The Road - Key Episodes

Coming across the man who has been struck by lightening (pp. 50-53)

This episode carries on the theme of selfishness, the man refuses to help the man as he feels he has no way in which to help him, his son on the other hand feels differently. The father only wants whats best for his son and makes them carry on along the road so that he wasn't affected by the site of the burnt man. It proves that the father has absolutely no feelings towards anyone else but his son. "No. we can't help him."He is dedicated to getting him and his son to safety and will not let anything get in the way of that. Maybe the father has been let down by other people and does not want to get attached to this guy to realise he shouldn't have trusted him. He feels it is every man for himself. It does increase tension but you are let down by it as you almost want the burnt man to react to the man and his son, but disappointingly he doesn't. I think this event defiantly makes the father son relationship even more distant, the boy disagrees with his father and their morals clash, causing a bond between father and son to become lose. It also makes the reader prejudge the man as a selfish character, but you could think of it as performing the duty of protecting his son. If this event was in a different novel it wouldn't be seen as big, but it seems as though this is a big event in the novel. It's their first encounter of seeing another human being. Punctuation is very limited and McCarthy has kept it to the basics, as with the story line. The only punctuation used is full stops and question marks. The full stops show the bluntness of the conversation that takes place between father and son "Are you sure? Yes. Okay. Okay". I think the question marks show how confusing the whole situation for both of them is, they're questioning the reality of their lives and don't actually want to believe it's happening. He also doesn't use speech marks when there is dialogue.

 Shooting the 'roadrat' (pp. 62-69)

This event is key in the novel as it shows the lengths this man goes to in able to protect his son. It shows that his and his sons survival is all that matters. The shooting of the man is very quick, the paragraph is short and it just gets straight to the point, detail is limited. "Blood bubbling" the use of the letter 'b' twice creates the really gory image of the man in your head, it also drops the monotone that carries on through the whole novel. I think the man thinks he has power and control over everyone, he thinks as he has survived this long he has dominance over anyone they come across. "No you can't. If you look at him again I'll shoot you." He doesn't realise other people are in the same situation he is and thinks he's  can rule over it. This episode almost makes you feel happy that another 'bad guy' is dead and out of the picture, you're glad that the boy and man are safe and so you can follow along with a journey that is so out of the ordinary. This event shows a theme of horror/thriller. The short sentences build up the tension. I think this does have an affect on the father and son relationship as the little boy was shook up from this incident, he's naive and doesn't think like his father, their personalities are extremely different. The language is very aggressive building up to the shooting. "Ain't no need to be such a hard-ass" "I think you're chickenshit." Violence is a big theme in the novel, it shows how desperate people get in situations like that.

 - finding the cellar of naked and mutilated people (pp. 112-121)

This episode allows the father and his son to reflect on how lucky they are considering the situation in which they are going through, they wouldn't want to be locked in a cellar not knowing whats going to happen or when they will die. The episode is very surreal and has a big impact on the reader, it carries on the theme of horror and also violence. The readers response is very sympathetic towards the man and his son, you have followed them through their journey and us as the readers what to carry on with them so we fear that one or even both of them wont carry on in the novel. The tension builds up as they explore the house, it also builds when they are running away from the house but drops once hid and when the boy falls asleep. In some ways the relationship between father and son is becoming detached but in others it can be seen as the son and father becoming closer. The boys father is his rock and although he is struggling he does what ever he can just to protect his son, it's his duty. Each event that occurs distances' the relationship the boy and his father have, simply due to difference in the way they they think and their morals. On the other hand you could say that it brings their relationship closer as I think the boy knows how lucky he is to have his dad there protecting him, he feels safe and secure when with his father and he trusts him "I wont ever leave you" The little boy is so scared of his father leaving him to struggle on his own but the besides the father having little emotion he does well to comfort his son when needed. McCarthy uses very short sentences in order to build up the tension when exploring the house "Trash piled everywhere. A ruststained sink. Smell of mould and excrement." He also describes things when building up tension, he describes the smell and the sight in great detail, it gives us a better image of the place they're in as us as the readers have never experienced anything like it as the scenario is so surreal.

