the boy forgot to cover the car. Later on the boy leaves their only weapon of defense, the pistol, on the beach. The reader is shown the father's anger but he does not let it out on the boy. Shortly after this they encounter some unfriendly others and the father gets shot in the leg. This event caused the father to erupt on the boy but he immediately felt terrible about it because the boy is his only companion and his only love.
The father also sinks into deeper depression as his son grows more independent and becomes less trusting of him. All that's keeping them together by the end of the story is the loneliness in the world. This is probably one of the biggest factors that is causing him to slowly die.
The Boy
The boy is like any other boy, curious and simplistic. He wonders why they can't help other survivors they find. He is also very scared of being killed and harming other humans. His father is the only person he has ever really had so the bond between them is incredibly strong. He is also young and very impressionable so every time he sees a corpse or another living person that they don't help it strongly influences him and makes him incredibly sad.
In the beginning he is presented as very innocent and untainted. He has the nightmares that any child would have and, like any child, goes to his father for comfort. As the story progresses he sees corpses and mutilated bodies which leave a deep mark on him. Later on these begin to give him nightmares that he won't even reveal to his father.
A dream the boy has early on:
This dream is a fairly normal nightmare with a haunted toy in a lonely house. He dreams of nothing deathly or gruesome.
The relationship between him and his father gets much more tense as the story progresses. The boy seems to think his father is a hypocrite almost always and a liar at times. The boy wants the truth no matter what it may be.
This conversation occurs between the father and son very late in the novel shortly after the father is wounded and shouts at the son.
This conversation shows some tense feelings that the son has towards the father. Later on McCarthy directly says
"In some other world the child would already have begun to vacate him from his life. But he had no life other."
The only thing keeping the father and son together at this point is the fact that neither of them have some else to turn to. The son's development follows that of any other child. He begins very trusting and dependent on his father and over time he wants to get away and realizes his father is lying about certain things to keep him happy.
Note: Character descriptions will contain information that may spoil the story if you have not read the book yet.
McCarthy has a very unique way of telling this story- he leaves the main two characters unnamed. They simply are known as the father and the boy. Oddly enough I feel closer to these two unnamed characters than most of the characters that I have read about previous to this that have names. I believe McCarthy's reasons for doing this are that in leaving the characters unnamed it lets the reader visualize any farther and son, and subconsciously the reader would pick someone closer to them, such as their father, thus making the story much more powerful.
The Father
The father is very admirable and good willed. All he wants is for his son to live and reach the coast. His son is all he has left and nothing is more important to him. Although at times he questions whether or not he should kill his son to end his misery and sadness in a place that's almost worse then hell.
The father does go through a little bit of a transformation throughout the story. You see him slowly give up on the belief that they will make it through alright. And it's not that he necessarily thought they would make it, but he didn't want to admit they would die because at the point all hope would be gone. He also slowly gives up on keeping his son from seeing the horrors in this world. They were everywhere and impossible to hide but as a father he wanted to keep his son pure and protect him.
Take my hand, he said. I don't think you should see this.-McCarthy 161
What you put in your head is there forever?
Yes.
It's okay Papa.
It's okay?
They're already there.
I dont want you to look.
They'll still be there.
This first conversation shows what I saw as the first weakening of the fathers will just because he realized that the boy really does know the horrors of what happened.
In the shallows beyond the breakwater an ancient corpse rising and falling among the driftwood. He wished he could hide it from the boy but the boy was right. What was there to hide?-McCarthy 199
We see the father consciously admit that the boy was right and he couldn't hide what surrounded them.
When the story starts the father is also very patient and understanding with the boy-such as when the boy forgot to cover the car. Later on the boy leaves their only weapon of defense, the pistol, on the beach. The reader is shown the father's anger but he does not let it out on the boy. Shortly after this they encounter some unfriendly others and the father gets shot in the leg. This event caused the father to erupt on the boy but he immediately felt terrible about it because the boy is his only companion and his only love.
The father also sinks into deeper depression as his son grows more independent and becomes less trusting of him. All that's keeping them together by the end of the story is the loneliness in the world. This is probably one of the biggest factors that is causing him to slowly die.
