the men are from and gives you the opportunity to know who they are. Most…
In Cormac McCarthy’s novel, Child of God, the main character, Lester Ballard posses qualities that moves us as the readers to see him in the light of a monster. Lester lives a life on the path unknown. As a young boy, his father killed himself and his mother ran off with another man. Townspeople describe him as being “never right” after his traumatic childhood. Without parental supervision or control, Lester grew up alone. He was never taught to love, care or respect human life. In addition, he has never been loved or cared about. Although he was born innocent, there was no one to integrate him into society. Therefore, leading Lester Ballard to making choices with a severely underdeveloped moral compass.…
The road is a dark, gloomy and almost horrific book. At the beginning of the book we start with man, and his young son trying to survive in a dying world. The effects on the characters actions is mostly affected with their new environment.…
In a world where everything previously known disappeared into ash, anyone would meditate on death. The wife was one to resort to death for comfort, whereas the husband remained faithful to life. Though the husband adopted his wife’s attitude towards death by the end of his life, he still differs from the woman in that he maintained hope for mankind even though he was resigned about his own life. In writing The Road, Cormac McCarthy successfully illustrated the conflict between life and death, hope and…
In Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road, a father and his son try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where the majority of people have turned to cannibalism and the environment is twisted and dark. Despite their being glimpses of hope and the Son being showed as the next Messiah, a message of hope could in no way be conveyed in the book. The book is depressing, sad, and makes readers feel grateful for what they have and that they do not have to go through what the protagonists face everyday day.…
novel “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, where a father and son walk across a postapocalyptic Earth where the comfort of religion is absent, in search for a tomorrow that…
McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. The Road is set in a grim atmosphere. It is after apocalypse world where all signs of life are extinct. People and animals are starving, and predatory groups of savages wander around with pieces of human bodies stuck in their teeth. It is both oppressive and disheartening. McCarthy sets an atmosphere like one mediately after the world wars. It is not far-fetched to imagine the possibility of such a sad environment today. The novel tells a story of an unnamed man and his son in who struggle to survive in this horrific environment. I feel that the language in the novel is verbose. McCarthy is blunt in his descriptions. He uses repeated struggles and similar scenes forcing the reader to share the tough experience of the characters. I agree with the author that The Road is the picture of a post-apocalyptic world. I also agree with the opinion that suffering might never end, like the novel indicates through imagery at the very end. The author manages to combine happy moments with sad ones even though the sad ones takes the larger share. In addition, he accomplished his aim of having an audience that is glued to the book all along sine it is both engaging and informative. The author has a perception that the world is composed of more bad things than the good ones. This novel will be important to me as I explore the themes of post-apocalyptic fears and human struggles. However, I do feel that he leans too heavily on sadness…
The novel The Devil’s Highway by Luis Urea is based on a true story. It tells the tragic story of a group of Mexican immigrants who try to cross the United State border. Although many Mexicans have died in the desert trying to cross the border previously with this particular story is unique in that it was such a large group that traveled and so many of them died. The title, “The Devil’s Highway” is the name of the part if the desert these men crossed which is know to be one of the most deadliest regions on the continent and has claimed the lives of many. In 1950 a man known as Francisco Salazar wrote that Devil’s highway was a vast graveyard of unknown dead.…
They think that all kids walking around villages are evil. It became hard for him to form relationships or to act as a normal teenage boy because he was unable to get past the judgments people had gave him. Being judged is harmful for a boy who has already lost so much. First the separation, then the constant running, and now being shunned. It stopped him from having a childhood that every kid should have. For example as stated in the book, “you children have become little devils, but you came to the wrong “ (page66…
The hope appeared through the integrity of the boy and the endless fire inside the kid spoke to the decency, expectation of humanity. Human love and trust linked to human nature. Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” teaches that we are what this world depends on for light and existence; we are important. The boy and father’s relationship proves that it is possible to have genuine feelings as well as love for others even during such a dark time. “The Road” also instills in us the philosophy of…
In the novel 'The Road' the author Cormac McCarthy uses the idea of choice in order to portray how characters react in an apocalyptic situation. .The road is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where of government and set of rules is abolished. The novel follows a young boy and his father as they traverse through rough terrain in order to seek refuge to the east. McCarthy challenges the reader to determine how the reader would react in this situation, to retain morals and a sense of hope by 'carrying the fire'. To embrace to deterioration of the human race and join a blood cult. Or to give it to the worlds nightmarish woes and take your own life. McCarthy uses these 3 ideas to examine how people will often resort to horrific action to find a sense of purpose and belonging.…
People often make sacrifices in order to benefit someone or something else. What people sacrifice illuminates their values and morals. In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the main character has to make sacrifices that allow him to take care of his young son. This story is set in a burned, post-apocalyptic United States and follows a father and son duo as they endeavor to survive in the harsh, new environment. From an objective standpoint, the man’s son is certainly an inconvenience when it comes to the man’s survival. The son is another mouth to feed, another person with whom the man has to share the supplies he scavenges, and another body that the man needs to protect from both human and non-human afflictions. However, the man is still willing to sacrifice an easier survivalist lifestyle for the benefit of his son. By having the man sacrifice his personal survival advantages in order to provide for his son, McCarthy depicts the man’s immeasurable love for his son and conveys the tremendous strength of father-son bonds.…
Immigration in America has been a topic of intense debate through American history. Americans seem to always want to single “immigrants” out as being a bad guy per say, and the border patrol as good guys. Is it really fair to make that judgment based just on history? I sure do not think so. There’s more to immigrants then there history, there’s a reason why they come to America and it is not always intended for evil. Believe it or not, after reading The Devils Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea, immigrants are the good guys just asking for another chance at life. While the Border Patrol Officers are just wearing that uniform and taking advantage of it. Not coming to an agreement, Luis Alberto Urrea’s nonfiction novel would actually enrich the debate on illegal immigration due to the reasoning’s Urrea gives us on these walkers wanting to come to America.…
Having hope in difficult situations is definitely a very big theme in The Road. Everyday there awaits something new and dangerous for the man and the boy while traveling on the road. McCarthy shows us how much they need to survive with having to find food even when areas seem to be left barren. The man and the boy may not realize it but if still existing in this world they still have some hope that they may survive and find a better life somehow. They encounter many dangerous things some from mother nature and other people who are still existing as well.…
“Hell, And How I Got Here” by Brenda Medina and “Puzzle Pieces” by Barbara Parsons Lane are two short stories from the book Couldn’t Keep It To Myself by Wally Lamb. Medina and Lane are two women who are serving time in a maximum security prison. Brenda Lane is serving time for homicide and Barbara Parsons Lane is serving time for manslaughter. Brenda was involved in a gang-related killing while Barbara was convicted of killing her abusive husband. Each of these women lived their lives being subjected to abuse, yet each woman portrayed themselves differently. Brenda was determined to gain power and not feel like an outsider in her own life. She was determined to take control and she was longer going to be the “odd girl out” (148). Barbara was living life as a victim and saw only one way to end the abuse. She was victimized in a way that made her feel as if she had no way of escaping her nightmare. Brenda found ways to empower herself in order to find a place in the world as Barbara was belittled to the point where she felt she was too weak to be able to walk away…