The Road: Part 1

1/17/2020

How is McCarthy able to make the post-apocalyptic world of The Road seem so real and utterly terrifying? Which descriptive passages are especially vivid and visceral in their depiction of this blasted landscape (please cite)? What do you find to be the most horrifying features of this world and the survivors who inhabit it?

Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class as your nom de plume. DUE: Friday night at midnight!

Part Two Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. DUE: Sunday night at midnight!

Rachel Heng

1/17/2020 11:39:31 am

The road is a quite powerful book that engages the reader with horrifying sorrow. As we read we find to be feeling terrible for the man and his son, we hope they will survive, but we know they probably wont. In a world of cannibalism, starvation, and complete darkness its hard to imagine any good outcome. The boy breaks your heart, his compassion for other things (and people) is overwhelming. The boy time and time again wants to help strangers, and is even open to sharing half of his food to people he has never met. The scariest moment so far had to be the boys death wish, "do you want to die? Is that what you want?". "i dont care, the boy said, sobbing. i dont care" (85). The feeling associated those words are terrifying, theirs this young boy is a traumatic setting who would die. This kid shouldn't be saying these things this young, yet its happening. Under these conditions we feel utterly horrible.

Cherie Dimaline

1/17/2020 12:18:09 pm

I agree that was one of the most terrifying moments in part 1 so far. I feel like this scene was a representation of loss of innocence. The boy is starting to realize the harsh reality of the world he was born into. The boys outlook is shifting and changing. It's no longer positive and innocent. Some could say it is his transition into adulthood. The boy is strong and resilient, but also sensitive and compassionate. When the man and boy encounter others on the road, the boy shows more sympathy towards them, while his father is more concerned about keeping the two of them alive. It is the boy who is able to get the man to show kindness to others on the road.

Word Count: 125

Bob Proehl

1/19/2020 01:06:18 am

It is unfortunate that the boy is forced to live in such a terrifying environment and time in the world where food supply is scarce and humanity slowly starts to crumble. He has not experienced a normal childhood and this world is the only world he has grown to know of, which is heart-wrenching to think about.

Ling Ma

1/19/2020 11:33:24 pm

I agree with statement as well. It's unfortunate that a child has to be stripped away of their childhood and have to face the worst conditions of life possible. Even at the time the boy didn't understand what's going on but he continued to have a good attitude and show his kindness to others. As a reader, it broke my heart to see an innocent child go through this unfortunate event and be placed in a situation where he had to grow up quite fast. The father is also putting himself on the line for his child; which is the greatest a father can do for his child. The feeling of not knowing whether life is promised for the next day brings enough fear of it's own.

Sophie Mackintosh

1/21/2020 09:27:14 am

I completely agree. It is so crazy to imagine being in the young boy's position because this is normal for him. He has never known a life without struggling to survive. We see these rare occurrences throughout the book and it reminds readers that the boy is completely neglected from experiencing, what we consider, a normal life. This is primarily shown when he first tastes a Coke. It is a common American drink and yet this boy is just now experiencing it.

Cherie Dimaline

1/17/2020 11:40:50 am

He is able to make it seem so real and utterly terrifying because it can actually happen at any moment and that's what scares people. McCarthy makes it seem to the readers that goodness and truth are worth preserving. That much is obvious within the first paragraph when the man wakes from his sleep. “ His hand rose and fell softly with each precious breath” (McCarthy 3). The boy represents hope and innocence. That is rare in a post-apocalyptic world, that has death, destruction, and cannibalism. What also adds to the fear would be the fact that there are no names in the book. Gives the sense of loss of humanity. When the father despairs that they will starve to death, he thinks instead about beauty and "things he’d no longer any way to think about." When "the names of things" fall "into oblivion" and even "colours" are forgotten, he sees that he must keep his son alive, for his son is "carrying the fire" of hope and love. The most horrifying features of this world and the survivors who inhabit it is the despair and animilisticness. One of the more horrifying scenes would be when the man was struck by lightning. The boy wants to help the man and cries when his father doesn't allow him to because they have nothing to give him. The man who was struck by lightning highlights the sadness and helplessness that exists along the road.

