Paracake (paracake) wrote, @ 2007-04-25 11:33:00

THE ROAD conclusion
What were your thoughts on the book?

Why did McCarthy choose to end the book the way he did? Was the book full of hope or is there no hope. What was the significance of some of the last sequences? Why did the father do what he did to the man who stole the cart? What was the boy's reaction to it? What do you suppose was going on in his mind?

Is there any "hope" in this novel? Yes or no and WHY?

P.S. Thought you'd like this...you can see what the Oprah discussion is saying! We should link to them!

http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/featbook/road/obc_featbook_road_main.jhtml

Mayura C. (Anonymous) 2007-04-25 18:54 (link)

The book was pretty boring in the beginning because of how it all started, how it was describing something about the surroundings but nothing much was happening. Later on, with how descriptive (though short) the sentences were written, the setting of the book started to become intruiging, at the same time developing a sense of curiosity as to what had happened to the world around the man and his son. Then there's the fact that everything was buried in ash, and many corpses lay around in the cities, with all the things scattered or raided by other groups. The experiences that the characters have gone through and how they have done things also gave the feeling that even if there was nothing left, if you knew what you had to do in order to survive, you can attempt to do something in order to do so. The book also showed how the world would have looked like if a nuclear war did happen, and how there will be not very many people left walking around. The authenticity of the story was well done and it was neatly woven with the assumptions of that kind of world, along with the lives of those people living in it. I think that McCarthy ended the book the way he did to show that not all stories may have a happy ending. The story began in a desolate way and changing it to being better and not barren would dismiss the point of showing how it began, and how reality can be bent into ways that humans could. Even if there was a chance that the world can be mended and can prosper again, it definitely didn't show in the ending because it would take a very long time until the effects of the nuclear bombing go away, especially when it bombed a huge amount of land (presumably, the whole United States, maybe some other countries in the south). There was little hope, if any, at the end of the book because of the surroundings and the little thought of surviving no matter what happens. The last sentences had mentioned that of brook trout in the streams once in the mountains. This tells of a world that once were, showing the mystery of it to the new generation (if any) to come and how it came to be when the world looks that of perpetual winter and stillness. What the father did to the man who stole the cart, making him take off his clothes and leaving him to freze on his own on the road, was something that shows that no one can be trusted in times such as the one they are in. With scarcity of food and materials, it's unreasonable to take risks that is known to be fatal and that could cause your death. Even if the man stole the cart and the belongings in it in a moment's notice and that he's defenseless, the child begged to let him go and give back his things. As the man showed his distrust with everyone else other than his son, the boy clearly do not think that way as long that there were good guys out there carrying the fire like they were, and if they can help anyone survive, they would. It would be normal to act the way the father did because, for one, he had hard times looking for the things that they have, and that to find it stolen and their chances of survival reduced to nothing, it would break his promise to the child that he would look after him. He knew he had to find a way to keep going and not give up, even if the conditions were against their favor. He promised that no matter what, he would protect his son the best he could, and that he would not give him up. Because if he knew that the boy was his only warrant in the world. He had said that "If he is not the word of God God never spoke", and this was the hope that was keeping him on. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Continued! (Anonymous) 2007-04-25 18:54 (link)

For most of the story, there was not much hope in the book, other than the urge to keep going. There were people out there with their guns and equipment who would look for people still living and capture them to serve as food, and the father and his son were doing the best they could to avoid those people, as well as avoid everyone else in order to secure their chances of survival in the cold winter and of the barren land. At some point, it can be said that the hope in this book was that one day, they will be able to find a land that was as perfect as paradise, that of the ancient world that they knew, and maybe if they tried hard enough, they would find that place after a while. But even if it was hopeless throughout, as long as they carried the fire of life within them, there would be hope. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Kristine Fernando (Anonymous) 2007-04-25 21:20 (link)

