The RoadBy Cormac McCarthy

About the Author

• The Road won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Literature

• Research fellow in mathematics and science at the Santa Fe Institute

• According to McCarthy, his son helped him write The Road.

• He uses simple sentences and minimal punctuation.

• Raised Roman Catholic• First published sometime around 1957• Very private—has only submitted to one interview• Recipient of many grants, which he lived on while he wrote.• Also had various jobs—auto mechanic, Air Force, radio

show, • Did find not find huge literary success until 1992, with All

the Pretty Horses.• Has published 10 novels, including All the Pretty Horses, The

Crossing, Cities of the Plain, No Country for Old Men, and The Road.

Questions for Discussion• What does the title hint about the subject of the novel?

• A journey• What are some theories about how the world could end?

• Nuclear War• Meteor Hit• Health epidemic (plague)• Alien invasion• Global Warming

• What are some conveniences that would be lost if our society drastically changed due to a post-apocalyptic event?

• Loss of food supply (unable to grow crops, animals die, grocery store eventually empties)

• Loss of electricity (difficult to stay warm, difficult to cook food)• Loss of communications (no phones, internet, etc.)

• How would our society function after the event?• No law• Mass hysteria• Looting• Every man/woman for him/herself

Identifying Themes• The End of the World (as we know it)

– See previous slide• Struggle for Survival – HOPE AND HOPLESSNESS

– Physical Struggle (see previous slide)– Selfishness vs. Altruism (unselfishness)

• Are we fundamentally selfish? YES!• Man versus Nature

– Struggle to find shelter, food, safety– Do we attempt to control nature now? YES!

• Man versus Self– Isolation– Could cause insanity

• Nothing but the Truth– Is it more important to tell the truth or protect those you love when you

know the truth will hurt them?– Is it acceptable to tell a “little white lie”? Depends on the situation.– How are relationships affected when one knows the other could be lying?

Homework• Read / review pages 3-33 in The Road• Journal Entry

– After reading the assigned pages, find 2-3 examples of the theme of HOPE – HOPELESSNESS especially in relation to survival

– Your journal entry should be formatted as such

QUOTE PAGE NUMBEREXPLANATION OF HOW IT RELATES TO THE THEME

(2-3 SENTENCES)

The RoadLesson 2

• Why does McCarthy write with little punctuation, no quotation marks, and no chapters?

• How does his style contribute to the voice of the book?

• What do we know about the setting?• What time of year?• What does the landscape look like?

Style & Setting

Cormac McCarthy's Style

Character Analysis

• What do we know about The Man and The Boy?

• Why do you think McCarthy does not name his characters?

• What affect does this have on our view of the characters?

• What predictions can we make about their journey?

Excerpts from the Reading• “Can you do it? When the time comes? Can you?”

– What is the man referring to?– Do you think he is capable of following through?

• “There were fires still burning high in the mountains and at night they could see the light from them deep orange in the sootfall.”– What is this fire?– What is it burning?

• “On this road there are no godspoke men.”– What can we interpret this statement to mean?

Homework• Review pages 34-67• Bring to class 3 inquiry questions based on the

reading– Ex: What could cause the boy to feel scared when

they enter the house the man grew up in?– Questions must be critical thinking – open ended– Be prepared to discuss answers in class

The RoadLesson 3

Group Discussion• Work in groups – 10 minutes

– As a group, discuss the inquiry questions you developed for homework.

– Decide one question your group will focus on.– As a group, discuss your question and take notes.– Each group will lead the class in a 4-5 minute

discussion about your question.• Be prepared to offer the class your thoughts, predictions,

and prepare questions to ask your classmates.

– Take notes on each discussion question as it is being presented to the class.

Group Discussion Questions• Group 1: How do you feel the different view points on

subjects such as the dying man and the waterfall between the boy and the dad will effect their relationship?

• Group 2: Why did the wife want to leave?• Group 3: Why does the dad seem less optimistic?• Group 4: What has happened in the world?• Group 5: Why did the man leave the picture on the

road?• Group 6: How will finding people affect the boy and the

father’s livelihood?

Group Discussion Questions• Group 1: What is the symbolism of the man leaving

the billfold and his wife’s picture on the road?• Group 2: What does the little boy’s dream mean?• Group 3: Why doesn’t the little boy trust the dad?• Group 4: Why did they go to the man’s childhood

home?• Group 5: Why do they not team up with other

people?• Group 6: What is the significance of the man’s

dreams in general?