Word count: 241

jesse ball

1/19/2020 08:18:09 pm

Your first sentence really spoke to me and how I feel about this book. It is such a good book to the point where I can't put it down, but the idea of a world of nothingness, and the fact that it could happen is terrifying.It is something you wouldn't ever really think about, but McCarthy forces you to think if you were in a world where the only real thing people ever thought about was survival. Not what was for dinner, or how college might be. Life without limitations because there are no limits.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

1/20/2020 11:26:44 am

I also agree that what makes the book so scary is the fact that their deaths could happen at any moment in the novel. I think this makes the book a lot more interesting because out characters are ones with really large disadvantages and could face any number of issues.The loss of humanity also makes the book interesting like you said because it conveys a feeling of despair and hopelessness

Sophie Mackintosh

1/21/2020 09:29:53 am

The first sentence! I couldn't of thought of a better way to say it. Through current events, I feel as though when we are reading the book, everything is more real. This could happen in real life. It makes us empathize for the two characters even more.

Sam J. Miller

1/17/2020 12:54:15 pm

McCarthy is able to make the post-apocalyptic world of the Road seem so real by using imagery and diction. McCarthy wrote, “Nights dark beyond dark-ness and the days more gray each than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world” (McCarthy 3). The author uses words like “ dark”, “ cold”, “darkness”, and “grey” to describe the environment where the man is at (McCarthy 3). Those words have negative connotation which makes the mood of the novel creepy. Also, those words help the reader to visualize the conditions of the post-apocalyptic world. This makes the novel to be terrifying because as the reader you don’t want to be part of that world. The most horrifying features of this world is the ash because it’s a constant reminder of death. The ashes in the book symbolize death because on ash Wednesday people go to church to get the cross on their forehead which is made out of ash. The ash in the novel also symbolizes the sorrow of our sins because in the novel it shows the good and bad of humanity. The survivors who are horrifying in the novel is the people in the truck who are cannibals.
Count: 203

Jesse Ball

1/19/2020 08:06:32 pm

I never really thought of the ash as a symbol of death, but it does make perfect. Throughout the book so far, McCarthy repetitively speaks about the ash like to nudge us the reader to understand what he is saying on a deeper level. Even if this boy, and there father make it to their intended destination, death will be following them every step of the way; no one is safe in this book. The cannibals are also a very scary element in this book; I mean people who eat other humans for the purpose of survival instead of actually scouring for food. The scarier thing about these cannibals is that there will be more, not just the ones on the truck.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

1/20/2020 11:30:25 am

I also agree that the idea of darkness plays a large part in making the world seem like a more scary place than it was normally. It definitely does set the mood for the novel and creates an eerie feeling. The ash also helps accomplish that like you said because it's constant and symbolizes death, an idea that's really relevant in the novel considering the two of them are always at risk of being eaten, starving, or dying from other causes.

Emily St. John Mandel

1/20/2020 11:45:24 am

I agree that this line is one of the most terrifying in the book because it starts off with readers knowing that the world is different. There are no more bright days to accompany happiness and the audience may realize that the world will never recover from what has affected it. The environment affects emotions so being around constant darkness can instill fear in humans just like a child who won’t go to sleep without a nightlight. Light helps bring awareness to your environment and without it humans feel like prey.

Emily St. John Mandel

1/20/2020 11:47:55 am

I agree that the diction is makes the setting much more terrifying. The connotation with the words he uses especially colors give a fearful tint to the world. I also like the connection you made to Ash Wednesday especially since there are many allusions to faith and religion in this book. This can be further built on by symbolizing the start of hell on earth where God has totally forsaken the people who have sinned and has spared the people who obey and follow him. This is very terrifying in the fact that some people might actually be getting what they deserve and others my have to suffer to prove themselves like Job in the Bible.

jesse ball

1/17/2020 06:34:59 pm

Through his use of imagery throughout the book so far,Cormac McCarthy is able to make this idea of a post-apocalyptic world seem very real in the eyes of the reader. Within the beginning sentences the imagery that McCarthy uses is already enough for us to imagine that this is a world of horror,"Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before" (McCarthy 3). This one sentence brings the image of a cloudy day that seems to never get any more sunnier; it kind of sits in the dark this day knowing it will never come out to see the light. I think the most horrifying feature of this world is that there is no out of this world. There is no replay button to put the world back to the way it was when the sun used to shine, and the clocks used to tick. It is complete and utter nothingness with no kind of hope to have. As for the characters what is horrifying about them is that there is no sense of safety, or sanity for these people. They are constantly running away, never being secure in wherever they stay.

