McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 86

This passage is the father breaking down what happens when they run out of love.


I’m sorry but there is no way we can take the boy with us you have to believe me.

What makes him any different than me?

Nothing.

You were able to take me

You’re different

How?

Because

You love me

I need you

They walk in silence pacing their steps.

Are you out of love?

No why?

That boy is alone.

We can’t take him. He could kill us.

And I’ll be alone

The man talks to the boy about the possibilities of what will happen if the other little boy goes with them. He quickly explains to the boy what a setup is and how the other boy could be the reason they die.

What if he’s like me?

What if he isn’t?

We don’t know.

Why am I not enough for you?

What’s the other possibility?

We don’t die.

He comes with us.

Then he dies.

Then we die.

The man walks away ashamed of his next thought. Knowing it will cripplekill the boy.

I die

No no I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t let you die.

And you keep going?

Exactly.

I’m not enough for you.

They share a silence and mumble their words as they finally understand each other.

I’m all you’ve got.


This is my rationale explaining what exactly is happening in my creative piece.


For my creative piece I added a forgotten/cut-out text to page 86 right after the boy finishes talking to the man about bring the other boy with them. The man in the book turns down this idea very quickly without explanation. In my creative piece I decided to finally have the man explain his decision to the boy in depth.

My essential question for this was; Is there a certain amount of love each character can give out at once? In my passage I display both of the main character's position on this by inserting things like “Are you out of love?”, to indicate that there is only but so much love you can have. Other things like the man asking the boy “Why am I not enough for you?”. Implying that the boy has so much love for everything it drives the man crazy. I do this so readers can get a better understanding of how much love the man lost when his wife left him, leaving him with only enough love for the boy.

A symbol I chose to use for this passage was, love affects our choices. The man and the boy’s choices differ when it comes to helping people out. The man believes that they should only focus on themselves because he doesn’t have time to love anyone else. The boy never experienced a tragic lost like the man did with his wife so when he sees someone in need he wants to help them. In my creative piece I proved this by writing things like when the man says, “there is no way we can take the boy with us”. I changed the way the boy responds though by having him question the man’s decision while simply asking him “What makes him any different than me?”. The boy realizes that him and the other boy are both alone in a sense. The other boy was physically alone and the boy is emotionally alone. He travels with the man who keeps him company but does not fulfill his emotional needs.

To end my creative piece I talk about the man explaining to the boy what could happen if they bring the other boy with them. If they take him and the man spits up his love for them, he will not stop if the boy dies. He will keep going because he has to take care of the other boy. The boy takes on the man's feelings about being unwanted. Now the boy and the man both have grasped the fact that they only have each other.


Comments (5)

Olivia Mack (Student 2016)
Olivia Mack

I feel like you stayed up late to do this. I like how your rational really explains your story. Everything really makes sense. I think that you have really nice details and such, good job eric the destroyer