I would have to say that my opinions on this book have definitely changed. I must admit, in the beginning, I thought that it would be boring since it was a little slow at first. However, after a while, it did get better and I’m glad that it did. This book was really interesting to read, it was really good! A possible reason for why McCarthy choose to end it the way it did was because he wanted to show that although the father and the son went through all those obstacles, there was still hope for them to make it, even though only one of them did. I would to say that this book was filled with half of hope and half of hopelessness, so it was a sort of 50/50 thing. There were times in the book where it seemed like everything was over, and that neither one of them could make it. One sequence that exemplifies that was when the boy got sick. Most of us probably thought that he was done for and that he was the first to go, however to our surprise, he got better and actually made it. As for the father, he pushed and pushed to make sure that they would make it down south and down the road, even when he got shot with that arrow thing. This team definitely had a lot of obstacles to overcome, and in the end, it was worth it. The father just wanted the best for the son and that’s how it turned out in the end. One of the most important sequences in the end, was when the son was taken in by the strangers that were traveling down the road. He wasn’t so sure if he could trust them, because he didn’t know if he was one of the “good guys” like his father told him about. I think that during this time of desperation and survival, nobody couldn’t trust anyone, no matter what, and everyone was looking out for themselves. Every survivor in the world probably thought that everyone else was a “bad guy” and that they all ate whatever or whoever they saw, which is what scared them in the first place. However, the son took a risk and in the end his choice to go with these people was the right one. Somehow, maybe his father led the “good guys” to his son, to ensure his safety and future. Another important sequence was when the son was saying his last goodbyes to his father. He promised his father that he would always talk to him and never forget him no matter what, and he actually came through with it. This was significant because things in the past world were already forgotten, and it being a pattern, we would think that he would also forget about his dad. It reveals that not all things can be forgotten, and that even a smart part of the past will still live on, whether it’s an artifact or a person. In my opinion, the reason why the father did what he did to the man that stole the cart, was because, he knew that he couldn’t risk being sympathetic to someone that could possible kill him or his son. Maybe he felt that he needed to get that cart back for his son, just in case he wasn’t able to move on with him later on. At least, the son had the cart to survive on, which was the case in the end. The boy reacted in that way because he had sympathy for the man. The son is still too young to understand the idea of survival or the fittest and he always wanted to help someone in need. However, like I’ve said before, everyone was looking out for themselves, he just didn’t know it at the time. The son wanted to see the best in everyone he wanted to help, but, his dad knew better, and he didn’t want to take that chance of helping someone that might be a potential threat to them later on. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Lily I. (Anonymous) 2007-04-26 04:23 (link)

The book started out dull and boring, but as I read further into it, the more interesting it got. I really liked this book because it involved the differences between adults and youth. I really liked this book. It turned out to be one of my favorites. Although the man did some bad things, I felt sad and almost cried when he died because the boy, his son, still needed him, and he didn't want to be without his dad and instead wanted to die, as well. Although I usually don't like mysterious-type endings, I think that ending The Road with a mysterious ending was the best way in which the book could have ended. With a mysterious ending, the reader gets to imagine and create the rest of the story, which in would have to do with what happens with the boy after he went with the "good guy". I do not think I would have liked the book as much if it ended in any other way. I seriously thought that when the boy was going to go tell his dead father his good-byes, having a pistol, he would commit suicide in order to "be" with his dad. I thought that the boy's father did the wrong thing by killing the man who had stolen the cart. He just wanted to survive, just like him. He probably felt desperate and hungry, so when he say all the stuff in the cart, he didn't even think about who's it could've belonged to, etc.. The boy was not happy with his father's act either. The boy was not going to have a problem if they shared the things in the cart with the man, because like them, he too was trying to survive. The boy's father justified the killing of the man with "He's going to die anyway. If this was a true justification, then this meant that he should have committed suicide, or let his kid and the man have all the food in the cart because he did die anyway, at the end. Hope... I don't think the man had any hope. It was the boy who was full of hope. On page 259, the boy mentioned that "stories are supposed to be happy" and he thought that stories were real life, but found out otherwise. The man always told happy stories to the boy. The stories were what gave him hope because he thought that since stories were always happy, life had to always be happy. The boy had hope and faith that they would be found by the "good guys" and that everything was going to be okay, like in the stories, and that's why he did not give up because in his mind, there was no way his life could end there, just like that. The man didn't have hope, but he just wanted his son to stay alive. He also wanted his son to have hope and faith. In the last pages of the book, "the fire" is mentioned many times. The boy has "the fire" and the "good guy" has "the fire". I think that by writing "the fire", McCarthur meant that they had hope, faith, a warm heart, and optimism. It was something very powerful within them that would enable them to survive. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Abigail Villena (Anonymous) 2007-04-26 14:48 (link)

