Throughout the novel, the father and son start to encounter people along their journey. Describe what you feel is the most memorable encounter and talk specifically about how McCarthy's diction effects the event. Also, provide your point of view on whether or not this book should be required as part of the high school curriculum.
Friday, May 09, 2008
E Block's Really Really Ridiculously Difficult Question
Throughout the novel, the father and son start to encounter people along their journey. Describe what you feel is the most memorable encounter and talk specifically about how McCarthy's diction effects the event. Also, provide your point of view on whether or not this book should be required as part of the high school curriculum.
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17 comments:
CASEY PIPES
The most memorable encounter in my eyes so far for the father and son would be when they encountered the man interested in their truck. The man tried taking his son hostage with a knife and the father pulled out a gun and killed him.
"The Road" is a book that should be in the high school curriculum because it kind of symbolizes our own journey and hardships we face, but not to the extent.
The most memorable encounter in The Road by Cormac McCarthy, thus far, would have to be the point in which the father and son encounter all the naked people locked within the basement and they plead with the father to "Help us, they whispered. Please help us." but they run just in time to see the cannibal returning to the house. The diction of this event is just like the diction throughout the rest of the novel eerie to the point that it causes a sense of despair. Personally I can't see this book becoming part of the curriculum because it's not very well like due to its deep symbolism that few people look for.
The most memorable encounter so far in the novel has to be when the father and his son come in contact with the man the father ultimately kills. The man takes the son hostage and his father responds by shooting him and saving his son. The diction of this event is what makes it memorable, and the writing style makes this event powerful to the reader. I believe that this book should not be part of the curriculum, and should remain an optional book to read at the end of the year. It is a great book to read but it doesn't need to be read by every student if it does not appeal to them.
By Eric Olson
I feel the most memorable encounter would be when they came across the man with the knife. The encounter was the climax of this point in the book, but was not so far over the top that it is the climax of the book as a whole. McCarthy’s diction makes it interesting because there are no names so everything is your own imagination, you can’t make parallels to your own life.
Thy book should not be a part of the curriculum because it is not an interesting book at all. The book does not have names so it is a little bit confusing especially for a DF. The book is good for blog work but it would be hard to talk about it without giving too much away.
So far throughout the novel, "The Road", by Cormac McCarthy there has been very few encounters between the father and son and other characters. However, there was one encounter with another character that I believed was significantly important.
A man comes walking through the woods and encounters the father and son. The man and the father start conversing, and the father really wants to know about the truck the man was in. McCarthy's diction shows that the father is really interested in stealing the truck. The man realizes that the father really wants the truck so the man instantly snatches the boy.This makes the father react by pulling his gun and giving the man a headshot.
This is important because it shows how much desperation the father is in. The father will kill anyone who touches his son. He wants himself and his son to live through this awful time.
I believe this book should not be in next year curriculum because overall it is a boring book to read. Nothing really happens, and all McCarthy says is that everything is dead or has turned to ash. I think there could be a better choice of books for next year’s curriculum.
By Zack Schleicher
P.s. YBTT that for spelling words wrong in the question.
The most memorable encounter that the father and the son came across would be the starving old man that appeared on page 161. Most of their encounters are with people that intend to harm them but this showed how their are still good people left in this broken down world. McCarthy describes how the father never trusted the man thinking it was an ambush of some sort while the son thought it wasnt. I think that The Road should be apart of the high school curriculum because of its style. The novels diction is different compared to the other type of books I have read. Even though its hard to get into the book as some things arent clear in the start I do think it should be apart of our curriculum.
James Kellogg
Period E
Throughout the novel the father and the son do start to encounter people along their journey some are memorable but some are more memorable then others. So far from reading, the scene which is most memorable is when the son has a knife to his throat and the dad saves him by shooting the man in the end. This leaves the dad with only one bullet and there are two of them left. This shows that the boy is seen as a Christ figure and the dad needs to protect him because he knows that he won’t be able to go on much longer. This shows that you cannot trust anyone and it’s a fight for survival. The boy will never forget this because his own father had to kill someone to keep him alive. I believe this book should be apart of the high school curriculum because it tells more than a story. It tells how a son and a father struggle to survive when all is lost but still manage to take care of each other. It also expresses great diction and imagery explaining a lot of things in detail on important scenes. The moral is though, we are all on a road, a road of life and you must keep going on and never give up or else you will die and be forgotten.
Josh Spilewski
Through out the novel, the father and son start to encounter people along their journey. One of the most memorable encounters thus far I have read is the one when the man wants to highjack the father and suns truck. I say this because the man was forwarded that the father had a gun and was going to use it if need be. The man trying to highjack the truck took this word of advice as a joke and the he snatched the son. To be precise “He dove and grabbed the boy and rolled and came up holding him against his chest with the knife at his throat. The man had already dropped to the ground and he swinging with him and leveled the pistol and fired from a two-handed position balanced on both knees at a distance of six feet. The man fell back instantly and lay with blood and bubbling from the hole in his forehead. The boy was lying in his lap with no expression on his face at all…” (Page 67). The diction in this novel is surreal because when I read passages such as the one I supplied, I can mentally see everything happening. I thoroughly enjoy when I can do that. If the author can make you picture everything happening in the novel he has done a good job. I believe this book should be a part of the curriculum because the problems depicting this future can happen to us in the future will never change. This could happen today this could happen next month, this could happen in years. The thing is this could really happen to us maybe not to this extent but it could happen in a few ways.