Emily St. John Mandel

1/20/2020 11:47:04 am

Cherie Dimaline

1/20/2020 12:50:49 pm

I agree with the fact that there is no way out. It most be even more terrifying for the man because he saw what the world was like before the destruction. The boy was born into this word and it is all he knows. He doesn't know what he is missing out on because he has never seen or experienced it. It is sad in a way.

Sam J. Miller

1/20/2020 02:16:33 pm

I agree that McCarthy use imagery to help the reader to imagine this world of horror. It's scary to know the day is growing darker and darker which everyone feel helpless when there is little light to shine through the world.I agree that the characters are horrifying because they are not safety anywhere they go and there is possibility they won't live the next day. The characters in this world have to think what would be there next meal , where to sleep , and when to move.

Kazuo Ishiguro

1/17/2020 08:11:33 pm

McCarthy uses gruesome, vivid imagery and a lack of punctuation to portray the post apocalyptic, nonexistent world the father and son survive in. It enables the reader to visualize every aspect of it. When the father and son come across the man who’s been struck by lightning, he’s described as “burntlooking as the country, his clothing scorched and black… and his hair was but a nitty wig of ash upon his blackened skull” (McCarthy 49-50). This creates an eerie mood to the whole plot, knowing that this and things that are worse can be occurring yet we only see what’s happening in the perspective of the father and son. Using this image of a man almost melted into the road gives the reader a glimpse of how the world has deteriorated and hope is now lost. The most horrifying features of this world and the survivors is the turning point of what’s morally right or wrong. People are being forced to eat human beings because there is little to no food left. This is the most horrifying part is that this is considered to be the normal. They are being forced to eat people they know and possibly their loved ones which is disgusting and yet heartbreaking.

Ling Ma

1/19/2020 11:51:16 pm

I agree with this statement 100%. It's quite gruesome and horrifying to read about human beings killing each as well as using each other for food all in the name of survival. It's hard to imagine this event as a reader, but McCarthy made sure to use vivid imagery in order to portray this scenery and provide readers with a personal insight of what is going on in the novel. These images of dead people on the road can be a traumatizing experience especially for the young child involved. These events become so common that even the boy isn't bothered by the bodies, and looks past it like it's a normal thing. It's unfortunate as well as heartbreaking to see this disaster happen.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

1/17/2020 10:19:19 pm

I think what makes The Road such an interesting book is it’s use of imagery to tell a more morbid and gruesome story. McCarthy riddles the landscape with corpses and decaying life forms , describes the dark thoughts of our protagonist and creates an overall atmosphere similar to that of a horror. In conjunction , these all combine to give a story without any particular horror elements all the feel of a horror novel. Even in the way the Man reacts to his surroundings creates a sensation of shared paranoia in the readers. By having such a limited perspective, there is no dramatic irony for the reader to enjoy. Instead, every twist , every reveal is one of surprise that keeps the reader on their toes. What’s also a great tactic used by McCarthy is the lack of explanation. There’s no real backstory to the events that occurred or why something happens , instead it’s revealed through the eyes of the man which creates an air of mystery. However , when things are explained via backstory , such as the death of the Man’s wife, it comes as an after thought that adds to the substance of the story

Ling Ma

1/17/2020 11:30:18 pm

McCarthy is able to make the post-apocalyptic world of "The Road" seem so real and utterly terrifying through his use of detailed imagery and word choice (diction). "The man" also known as the father specifically mentions that "The mummied dead everywhere. The flesh cloven along the bones, the ligaments dried to tug and taut as wires...their faces of boiled sheeting, the yellowed palings of their teeth" (McCarthy 24). By McCarthy including this description, it causes the audience to imagine what the man and the child had to experience. The bodies are described as dried ligaments and seem to be in the worst condition possible. The word choice is quite interesting as well. McCarthy compares the bodies to wires and describes the faces as boiled sheeting and their teeth have yellow palings.This description gives the audience a first hand experience of the man's and child's own personal experience and causes readers to feel empathy as well. The man and the child have unfortunately stumbled across a terrible sight which is various dead bodies everywhere. Especially for a child this sight can be quite horrifying and can leave one traumatized. These bodies can be considered one of the most horrifying features that the inhabitants had to experience as well as the darkness and loneliness that's taken over the city. The feeling of going from ones best to worst, and experiencing life that yields nothing but hopelessness and emptiness is truly the worst feeling.