I've never ever i my life read a book like this before..well that's how all the books we read in this class are but yeah. By reading the first few pages of this book, I couldnt put it down because by reading every page, I just couldn't stop and i just HAD TO turn to the next page and keep on reading. I hope there's going to be a part 2 or there already is a part 2 to this book because I just want to know what's going to happen next. I've never been that interested in the book that I kept on reading ahead without stopping. I finished it last Friday and I just wished that the book kept going on and I'm still wondering what is going to happen next. I never believed that when the world was already at an end, survivors would show up and still have the will to live. If that was me, I would've just killed myself already because I wouldn't want to go through all the pain and problems the people who survived went through, for example all the times when the father and son almost died because they didn't have food or when they were sick and they didn't have any type of medication to use, so they had to deal with it on their own everyday and find ways to still live. I think McCarthy ended the book the way he did to leave it as a cliff hanger or he wants the reader to discover their own ending to the story. It basically left on a good note, but tragic ending. Even though the dad had died because he was sick, there were people that looked out after the boy since he had no one to take care of him. Since the dad couldn't be replaced, the people who was now looking over the boy was who he simply got passed on too. I think this book was full of hope especially because of the dad because he actually wanted to survive and his son had also inspired him because the son was who he was living for. I don't think that poor man deserved the right to get killed because he didn't do anything totally wrong. That man could've probably thought that the cart was left by someone who died along the way and that's why he took it. The father did the same exact thing by going in that place underground where food and other stuff was kept, what if someone had already discovered it before him, and they were just out venturing into the woods to see if the area was safe and when they came back to the underground shelter, they noticed that someone had also found it, but didn't know if they were the enemy or not so they ran off scared. Something like that could've happened though. I think the father shot that guy because if he didn't, he would've told the people he was probably living with so that they could find the father and boy, steal their things and perhaps maybe kill them. No one could be trusted now that the world was gone, it was hard to find the good people and the bad people, and trying to find the difference was hard because you never know when someone is going to turn their back on you. For the boy, it was a harsh thing to see because he had just witnessed his dad kill the second person on their journey towards the south. But the boy knew that his dad killed the man for a right reason just to ensure the safety of both of them so ANY TYPE of danger wouldn't come across them. Watching your own father killing another human being is really harsh and the boy will have a hard time forgetting what happened because he had witnessed it in person. I believe that there is hope in this novel, but in search of hope requires hurt and tragedy. The father did a good job of showing the son that there is hope in a new life again because as a father, he most significantly wanted the best for his son. The only thing is that, I wish for the "good people" to find each other already so that it would give hope to one another because there are people who have survived the bomb, and working together would allow them to succeed in their journey to a place where they can start their lives over once again. I really liked how the boy entered into a family who will soon care for him and be with him every moment of the day because it is a new hope for the boy because his dad inspired him to keep on living and will HOPEFULLY lead on to a HAPPILY EVER AFTER story. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Alfonso V (Anonymous) 2007-04-26 21:38 (link)

