Match each word with the correct definition.

1. G Morels a. Keep under control; restrain. 2. D Eddied b. A tarpaulin sheet or cover. 3. C Uproot c. Pull or move something out of the ground. 4. F Jackknifed d. A circular movement of water, counter to a main current, causing a small whirlpool. 5. B Tarp e. A cigar with both ends open. 6. H Macadam f. Bend into a V-shape in an uncontrolled skidding movement. 7. A Rein g. A widely distributed edible fungus that has a brown oval or pointed fruiting body with an irregular honeycombed surface bearing the spores. 8. E Cheroot h. Broken stone of even size used in successively compacted layers for surfacing roads and paths, and typically bound with tar or bitumen.

Different words, Different perspectives

Trudged: tiring walk
Quoits: flat ring thrown to encircle a peg in the game of quoits
Ravine:deep narrow valley
Sappers: soldier employed in the construction of fortifications, trenches, or tunnels that approach or undermine enemy positions
Pantry: A room or closet in which food, groceries and other provisions are kept.

In the Road, I often find some words that are crucial for the image that the author wants to create on your mind. It might not be so important for your understanding because the book happens mostly in the same place. However if we want to focus on the descriptions and specific setting of the book it is important to understand all words. Allowing your mind to create a clear scenery and understand better the books development.

Interesting

Andrea's blog mentions certain things i hadn't noticed. I must agree with her, the descriptions McCarthy uses in the book are incredible, placing each reader in the room or place he is describing. However leaving some of the scenery to the readers imagination. Although the books setting happens in a very similar place the entire time, their is always a different twist. The way he writes the conversations is also very interesting and as Andrea pointed out it is up to the reader to infer who is speaking. Normally starting with the conversation of a new character on a new line. This can be confusing sometimes because both of the characters can have a different idea about a subject and their is no certainty of who is speaking. If you refer to the prior text, the conversation will become clear. This blog post caught my eye due to the last paragraph. The way Andrea connects the form of the book, that is it's lack of quotations and apostrophes to the content in incredible. This connection i must admit, i find fascinating and its the best way to understand the way grammar happens in this book. She says, " It is as if the author wanted us to realize that in the circumstance that the boy and the man are in is so beyond grammar and societal perfection that it is not necessary to put apostrophes to words or quotations to dialogues."

I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.

Surprising event, the one that has shocked me the most. Incredible the things parents do in order to protect a child. This episode happens really quickly. The father and the son are sleeping in the woods near the road when they hear sounds approaching them. Scared the father shakes the kid so he gets up and they start running away from the road. The cart is left hidden and they hide in the woods further up. The man with the gun in his hand hides under the blanket with his son in his arms. They peek from time to time to see if the men are approaching them. I cant avoid thinking back to a conversation mentioned before, when the man is talking to the kids mother. She says that she has to go, they are going to be found and raped, then they will get killed and the man won't be able to protect them. She was wrong. The man a fierce protector guards the child and lets nobody get near. As they peek over the blanket, they find a bad guy very close to them. The man without hesitation takes the gun and points it a him. Asking him questions about their survival and how they keep their truck going. The man is distracted by the boy and the father warns him. Ignoring him, they guy moves forward and with agility takes the kind in his arms with a knife in his neck. As this happens the father shoots killing this man, the boy is now safe from one bad guy, but there are more. They have to run. The father exhausted has carried the little scared boy and puts him in the ground forcing him to walk. Darkness comes and they sleep under a bridge, they make a fire and get cleaned, washing away the dried blood.

As the world is cruel, the little boy can find shelter in his father, that without any doubt would do anything to keep his safe. Killing a man is a strong action that might be punished afterwards. The man full of remorse might act differently and might be scared of continuing making him weaker. He still has to protect his little boy, the only person that has kept him going.

Struck by Lightning

Struggling with what is correct, the little boy tries to let aside his needs for survival to help others. A man that has been struck by a lightning is found wondering just as they are, in addition to his condition he has absolutely nothing and has no mental capacity of acquiring material things for his basic survival. The character, a giving human being seems to be confused. He can't understand why this has happened to this man and why he cant help him. Having limited supplies the dad refuses to help this lost man, as a consequence, the boy becomes angry. Looking at the point of view of the father, i can comprehend why those decisions are being taken. To begin with, neither of them have past knowledge of the mans life. He might of been part of the bad people, stealing something when the lightning hit him. He might be a good man, but running a risk in a situation like that isn't cant be the best choice. Being involved with this third man and giving the father an extra responsibility isn't smart. If the man was good and healthy, interested on the well being of the boy, the option might be viable. However allowing him to join would only bring to the father an extra "boy", making both of them less agile and more vulnerable.