Colson Whitehead

1/18/2020 12:08:15 am

I believe McCarthy’s interesting use of punctuation coupled with his vivid descriptions creates a suitable vibe for the novel. The first paragraphs of the novel contain just the right amount of information to creep the readers out. With McCarthy mentioning the “dead trees”, a creature “with eyes dead white and sightess” and the fact that “there would be no surviving another winter here” places emphasis on the intended mood of the book. In addition, McCarthy's creepy descriptions could also be seen when the blackness is being described as “sightess” and “impenetrable” (McCarthy 15). Blackness is often depicted as being the fear of many individuals, primarily with children being the victims of this fear. McCarthy’s detail on the blackness only highlights those fears that may arise given the unfortunate circumstances of both characters in the book. May I aso note how tiring it is to read extensive sentences. One notable example can be seen on page 39 when the narrator describes the smoke coming from the ground (Note that the word “black” is repeated once again). I find these extensive sentences to be quite annoying, yet I comprehend why the author would choose to write in this manner. Writing in long sentences with minimal punctuation keeps the readers anticipated; we begin to wonder as to what could happen by the time one gets to the end of the sentence. Perhaps these long sentences are meant for the readers to relate to the characters in the book. In order for us to feel these long, tiring days that the characters experience, McCarthy believes that the readers may empathize with the characters through the use of his sentence structure.

Word Count: 276

Emily St. John Mandel

1/18/2020 09:40:58 am

McCarthy is able to make this post-apocalyptic world seem so real and terrifying because he has very descriptive detail and imagery. When he describes the world, it kind of reminds me of an abandoned house that appears in a horror movie. He makes the world seem destroyed in its entirety like a disaster swept through society and turned it into ashes. For example, on page twelve he describes the city as having “no sign of life” and “burned”. Having the world look entirely different than what is used to be us scary enough, but to be alone as well makes living more terrifying.

In addition to horrifying details, McCarthy intensifies the terror by repeatedly emphasizing how dangerous it would be to encounter people along the journey on the road. On page forty-two, the man tells the boy that they cannot stay at the waterfall they found because people might come. This fear of encountering people shows that while they have to keep moving they have to stay out of sight because meeting people could mean life or death. Fearing other humans is against our nature when relationships with other humans has been a means of survival for ages. Having to go against your evolutionary nature and own mind is very terrifying.

Word Count: 211

Kazuo Ishiguro

1/19/2020 05:49:54 pm

I like the comparison you used comparing this post apocalyptic world to an abandoned house. It really shows how the world is almost nonexistent because there aren't many people around and the ones that are around are violent cannibals only wanting to survive, doing whatever is necessary in the process. I agree on how the author escalates the horror by constantly saying how it’s dangerous to be face to face with others on the road. It’s heartbreaking and shocking to see that this world has forgotten its own nature. What I mean by “its own nature” is it’s own moral standards and guidelines on how relying on others is beneficial and resorting to cannibalism should never cross one’s mind.

Sam J. Miller

1/20/2020 02:29:03 pm

I agree that McCarthy's world is similar to a abandoned house because a abandoned house everything is broken and decaying. It's scary to go in a abandoned house and it must be scary to be in McCarthy's world for The Road. I agree that humans are used to be other humans for survival and it's interesting that McCarthy wrote about fearing other humans. This makes the reader to be engaged to read about how human survive without each other .