the ending was sort of a "left me hanging" ending because we dont know what ever happened to they boy, but which is probably the same thing that happened to his father. it is sad that his father diedbut it was inevitable just like it is with every human being. we're all going to die no matter what and there is no form of eternal life unless there is some sort of afterlife which we all would love to have. knowing that life will inevitably end, we try to enjoy it to its fullest and try to fulfill our dreams, but the son and the father could not because of their situation. stranded on earth after what seems to be apocalypse. no one would like to be in their position and the question of whether to stay alive or not has no answer because of their situation. in our society, most people want to stay alive and are afraid of death, but in their situation it is almost as if death would be their best friend or their easiest way out just as the boys mother did. a line that really struck me in this entire book was when the boy was talking about his father's bravery and the father hit him back with a weird response. What's the bravest thing you ever did? He spat into the road a bloody phlegm. Getting up this morning, he said. (p.272) these lines in the story are on of my favorite in the whole book because his response was sad, but acceptable. those were his true feelings on actually still being alive but he tried to hide it after. it is sad because most pople love to wake up in the mornings still alive and people are sometimes afraid of not waking up when the father would have loved not to wake up and is not afraid to die in his sleep and is more afraid to wake up every morning. his response was also acceptable because of their condiditons. him dying would be his nirvana. nothing really struck them as being good anymore and nothing could really put a smile on their faces. death seemed to be their answer of happiness and relaxation. this book really had NO hope whatsoever since the beginning. the concept of death constantly came through their minds and they never seemd to be happy. the way McCarthy writes also shows no hope and no emotion. it was almost as if nothing mattered anymore. names, buildings, houses, money, belongings, etc. nothhing mattered. the father also kept on bringing up the idea of whose a bad guy and whose a good guy and labeling him and his son the "good guys" but in reality, eveyrone was the same. there were no good or bad guys. they viewed their world in an egocentric way where they thought they were good and everybody else was bad because of their terms of survival. they would do anything for food and clothing, the two basic essentials in life. to themselves, they were the good guys, but to eveyrbody else, they wrere the bad guys. the man who stole their cart got what he deserved. and the father was right in what he did because they would have been left the same way and he wouldn't have cared. lthough it was the right thing to do, the boy was beginning to realzie that they were also the bad guys because of what they had did to many people along the road. they needed that cart. without that cart they were as good as dead and the father was not going to let eanybody take it away from them no matter what circumstances. ps. the book was gooood. -fonso- (Reply to this) (Thread)

Carolyn Agustin (Anonymous) 2007-04-26 22:21 (link)

Prettty much like what everyone has said, the book started off slow, but then developed into something more interesting than anything we've ever read before (excluding the White Hotel). We've always imagined something happening to the world causing most of the population to be wiped off the face of the earth, but we've never actually seen it described so thoroughly. McCarthy created the world that we have all thought about. It's realistic, yet imaginative at the same time. It's many things at the same time. Although there is hardly any emotion put into the writing, it still leaves an impact on the reader. It's as if he writes like that to force the reader to imagine the whole entire story for themselves. The reader has to put the meaning to the words for themselves. Some parts were just so ugh that I couldn't help but cringe and squish my face at the book. Overall, the book was pretty good. Once I started reading it was very hard for me to stop. I believe that McCarthy ended the book to expand our imagination. It's all about the imagination! I'm sorry, I must continue my posting after I eat dinner with my family! (Reply to this) (Thread)

[continuation yo] -- Care-Oh-Lyn (Anonymous) 2007-04-27 00:57 (link)

I believe that McCarthy ended the book to expand our imagination. It's all about the imagination! Although there is no more to read, the story isn't exactly finished. It's open to the reader to think about what may have possibly happened to the little boy. The scene with the man who stole the cart and the father was interesting. The cart had many of the things that they needed to survive so he fought for it. The cart was their life and they wanted to live. They wanted to survive. No matter how many times they've wondered if dying is better than living in their life, they wanted to live. The father didn't trust the man because in their world, trust is a very hard thing to gain. However, the little boy was horrified at his father's actions. He didn't approve of it. The boy saw that the man, like they were, was trying to survive. The boy took pity on him because without the cart, him and his father would've been like that as well. This made him want to give a piece of the cart to him so he can survive, even just a little. Although the style of writing was emotionless, there was hope. Hope was everywhere. There was the hope of finding the "good guys", the hope of finding food in an abandoned place, the hope of not dying, and many others. Throughout the journey, they live with the hope that they'll find safety with others, with the "good guys". Whenever the boy feels as if their journey is about to die, the father renews his hope. The father makes sure there is hope. Without hope, their journey would be pointless. Without having nothing to look forward to, there would be no meaning to what happens in the end. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Kyle Troutman (Anonymous) 2007-04-27 02:25 (link)