The RoadLesson 4 – Tuesday, Oct. 18th

IR Test Today

Survival: Altruism• Altruism: we are nice to one another at a cost to

ourselves without any expectation of any possible gain or benefit for ourselves– Can you think of a real-life example of altruism?

• Is it good or bad to be altruistic?– What is the benefit of being altruistic?– Do people have a choice in being altruistic?

• The man and the boy consider themselves the “good guys.”– What are some examples of how they are similar to and

different from the “bad guys” they encounter?– How is the boy able to maintain his compassion?

Hope and Survival

• What does it mean to survive?– Is survival defined differently for each character?– How is surviving different for the man and the boy

compared to other characters?

• If you were in this situation, what would you consider essential items you would fight to keep?

• Quotes on hope and survival

The RoadLesson 5 – Thursday, Oct. 20th

Grammar TEST Tomorrow

Writing Assignment

“We’re going to be okay, aren’t we Papa? Yes. We are. And nothing bad is going to happen to us. That’s right. Because we’re carrying the fire. Yes. Because we’re carrying the fire.”

Write a response to the following:When the man and boy say they are carrying the fire they are referring to humanity and being “the good guys”. If society is destroyed and our way of life no longer exists, what purpose does humanity serve?

You have 10 minutes to complete. You should reference the book in your response.

“Carrying the fire”

• What is communism?• Read the article National Affairs: Carrying the

Fire• What is this article about?• How does Eisenhower use fire as an analogy?• What does “fire” represent in The Road?

Homework

• Read pages 136-170• Vocabulary Organizer – ongoing• Journal Entry

– Pick one event that occurs in these pages. What is its significance? How does it relate to a theme? Your response should be in the form of a paragraph.

• Grammar test TOMORROW!

The Road

OPTICAn acronym you can use to analyze a visual text.

O is for overview—write down a few notes on what the visual appears to be about.P is for parts—zero in on the parts of the visual. Write down any elements or details that seem important.T is for title—highlight the words of the title of the visual (if one is available). What seems to be important about the title?

I is for interrelationships—use the title as the theory and the parts of the visual as clues to detect and specify interrelationships in the graphic.

C is for conclusion—draw a conclusion about

the visual as a whole. What does the visual mean? Summarize the message of the visual in one or two sentences.

The Road

Critical Review

• Read the critical review of The Road. • As you read, annotate the article. Feel free to

mark comments you agree and/or disagree with.

• Once everyone has finished reading, get with a partner and write a paragraph in which you discuss either one thing you agree with or one thing you disagree with and why.

• Be prepared to defend your arguments!

Homework

• Read pages 205-238– Write a paragraph in which you discuss how you

have seen the theme of hope and hopelessness portrayed so far in the novel.

The Road

Theme Circle/Gallery Walk

Decide on a theme to explore.•Innermost circle: write the theme.•Second circle: find three examples from the text that illustrate that theme (this can be a quote or paraphrase). Create a symbol that visually represents each example.•Outermost circle: One statement that discusses how the theme has evolved over the course of the novel. Another statement that discusses the author’s message using the theme.

The Road

The End• Read the last paragraph of this novel about

the trout in the stream – page 286.• What is McCarthy saying here?• Why do you think he used these thoughts to

end the story?• Do you think McCarthy ended the story with a

hint of hope or, do you think he meant to suggest that there was no hope left in the world?

Theme Discussion• Like Father, Like Son

– How is the man and the boy similar and different?– What inter-relational struggles do they experience?– Are they on the same “path” and do they share the

same fate?• Man vs. Self

– Is the man insane?– How does their isolation affect their relationship with

each other and with the possibility of meeting the “good guys”?

Theme Discussion• Good vs. Evil

– The “good guys” versus the “bad guys”

• Devastation/Struggle to Survive– What is McCarthy trying to tell us?– Can we change our future?

• Nothing but the Truth– Is it more important to tell the truth or protect those you

love when you know the truth will hurt them?– Is it acceptable to tell a “little white lie”? Does it depends

on the situation?– How are relationships affected when one knows the other

could be lying?

Reviewing Themes• The End of the World (as we know it) (See slide 4)• Struggle for Survival

– Physical Struggle (see slide 4)– Selfishness vs. Altruism (unselfishness)

• Are we fundamentally selfish? YES!• Man versus Nature

– Struggle to find shelter, food, safety– Do we attempt to control nature now? YES!

• Man versus Self– Isolation– Could cause insanity

• Nothing but the Truth– Is it more important to tell the truth or protect those you love when you

know the truth will hurt them?– Is it acceptable to tell a “little white lie”? Depends on the situation.– How are relationships affected when one knows the other could be lying?

The Road