- the baby on the spit (pp. 210-215)

I think this episode has the most impact on the reader than the others, reading about this surreal experience makes the reader feel uncomfortable, it's an abnormal situation in which most people wouldn't know how they would react. The boy is shocked when he realises what it is and the father is extremely sympathetic towards him and feels like it is his fault, he feels as if he has let his son down and now regrets it, he says "He didn't know if he'd ever speak again." The only thing that is keeping them both sane is each other, and if the man didn't have his son to make small talk with then I think things would go terribly wrong for him. This changes the readers mood and you almost feel depressed, it's discusting to even imagine. I think the relationship is effected as the father feels like he's failed his son once again by letting him see these things. "Im sorry, he wispered. I'm sorry." he feels like he's not doing his duty right even though he's trying his best. The language like with the whole novel is very bland, no emotion, metaphors or similies, but I think this makes it more of a factual novel even though it is fiction, it makes the situation more realistic and helps you visualise it a lot clearer. This episode stands out in the novel as it's a very difficult situation for the reader and the little boy to understand, the young boy doesnt get why theese things have happened and his father doesnt want to be the one to tell him as he doesnt want to be blamed by his son, all he wants is for his son to accept and apriciate what his father is doing for him. The man is almost training the son to be able to cope on his own when/if he is ever left alone to fend for himself, he's explaining to his son to not be frightened but to be brave and accept the situation you're in and that he has to take risks, his father says " Let's take a look.... There's no one here. It's okay." Despite the child not wanting to go and take a look his father refuses not too. I think the father knows how desperate they are for food etc and the little boy has no clue and this worries his father. It could be forshadowing as later on in the novel the father dies and the boy is left alone, he has a pistol and himself, his father can die happily if he knows his son is able to cope without him and be safe.  
- getting to the shore (pp. 227 - 230)

This episode is quite dissapointing, the boy was looking forward to a blue see and maybe some hint of life, but once at the shore he discovers that theres no hope in seeing that any time soon. "He looked at the boy. He could see the dissapointment in his face. I'm sorry it's not blue, he said. That's okay,said the boy." The father feels like he has let his son down once again, I also noticed that the man never calls his son "son" or he never says anything that shows he is his son, I think this shows how dissapointed the man is with raising his son, he feels like he doesn't have the right to call him son as he has not performed his duty of a father correctly due to the situations they have been put in.It's very dissapointing for the man and his son once at the coast, this creates sympathy towards them as you thought that they may find some happyness once there. You can tell the desperation they're both in.. "They rummaged through the outbuildings for anything of use" It puts the image of homeless people in your head. It's strange because you get the impression that the father is a very strong willed and proud man, and to have him rummaging through old stuff is a big contrast, this shows their desperation. I think that the father feels that their relationship is now at it's worst as he has let his son down once again, but I think the boy is just happy that his father is there with him and they're at a better place now. It does make the readers mood change as you feel happier they made it safe but you also feel like the jounry built up to something good and then just dropped and you were dissapointed with the outcome for them. This could be a metaphor for the road, the road represents their journey, it's long and dull and there was not really a positive outcome at the end, but the road did help them survive as long as they have in a way. McCarthy also said that "They ate well" But in the next paragraph "They ate more sparingly" this shows how quickly things change for them. Their lives for example changed dramatically very quickly and now the amount of food they have changed quickly. I think this is a key episode as it's something that the whole novel has been building up too, yet it is dissapointing for us the readers and the characters.

- the theft of the man and boy's belongings (pp. 270-278)

This episode brings sympathy and emotion towards the reader. Throught the novel the man has not shown any cracks, he's been rock solid with no emotion, but in this episode it changes, he says "I'm scared. Do you understand? I'm scared." He repeats the word scared twice and it shows the mans despiration. His emotions are coming through. He has tried his best to hide them from his son as he does not want them to transfer to him and impact on his chances of survival without his father. In this episode you also see the father changing his views towards other people in the same situation. "He piled the mans shoes and clothes in the road" Although he was angry and felt betrayed by the theif his son made him give in and he eventually gave in a tried to call the theif back, when he didnt answer he just left his clothes incase the theif returned. I think the man has realised that he's not alone and he has to treat people as he would, I think he has trust issues due to the fact of the situation and that is why he finds it hard to help others. This again shows how different son and fathers personalitys are. Their relationship is torn apart just that bit more once again when the father does something against the boys morals, but it's almost put back together again once the father tries to redeem himself and put his clothes back. The boy see's other peoples points of view and is able to put himself in their shoes, but the father has only one focus - his son. You go through this episode at rapid pace as you're so interested and hooked to want to know what happens, you want to know if they ever get the trolly back and who took it. I wouldn't say it's a tense moment but there is deffinatly relief once the theif is found.