McCarthy is such an amazing author. This is one of the best books that I have ever read. Even though this book leaves us "hanging" it was great. this book was not actually hard to understand. in the beginning of the novel it seemed extremely boring but as the novel progressed it became more and more interesting. This book was just a cliff hanger in that it leaves us with an incomplete ending just like our life. At the end of the day we leave ourselves with something to think about and we can usually not always come up with the answer simulatanelotly. usually they are questions that leave us thinking until we fall asleep! Overall I think that this book is FULL of hope. throughout the entireeee novel everything that they basically needed was provided. It seemed as if they were being watched by something that made sure they had everything they needed. In many sequences the father and son seemed to always get away in sense when danger came, they weren't seen, when it was extremely cold, they survived, when they needed food the most, they got it. There was an immense amount of hope/ even luck in this novel for the father and son duo. Overall Great. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Aldwin Tanala aldenthegreat 2007-04-29 18:29 (link)

What were your thoughts on the book? -The Road is a great novel by a great novelist and i find it pretty disappionting that it would be turned into a movie. I don't know exactly how they would turn the book into a movie becuase of the fact that the book has great intricasies that can not be done in the movie theaters. One is the great lines that the man presents and are all over the novel. Another is the interaction between the father and son that would seemiingly be dismantled when made into a motion picture. Another is the bleekness of the book. The book gives a sense of hope but in a world of nothingness. I really wonder whether a movie can grasp the focus of this book as NOT an end of the world movie. I really hope they don't change the ending of the novel or anything for that matter becuase the suspense of the novel, be it very little is intricate in the overall feeling of the novel. I absolutely love how the book deals with the father and son relationship. The father himself tries his best to shield his son from all the bad things of the world, even though the world itself is in pretty bad shape. The boy and son of the man is the only spark of hope in not only the father but in the world as well. The book overall is great and i wonder now whether to turn on Oprah once in a while to find out whats next in the book club. Why did McCarthy choose to end the book the way he did? Was the book full of hope or is there no hope. What was the significance of some of the last sequences? -I really like how McCarthy ended the book in the father dying and his son over him. The father is already sick from the start and as the reader i knew from the start that he wouldn't live for very long although i though that perhaps a tragedy would occur for his death to come. An arrow made from a bent spoon to the leg is not how i thought the father would go , so i was a little disappointed in that sense. In the morning, the son finds his dad on the floor and is cold. This is a great scene in the book in that the son hears something on the road and takes his gun. But he doesn't shoot or even aim the gun at the enormous man with a shotgun but instead asks for his help. This was a littloe surprising for me becuase the father had always told the boy to never trust anyone although the man did take risks when it was time to take risks and i beleive that when his father died, that was one of those times. The son before hand asked the father to not go away but the father said he did not want his son to come with him in death and told him to keep delivering the fire. Ending, i beleive that the book gives a sense of hope and it became a help to those looking for hope when times are bad, which is why i beleive that Oprah put the book in her book club, becuase why would Oprah give the book accolades if the book was not of hope? Why did the father do what he did to the man who stole the cart? What was the boy's reaction to it? What do you suppose was going on in his mind? - When the cart was stolen, i, as the reader, was really worried for the man and his son. I felt the urgency and sadness that the father felt as well as the imment anger that he felt as well. The man that stole the cart was an outsider who was persumably thrown out by a society of survivors becuase of his bad condition. When the man found the the man that stole his cart, i felt as if he wanted to shoot the man in the head for stealing his cart, because if i was in the same situation as the man, i feel as if i would shoot the man but because of his son and the fact that he didn't want to expose his son to anything bad, he chose to punish the man not with bullet but with something of the same magnitude. He chose to instead make him take of his clothes which in a world where it rains almost everyday is pretty much putting a bullet in his head anyway. The boy did not want his father to do what he did but becuase of his youth, i don't believe that he knows what it meant for the cart to be stolen and what it meant to their survival. I'm pretty sure that if his son was not with him, the man would have pulled the trigger on the straggler and if his son was in the same situation, he probably would have done the same thing. (Reply to this) (Thread)

vIvIaN o. (Anonymous) 2007-05-01 01:25 (link)