Before finding this unfortunate man, they encounter a traffic accident, a huge truck and a taxi stuck on a bridge. Nothing is on either of the vehicles and as they search for a way to get though with their little car, they realize that they have to go under the bridge. The father lights up some paper and throws it to the space, to find in the bottom of the trailer dead people, their clothes stuck to their soulless bodies.

The father is being haunted by a female. The boys mom, it must be. He often thinks of her and dreams of her but always manages to push those thoughts away. Arranging his dreams so he isn't involved or changing the ending so he can avoid the reason why she is gone. He cant sleep she is his weakness. This might be the reason of his love and interest towards the kid. Not only is he his son, he is also her son. As the boy lives she is being present in both if their lives. He has parts of her, maybe in his attitude or his appearances. This is the reason the male grownup takes such a good care of the little boy. However as i read farther the boy says a confusing line: "I wish I was with my mom", it obvious these two characters dont share a mom, but if they shared family, wouldn't the little boy say i wish i was with mom.(55). Without mentioning the MY? The mother abandoned them, however the boy doesn't seem angry. He relates to me a little like Buddy Bolden in the way that Buddy didn't question matters of life, he just took his faith and continued to live. The boy could question lots of other things instead he just continues to walk.

Walking backwards

The father, a man I thought to be cold and strong shows a vulnerable side. Walking through the rooms of his old house leaves him paralyzed. Memories return to his mind as he tries to isolate the complaining words of his son. Tries to focus on the house, the rooms. He wishes it would return. The peace. The little boy in constant suffering tries to hide and find shelter in his dad, only to find that they are equally scared. Ironic how some people hope for disasters to occur so they can prove points of view and try new technology while human beings are actually suffering. Even worse how both of these characters have to be hiding to survive. Why is it that humans can't help each other survive? Life would be much easier if we all helped each other. Take the dad and the son as an example. They have to be very cautious with every step they take because if they don't, they might be harmed and robbed. If it was safe, the father could take better care of the child and he could be helped. What kinds of humans live around us? Is it worth having friends and counting on them? Who survives and who doesn't? Survival of the fittest. Do i think it's fair? No. A child the future of the world has to be protected. His father protects him, making him an easy target. He has an extra weight while others are running carelessly. If the father is harmed, the little boy might survive. For how long? As i turn the pages of the book i start doubting humanity even more. Is there someone to trust? Time will tell... i hope.

When all that is left are hopes

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy is the next book we will read during this course. After reading Coming Through Slaughter and The Great Gatsby, our summer books, i have discovered this book to be very interesting and after reading some of its pages, questions and doubts have arised.

I'm am not certain of what is exactly going on in the books setting, for the vocabulary is sometimes hard to understand. However i can tell that the story is about a man and his son. They are walking around their country trying to reach something. Apparently, everything is burned and there are no survivors, making it even harder to live from morning to night. The weather is cold and it is constantly raining. Aspect that doesn't help the characters for they have basic equipment for survival. They sleep wherever they can and they must be constantly hiding, protecting their tired bodies with blankets, they make it through the night. Only to find the same panorama next morning, grey sky, lots of ashes and destruction.

I find the little boy in the story very interesting. He seems young, but mature for his age. Facing things that are challenges he overcomes them next to his strong dad. Scared of death, and the end, this child asks questions as if he was looking for life, searching for a small percentage of survival, even though everything he sees around him is destruction. Asking his father things like, are we going to die, reassure him and give him strength. "Do you think there could be fish in the lake?" is a question he asks his father, but the only thing he obtains is a cold response "No. There's nothing in the lake." (20)

Sometimes, we find the father praying and cursing. Maybe he doesn't like the present he is living, or maybe what is really killing him, is having no idea about the future. The kid, makes it better, he is not alone, he can talk to someone. He has a purpose of life, the little boy must be safe, he has to be fed, he has to have someone watching him and in this burned country it is difficult to survive. Suicidal thoughts might of gone though his fathers mind but the kid keeps the thoughts from becoming actions. The boy depends on his father, and he is keeping him alive. So as the book continues, i hope to learn what they are both searching for, and also what discoveries they make during their trip on the road.