Phase Two: The Road (Part 6)

"The boy thought he smelled wet ash on the wind. He went up the road and come dragging

back a piece of plywood from the roadside trash and he drove sticks into the ground with a rock and

made of the plywood a rickety leanto but in the end it didnt rain. He left the flarepistol and took the

revolver with him and he scoured the countryside for anything to eat but he came back emptyhanded.

The man took his hand, wheezing. You need to go on, he said. I cant go with you. You need to keep

going. You dont know what might be down the road. We were always lucky. You'll be lucky again.

You'll see. Just go. It's all right.

I cant.

It's all right. This has been a long time coming. Now it's here. Keep going south. Do

everything the way we did it.

You're going to be okay, Papa. You have to.

No I'm not. Keep the gun with you at all times. You need to find the good guys but you

cant take any chances. No chances. Do you hear?

I want to be with you.

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.

Just take me with you. Please.

I cant.

Please, Papa.

I cant. I cant hold my son dead in my arms. I thought I could but I cant.

You said you wouldnt ever leave me.

I know. I'm sorry. You have my whole heart. You always did. You're the best guy. You

always were. If I'm not here you can still talk to me. You can talk to me and I'll talk to you. You'll see.

Will I hear you?

Yes. You will. You have to make it like talk that you imagine. And you'll hear me. You

have to practice. Just dont give up. Okay?

Okay.

Okay.

I'm really scared Papa.

I know. But you'll be okay. You're going to be lucky. I know you are. I've got to stop

talking. I'm going to start coughing again.

It's okay, Papa. You dont have to talk. It's okay." pg.91

And the father dies...

...................................................................................................

There is no one place where countless cats can atone for the environmental travesty shown by the road.

Oh, wait! There is. Follow this link and come back in an hour.
http://icanhascheezburger.com/

    The boy is later taken in by a family that had been following the duo for "a while." Worried about the boy, they follow the two until the father dies from consumption. The action is McCarthy's way of showing that there is still hope left. There is still enough humanity in us all the save the boy and carry the "fire" of the good guys.

    McCarthy wanted to show us that we are the ones responsible for the current environmental threats to our existence. Without a stable environment, we would all lose our current sense of humanity. We would refuse to help others and result to cannibalism, making us inhumane.

End of Session Friendship Report!

• We learned that being human involves sacrificing to help your fellow man. The Road showed us what happens when the exact opposite is true
• Currently, we are unable to stop an environmental catastrophe unless we actually cut back significantly on the damage we've been doing.

Final Thoughts!

    Personally, I've refrained from explicitly stating my own reactions to the events of the novel. Instead, I chose to imply how I felt by inserting various pictures of cats everywhere. I found the book to be incredibly depressing, and I started to cry at three separate points in the book (not joking, unfortunately). At most points, the book was either suspenseful, scary, or extremely depressing.

    From a style point of view, it reminded me of The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway with it's constant draws of dialogue. I was also reminded of a History Channel produced film, Lucy, a two hour pseudo - documentary detailing the full exhaustion of our natural resources from the perspective of an 80 year old woman born in 2009. That was almost as depressing as The Road.

    Hmmm. I went this entire session without referring McCarthy's No Country For Old Men. What is this black magic?