The Boy
The boy is like any other boy, curious and simplistic. He wonders why they can't help other survivors they find. He is also very scared of being killed and harming other humans. His father is the only person he has ever really had so the bond between them is incredibly strong. He is also young and very impressionable so every time he sees a corpse or another living person that they don't help it strongly influences him and makes him incredibly sad.
In the beginning he is presented as very innocent and untainted. He has the nightmares that any child would have and, like any child, goes to his father for comfort. As the story progresses he sees corpses and mutilated bodies which leave a deep mark on him. Later on these begin to give him nightmares that he won't even reveal to his father.
A dream the boy has early on:
I had this penguin that you wound up and it would waddle and flap its flippers. And we were in that house that we used to live in and it came around the corner but nobody had wound it up and it was really scary.-McCarthy 31
This dream is a fairly normal nightmare with a haunted toy in a lonely house. He dreams of nothing deathly or gruesome.
The relationship between him and his father gets much more tense as the story progresses. The boy seems to think his father is a hypocrite almost always and a liar at times. The boy wants the truth no matter what it may be.
This conversation occurs between the father and son very late in the novel shortly after the father is wounded and shouts at the son.
What about dreams? You used to tell me dreams sometimes.-McCarthy 227-228
I dont want to talk about anything.
Okay.
I dont have good dreams anyway. They're always about something bad happening. You said that was okay because good dreams are not a good sign.
Maybe. I dont know.
When you wake up coughing you walk out along the road or somewhere but I can still hear you coughing.
I'm sorry.
One time I heard you crying.
I know.
So if I shouldnt cry you shouldnt cry either.
Okay.
Is your leg going to get better?
Yes.
You're not just saying that.
No.
Because it looks really hurt.
It's not that bad.
The man was trying to kill us. Wasnt he.
Yes. He was.
Did you kill him?
No.
Is that the truth?
Yes.
Okay.
Is that all right?
Yes.
I thought you didnt want to talk?
I dont.
This conversation shows some tense feelings that the son has towards the father. Later on McCarthy directly says
"In some other world the child would already have begun to vacate him from his life. But he had no life other."
The only thing keeping the father and son together at this point is the fact that neither of them have some else to turn to. The son's development follows that of any other child. He begins very trusting and dependent on his father and over time he wants to get away and realizes his father is lying about certain things to keep him happy.
Themes from American Literature
We all have an internal fire which drives us.
America is based on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We make ourselves happy. Our own desires to prosper and find happiness are completely our own. Each individual has their own motivations for doing one thing or another. This internal fire is what drives us to pursue it.
Everyone's internal fire is exactly like one you would build in your very own fireplace. At first, you put some logs on and light the fire. It starts very small, but undoubtedly there. As babies and young children we aren't aware of what we want outside of what's right in front of our eyes. Next, you kindle the fire to make it grow. We see this in everyone's adolescence as individualism is gained and the kids begin to realize what they want in life. Now the fire roars as the adult pursues what they truly want to do in life. From here it is just a matter of keeping the fire alive and roaring. Logs are added to keep it going, to keep the pursuit of happiness alive. But in the end all fires must die down and go out.
The internal fire shown in The Road:
This point in the story is one of the first times the fire is brought up. The way McCarthy speaks makes it seem like the boy sees it as this absolutely majestic impenetrable fortress of life. And in a way it is. The fire really contrasts with the post apocalyptic world they are in which makes it seem that much more prominent and beautiful.
Once again the fire is mentioned. The boy now connects the fire with good guys which in this story simply means their motives are pure and moral. Those who lead an honest and generous life are often awarded in America.
To me this was a scene in which the father had begun to loose his fire. He was slowly dying and watching what was left of his fire.
The father's fire has one last burst. He has a strong desire to do all he can for his son but at this point he can't do much more.
This is the conversation right before the father's fire goes out. Now the boy has to keep his fire going by himself.
The father's reason to keep his fire going was simply for his son. There was no other reason he had to live for. Your fire might be going for your family or your career or your love. But no matter what the reason may be, we all do have at least one reason to keep our internal fire going.
Death is inevitable
It is inarguable that death is one of the most prominent aspects of McCarthy's story. We see it absolutely everywhere. There are a number of times where they encounter death such as corpses, mutilated bodies, heads in cake bells, a charred decapitated infant, and many other gruesome sights. While this story takes it to the extreme, it does express an undeniable truth-death will come to us all in the end.