i liked the way the book ended. The book was different; i've never read anything like it. The thought of "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy becoming a reality gives me the chills. The ending wasn't full of hope, yet i believe there was some. In fact, i think the significance of some of the last sequences was to give some or little hope to the readers. The father did what he did to the man who stole the cart to make sure that he received everything back. The father and son wouldn't have been able to live for very long without any food and blankets. The father might've also done what he done to the thief to maybe teach him a lesson about stealing. i think the father was willing to do anything to keep his son and himself alive, even if it would've made him "a bad guy". The boy was scared because he thought that his fatherwas going to kill the man. The boy begged his father to leave the man alone. He was probably thinking about his father as a "bad guy". i think there was some "hope" at the end of this novel. The fact that the boy was saved by some "good guys" like himself gave me hope. Also, the way he was telling the readers how he would talk to his father everyday gave me hope as well. However, i didn't think there was much hope in the rest of the novel. Most of the events were very bad and made me feel sorry for the two. i think the only hope i got throughout this novel was when the father found food and supplies, and at the end when the boy was found. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Noel Yumul (Anonymous) 2007-05-01 02:00 (link)

My thoughts about the book is that all the way to the novel, the journey is getting more and more interesting. however the beginning seem odd because the fact that the characters doesn't have any names and its hard to know which is which at that time. it's only the boy, the father that's all about it. i like how the story or their journey's getting better even though the weather is really bad, there's like toxic in the atmosphere or the place, and they didn't give up at all although the food has poisoned and dnt have shelter to go in. As a survivor they need to surpass their obstacles like they food and place to stay with. overall the book teaches us how the characters are trying to survive even though there's no hope for them. if i was the character, i would probably not survived because i don't like to look for food and i'm lazy so ill be stuck in an isolated place and i will die eventually without a single hope. i give props to the boy because he didn't give up at all at the end even though he got sick at one time and he recovered and we think that he'll die, and that's what i thought it will happen, but they're the main characters and i assume of them will die at the end. i think McCarthy choose to end the book the way he did because no matter how sick the father is, he didn'tgive up at all to his son even though at the beginning of the novel he was already sick and i think he wants to keep it that way just to brave to his son because he thinks they'll have hope in surviving this journey. i also feel that McCarthy could've put more stuff on the book because the ending kinda sucks and left me hanging. it's incomplete to me and i wanna more details. i think their journey has a hope and no hope its like balance to me because on their journey they keep on surviving and keep on walking and walking until they reach the south, although they don't have enough food or water, they still continue and thinking they'll have hope in the end and meet up with other people. As readers we think also that there's no hope because the way their situation right now is bad because the father is sick and the boy got sick too. so we think there's no hope for them cause they'll die of starvation or disease. the importance of the last sequences like when they boy got captured, i know that the boy is confused and puzzle of what's happening to him because now he's away to his dad and doesn't know what to do. he also thought if he could trust those strangers or if they're the "good guys" or the "bad guys", i think this sequence is very important because the boy was really brave to face this obstacle and he didn't lose hope at all and at the end he made the right choice and he survived. (Reply to this) (Thread)

continuation (Anonymous) 2007-05-01 02:01 (link)

the reason why the father did what he did to the man who stole the cart to make sure the safety of his son, the cart is the onlyway for the boy to survive, that's what the dad's thinking if he dies and the boy could use that to journey by himself without him. If i'll be dad, i might do the same thing because i can't afford to lose the safety of my son and the stranger might possibly kill us after. however the dad doesn't want to lose the innocence of his son, so what he did was the dad told the stranger to take all his clothes off and it's also raining too and was abandoned by the boy and father. what if there's important stuff inside the cart like their food and extra clothes, you cant' afford to lose the cart. the boy's reaction is of course he felt sympathy to the man and we can see back to the beginning where he wants to help a lot of people like the boy or the dog who followed them for awhile. this shows how the boy doesn't understand at all about surviving, he's being sympathetic to the people he encounters. on his mind, he wants to stop what he's dad doing and in his mind, he wants to save the man. i already know that the dad will eventually kill the man who stole the cart, he'll probably shoot the man or smashed him haha, however his son was there to see what he's doing so he stop what he was thinking. there's always hope, no matter what you do in your life everyday, there's always hope. all the way in the beginning, the boy and the father always have hope to survive the journey and going to the south. the don't care if they have less food or water, they keep on continue their journey no matter how hard and tough their journey is, they didn't give especially the dad. the dad did a great job on persuading the boy and he always tell him that they'll make it and survive. If there's no hope in this novel, the journey will end up quickly and both of them will die. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)