Rob Hart

1/18/2020 08:36:23 pm

The most terrifying aspect to McCarthy’s novel is the use of commonplace “objects” from cans of food to parkas to tractor-trailers. They are things that we see on a daily basis. And when you truly become engrossed by the story, the setting, and the people it almost becomes impalpable to look at the those objects described in his novel in the real world. In other words, the use of everyday objects is much more terrifying than monsters or evil fictional creatures because we encounter them so much more. This has occurred to me quite often while I was reading “The Road.” While reading in the car, I gazed into the highway and began to imagine a life where the Nissan flying by might be strewn across the tarmac along with hundreds of others. While at the grocery store, I imagined what it would be like if those thousands of food items were without price tags and were suddenly rare delicacies (like the Coca-Cola) alongside starved bodies. You see, as much as monsters can terrifying you in your dream; Books like McCarthy’s will also terrify you in the daylight.

Word Count: 188

Kazuo Ishiguro

1/19/2020 05:50:22 pm

By visualizing the things we see on a daily basis as part of the book it gives me chills to think that this could indeed happen any second. I think that was McCarthy’s intention. His lack of punctuation emphasizes the fact that with all the chaos and discussion of war going on, his book can become a reality. The use of these objects that we are so familiar with makes us wonder if we could survive in a world with no moral guidelines, laws, or sanity. Your last line about books like The Road terrifying readers in the daylight is on point because a good book will have an impact on its reader no matter the time of day.

Bob Proehl

1/19/2020 12:59:14 am

Cormac McCarthy's writing style and lack of punctuation is straightforward with its meaning, but also gives a sense of eeriness within the story because how direct it is.
The Road is full of imagery that paints a vivid picture of the drained post-apocalyptic setting. A specific example of McCarthy's use of imagery that could potentially make a reader's skin crawl is when he describes the barn house and what was inside it, "In the morning they went on. Desolate country. A boar-hide nailed to a barndoor. Ratty. Wisp of a tail. Inside the barn three bodies hanging from the rafters, dried and dusty among the wan slats of light" (McCarthy 19).
The description of the corpses hanging within the barn is a terrifying thought to have in mind. Though the description is short, it is easy to imagine the setting that McCarthy had in mind. His choice of words have no positive connotation. It gives you a sense of weariness and disgust at the same time, since this world appears to be immensely worn out and "dry."
I find that the most horrifying parts of this world is encountering the bodies of the dead since it is something that makes my stomach turn. The biological aspect of bodies decomposing and the thought of how the corpse was someone that was once living horrifies me.
Word Count: 224

Colson Whitehead

1/19/2020 11:52:13 pm

Responding to Rob Hart’s original statement
I find the emphasis of inanimate objects to be a fascinating point in your response. As I read the novel, I pay more attention to the character’s thoughts compared to the novel’s setting. With your response reinforcing the significance of items such as cans of food, my attention begins to focus on the things we see on a daily basis-as you perfectly stated.

Furthermore, it would be terrifying to imagine cars going at a rapid speed. I would like to point out that the intentions of people may also another terrifying part of the book. Humans need to interact with other humans in order to survive, but it becomes hard to find a genuine connection with some during dystopian times.

Word count: 126

Folsom whitehead

1/20/2020 12:01:10 am

responding to Ling Ma’s original statement
I am glad that I wasn’t the only person to find the “mummified dead everywhere” statement to be controversial. How sad it is that the father has to describe his surroundings as “mummified dead”. When I came across this statement, the only thing I could picture was an environment filled with sorrow and no signs of life. Despite Cormac’s unconventional writing style, I believe it’s effective because it appeals to our emotions. Every single section of the book makes the audience feel remorse for the characters, specifically the father and son, who are forced to succumb to these unsettling circumstances.

Word count: 100

Sophie Mackintosh

1/21/2020 09:23:34 am

Cormac McCarthy is able to make this post-apocalyptic novel more real through his use of imagery. He completely neglects to mention anything involving color or life. Many of the sections involve aspects that readers could visualize when thinking of movies and intense scenes. I think the reoccurring theme of fire and ash play a huge role in the realism of the story. One specific event that stood out to me was when the man looked into the abandoned trailer. The description of the rotting bodies shows how bad the surrounding environment is, especially for a young child. By adding things like this, not only does it make the audience visualize the actual process of the corpses decomposing, but it also makes people wonder what would happen if that was them in the situation. If the world suddenly ended, what would you do?

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