The following line is my undoubtedly favorite line from the whole story. It shows how prominent death is in the world they live. It is a world in which not even dreams can survive.
America is based on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We make ourselves happy. Our own desires to prosper and find happiness are completely our own. Each individual has their own motivations for doing one thing or another. This internal fire is what drives us to pursue it.
Everyone's internal fire is exactly like one you would build in your very own fireplace. At first, you put some logs on and light the fire. It starts very small, but undoubtedly there. As babies and young children we aren't aware of what we want outside of what's right in front of our eyes. Next, you kindle the fire to make it grow. We see this in everyone's adolescence as individualism is gained and the kids begin to realize what they want in life. Now the fire roars as the adult pursues what they truly want to do in life. From here it is just a matter of keeping the fire alive and roaring. Logs are added to keep it going, to keep the pursuit of happiness alive. But in the end all fires must die down and go out.
The internal fire shown in The Road:
And nothing bad is going to happen to us.-McCarthy 70
That's right.
Because we're carrying the fire.
Yes. Because we're carrying the fire.
This point in the story is one of the first times the fire is brought up. The way McCarthy speaks makes it seem like the boy sees it as this absolutely majestic impenetrable fortress of life. And in a way it is. The fire really contrasts with the post apocalyptic world they are in which makes it seem that much more prominent and beautiful.
Because we're the good guys.-McCarthy 108-109
Yes.
And we're carrying the fire.
And we're carrying the fire. Yes.
Once again the fire is mentioned. The boy now connects the fire with good guys which in this story simply means their motives are pure and moral. Those who lead an honest and generous life are often awarded in America.
The salt wood burned orange and blue in the fire's heart and he sat watching it a long time.-McCarthy 200
To me this was a scene in which the father had begun to loose his fire. He was slowly dying and watching what was left of his fire.
The fire flared in the wind and sparks raced away down the sand.-McCarthy 200
The father's fire has one last burst. He has a strong desire to do all he can for his son but at this point he can't do much more.
I want to be with you.-McCarthy 234
You cant.
Please.
You cant. You have to carry the fire.
I dont know how to.
Yes you do.
Is it real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I dont know where it is.
Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it.
This is the conversation right before the father's fire goes out. Now the boy has to keep his fire going by himself.
The father's reason to keep his fire going was simply for his son. There was no other reason he had to live for. Your fire might be going for your family or your career or your love. But no matter what the reason may be, we all do have at least one reason to keep our internal fire going.
Death is inevitable
It is inarguable that death is one of the most prominent aspects of McCarthy's story. We see it absolutely everywhere. There are a number of times where they encounter death such as corpses, mutilated bodies, heads in cake bells, a charred decapitated infant, and many other gruesome sights. While this story takes it to the extreme, it does express an undeniable truth-death will come to us all in the end.
Are we going to die?-McCarthy 9
Sometime. Not now.
The following line is my undoubtedly favorite line from the whole story. It shows how prominent death is in the world they live. It is a world in which not even dreams can survive.
Ten thousand dreams ensepulchred within their crozzled hearts-McCarthy 230
Disturbing Imagery
At this point in the novel McCarthy has made it a point to convey to the reader how sad and disturbed this world really is. Before it was there but he didn't really shove this idea down the reader's throat. He is now prying open the reader's mouth and force feeding the disturbing events. He shows all the death and loss of human nature and expresses this through things they see.
Shortly before this the had encountered a giant stretch of land that was struck by a fire storm so everything was melted, charred, and destroyed. People are melted into the tar with their faces frozen in screams of agony. McCarthy uses so many words that can describe death in this short passage that it is hard not to think about how many people died from this cataclysmic event. The last sentence is particularly interesting to me because it places the father and son on a silent never ending road of death which to me says that their death is near and inevitable.
(Photo from http://media.photobucket.com/image/destroyed%20road%20corpses/sevenarts/conversations/006/morris37.jpg)
This short passage takes the cake (and hopefully not the cake they found) as the most disturbing moment of this story. McCarthy has really been building up the amount of destruction and death in the tail end of the story. It feels like he wants the reader to literally be sick from it and realize how truly terrible of an event the apocalypse is.
(Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/206812690/)
This description strikes me as an odd beauty that we haven't really seen in the story yet aside from the one occurrence of snow. The use of the word sepulchre makes me see it as if everything has been put to rest properly and while depressing, it is the way of life. It seems as if reaching the ocean has allowed them to accept that death is coming to them soon. The cycle of life is a beautiful thing, and now that they have almost completed the cycle this beauty is being shown through the ocean.
(Photo from http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/national_weather_service/)
They picked their way among the mummied figures. The black skin stretched upon the bones and their faces split and shrunken on their skulls. Like victims of some ghastly envacuuming. Passing them in silence down that silent corridor through the drifting ash where they struggled forever in the road's cold coagulate.-McCarthy 161
Shortly before this the had encountered a giant stretch of land that was struck by a fire storm so everything was melted, charred, and destroyed. People are melted into the tar with their faces frozen in screams of agony. McCarthy uses so many words that can describe death in this short passage that it is hard not to think about how many people died from this cataclysmic event. The last sentence is particularly interesting to me because it places the father and son on a silent never ending road of death which to me says that their death is near and inevitable.
(Photo from http://media.photobucket.com/image/destroyed%20road%20corpses/sevenarts/conversations/006/morris37.jpg)
He was standing there checking the perimeter when the boy turned and buried his face against him. He looked quickly to see what had happened. What is it? he said. What is it? the boy shook his head. Oh Papa, he said. He turned and looked again. What the boy had seen was a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit. He bent and picked the boy up and started for the road with him, holding him close. I'm sorry, he whispered. I'm sorry.-McCarthy 167
This short passage takes the cake (and hopefully not the cake they found) as the most disturbing moment of this story. McCarthy has really been building up the amount of destruction and death in the tail end of the story. It feels like he wants the reader to literally be sick from it and realize how truly terrible of an event the apocalypse is.
(Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/206812690/)
They trekked out along the crescent sweep of beach, keeping to the firmer sand below the tidewrack. They stood, their clothes flapping softly. Glass floats covered with a gray crust. The bones of seabirds. At the tide line a woven mat of weeds and the ribs of fishes in their millions stretching along the shore as far as eye could see like an isocline of death. One vast salt sepulchre. Senseless. Senseless.-McCarthy 187
This description strikes me as an odd beauty that we haven't really seen in the story yet aside from the one occurrence of snow. The use of the word sepulchre makes me see it as if everything has been put to rest properly and while depressing, it is the way of life. It seems as if reaching the ocean has allowed them to accept that death is coming to them soon. The cycle of life is a beautiful thing, and now that they have almost completed the cycle this beauty is being shown through the ocean.
(Photo from http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/national_weather_service/)
December 1, 2009
Another emotional conversation
The following conversation between the boy and his father is the most touching and saddening conversation they have had up to this point in the story to me. For a while the boy has been having nightmares but won't speak of them. In this conversation he reveals a little bit about them.
What makes this so terrifying for the boy and saddening for the reader is that it very well could happen any day. For a while now the father has been sick and only getting sicker. He thinks that he will die any day but does not tell his son that because he doesn't want him to get scared. What is the boy to do if his father dies? His father is the only one who he has known all of his life. Their bond is even stronger because of this crisis they have had to endure together.
McCarthy is very good about touching nerves with just a few short words, in this case "I meant in the dream." The moments like these are what make this story much more of an emotional touching experience.
The boy was sitting up wrapped in his blanket.-McCarthy 154
What is it?
Nothing. I had a bad dream.
What did you dream about?
Nothing.
Are you okay?
No.
He put his arms around him and held him. It's okay, he said.
I was crying. But you didnt wake up.
I'm sorry. I was just so tired.
I meant in the dream.
What makes this so terrifying for the boy and saddening for the reader is that it very well could happen any day. For a while now the father has been sick and only getting sicker. He thinks that he will die any day but does not tell his son that because he doesn't want him to get scared. What is the boy to do if his father dies? His father is the only one who he has known all of his life. Their bond is even stronger because of this crisis they have had to endure together.
McCarthy is very good about touching nerves with just a few short words, in this case "I meant in the dream." The moments like these are what make this story much more of an emotional touching experience.
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