Adam Hart
The encounter between the knife wielding man and the father and son, in my opinion is the most memorable rendezvous. This particular encounter is significant because it is the first real big event to happen and it shows that the father is not afraid to use deadly force to protect his son. Cormac McCarthy’s diction doesn’t allow you to become attached to the characters because there are no names. Also I like how McCarthy toggles between description and dialogue from the characters.
John Ricca
The most memorable encounter so far, in my opinion was the man with the knife. It was was the first real dangerous scenerio they encounted and it gave you a better understanding of both characters and changes the way I see both characters through out the novel.
And this book should be part of a high school curriculum. Since I think Tuker Max's "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell" should be part of a high school curriculum, this book should have no problem.
I think that the most memorable encounter that the boy and the father come across is the "naked people" they come across in the house. That part really caught my attention, ive been waiting for something exciting, even bad to happen and this was something i feel was due. I want to know more about these characters that they found. Are they bad people? Are they suffering like the boys and the father?
"Huddled against the back wall were naked people, male and female, all trying to hide, sheilding their faces with their hands."
Melissa G. (D)
The most memorable encounter that i think so far has happened is when the man and the boy see the people in the basement. When they see the people in the basement i thnk that the mindset of both of them that the road that they are on and are looking to be a positive way for them, is going to be a rough bumpy road. I think the book should be learned in school and should be in the curriculum because it is a book that has a lot of symbolysim in it and shows great leadership towards the son.
Ben Hastings
I think the most memorable part in this novel is when another man gets a hold of the boy. This other man takes him and holds a knife up to him. The father has to act right away and what he does is pull the gun out and shoot him. This changed the boy in some ways and also the father. They may be normal people but now they have to kill. They will do anything to stay alive even if it involves killing someone. This shows they cannot trust anyone, that they only have themselves. The way the author writes, using no names or anything makes it more powerful to the reader. This book should be part of the Norton High School curriculum because many students would get a lot out of it. It is all about the choices you make in life and what road you take if it leads you down the path of destruction or down a better path.
Jennifer O'Brien
Relationships between strangers, sympathy, compassion, they are all things that we take for granted. They are only given form by the complex twining of society, its laws and “rituals”. When that societal mold is broken down and cast-off all common decency goes “out the door”. Imagine how one would greet a stranger in a world without reliable food sources, water, or penalty. Would you kindly ask for food? Steal from others? Or would you keep your conscience in a setting so different from our own.
This is the setting of reality in Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road”. I believe every encounter embodies a different set of circumstances. Cormac breathes life into each instance taking the natural unrefined emotion and polishing it to its fullest. For myself personally, I find each chance happening to be equally suspenseful. As for the diction, Cormac is one of those non-conformed writers who manages breaks the mold of the old English class writing style. Putting into words what our minds put into thoughts. Many of us do not think in complete sentences, or check our thoughts for grammar mistakes. This style he introduces allows us to perceive things as if they are our own thoughts. Although the diction does make the books flow somewhat erratic, it still manages to stay on a track.
I believe this to be one of the least monotonous books that I’ve read in my school career. It is a book that I find to be readable. I would definitely recommend this book.
I know this is really really ridiculously late, but…Throughout the novel, the father and son start to encounter people along their journey. I feel that the most memorable encounter that they came across would have to be the naked people in the basement pleading for their help. But they scurry off just in time, seeing the cannibal coming back to his house. McCarthy’s diction in this scene is the same as throughout the rest of the book, dark and eerie.
I do not believe that the school will put this book in the curriculum because they might get nervous, god forbid we read a good book in school. Plus it may be a bit too hard to make assignments for, besides writing a paper.
Ashley LaRochelle
The most memorable part of the story is what the boy and his father find in the house. The father is determined to see what is in the basement but through the boy the author foreshadows the horror that is to be found. Throughout the rest of the story nothing will compare to knowing that people are being eaten alive. When they find the bunker there is the relief of something good and you want them to stay there until they are rescued. It is interesting that they spend time thanking the people who left it behind although they are most likely dead. I don't think this book needs to be part of the high school curriculum. The book dwells on sick and twisted events. For being just a fictional book, it is disturbing how the author goes into great detail about absolutely disgusting things. No one at all should feel like they need to read this book. You really have to wonder what kind of person writes a book such as this in the first place.
-Keith Kelleher
I feel that this book overall should not be on the school’s curriculum next year. I personally enjoy and like this book, yet I don't believe it should be put on the curriculum. Most people whom I have talked to say that the story is boring and long with no exciting events occurring. McCarthy's diction and way of writing I believe has a lot to do with this. McCarthy is very ambiguous with his writing and for this I feel students wouldn't enjoy the book. And the rest of the response to this question has already been answered in the previous question. See that comment for details.
-John Cummings
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