McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 130

​I believe the passage below was cut because the passage would take away the reader's ability to create their own ideas about the book.  

Passage (Put in the middle of Page 130)

The boy woke up beside his dad, dazed and confused.  

Papa wake up!

Papa!

The boy crawled on the ominous ground.  He slowly got on to his feet.  Walking felt unnatural.  The boy continued in his attempt to walk.  The ground was bumpy.  The higher he got the more control he gained.  The boy looked back at his Papa laying in the ground motionless.  He soon realized that he and his papa did not fall asleep there.  His location was unknown and he started to cry.  As he pressed his face into his hands, he saw the flicker of a light.  Behind him was a stick holding fire.  The boy was fascinated and felt at ease.  The floating fire started to drift away.  

Papa look!

The boy turned around to his papa sleeping or dead.  The fire had gained more distance.  The boy started chasing after it.  He chased after the fire for about a mile before he realized that he had no way to get back.  The fire stopped moving.  There was nothing for miles.  The boy walked very slowly.  When he felt the time was right, he lunged for it hoping to hold the fire.  As his hand got a hold of the stick, his foot got caught by a piece of metal.  The boy ends up passing out, holding the fire.  

Son lets get ready to go.  The dad says to his the boy while he was dreaming.  

Papa look I am holding the fire.


Rationale - 

This passage should be put in the middle of page 130.  On page 130 the boy was asleep and the dad is trying to fall asleep.  Then it would jump into the dream.  The dream slowly builds up into a dream.  The boy lacks control in the dream.  The dream is so vivid it seems real.  My intention for putting this quote on page 130 is actually connected with finding the bunker.  I found it so unrealistic to stop, like they do constantly, because of the boys gut feeling.  So I went back to the most recent time the boy was asleep and created a dream that made it seem as if he was something of a higher power.  My essential questions were “Is the boy Jesus?” and “How did the boy know that was the right place to stop?.  In the dream once he gained control of his emotions he was distracted by a stick with fire.  The boy wants to believe he is holding the fire and therefore I gave him the opportunity to do so.  He followed the fire till he came across the bunker.  The bunker reference is very subtle because when they get there the boy does not know what is actually there.  His mind will remember falling in this very lonely place which will cause him to remember bits and pieces of the dream.  The dream being very vivid and making him follow the fire are all references that he has someone helping him.  I wanted to leave the impression that he was special.  I ended it with the boy tripping and waking up.  Before anyone really wakes up from a dream they still believe they are in it.  In conclusion he ended the dream holding the fire and having a place to go to in order to survive for longer.  As I said in the opening sentence, I believe if this passage was put in the book, there would be no question he was of a higher power and that he knew where the bunker was.  Given those two very big points, they had to remove the passage in order to make this story worth all the rewards it has received.  

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