Lit Log: The Road

The scene from “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy that I drew is from page 19. In this scene, the man puts the boy in the cart and pushes the cart through the hills. “He fashioned sweeps from two old brooms he’d found and wired them to the cart to clear the limbs from the road in front of the wheels and he put the boy in the basket and stood on the rear rail like a dogmusher and they set off down the hills, guiding the cart on the curves with their bodies in the manner of bobsledders. It was the first that he’d seen the boy smile in a long time.” (Pg. 19) I think the scene is important because it brings up a lot of the important people and objects in the book, and describes their actions and emotions. This passage mentions the man, the boy, the cart, and the environment and how they travel through it. Not only that, but it shows how innovative the man is and the rare moment when the boy experiences joy from riding in the cart. Because of the unforgiving and perilous post- apocalyptic world the boy and the man live in, they rarely smile or feel happy, so when the boy smiles, it is very significant. In this drawing, I didn’t add color because I wanted to express how dark and lifeless the world is. In the background, I drew dark clouds and a burning tree, which are things that are often described in the story. I also drew the man and the boy, who is in the cart. I wanted to express their bundled and ragged clothing that is meant to keep the cold out, but barely does so. In the cart, I drew the tarp, which is covering all of their supplies like food and blankets. Overall, I just wanted this piece to capture the gloomy atmosphere of the story.