McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 281
In the final version of The Road, much of the boy’s dialogue has been cut out, that is until now. This is his story.
There’s fog covering the road, blocking the view. A figure catches his eye, standing behind the tree staring at him. Coldly. A rush of wind behind him, there’s another figure. The last thing he feels is the cold metal of the barrel against his head and the sweet release of worries. Papa, I’m coming, he says. Silent. If there is anything that can describe this moment it would be...barren. This world is devoid of life, of love, of purpose. This world is barren. Beside the resting boy is his papa. The man died yesterday, but the boy couldn’t bring himself to leave his side. Papa I can’t go on like this, said the boy. He sat up and stared at the fire crackling in the dark. The dreams have taken over, clouding his vision of any hope. His hand slides over to check inventory. Pistol, water, gas, he says softly. He picks up the gun and looks into the chamber staring at the round. Cold, smooth, instant. A frigid wind blew through the site, but the boy sat unbothered.
You’re stronger than this.
Papa, I want to be with you and mama.
Mama and I are on a journey.
Can I come?
Who’s going to stop the bad guys?
I don’t know.
You. You carry the fire, the way into the light. I believe in you.
The voice was gone. He placed the gun down and stared out to the road. I carry the fire, Papa, for you.
For my creative, I chose to tell the story of what the boy was doing during those 3 days he stayed in the cave with his father after he died. My impression of the boy switched as we watched the movie, so by the end of the book, I saw him older than when I began reading, which we estimated was 4-5. I didn’t agree with the idea that he should be older at first, but the behavior towards the end of the book started to draw me closer to it. I specifically chose to write into this part of the story due to the fact that it’s the most flexible, allowing dialogue for the boy to be inserted without disrupting the flow too much. Towards the end, the boy’s attitude towards his father has changed. He’s more upset with some of the things his father does and says, but that’s the result of facing so many harsh realities. There’s been multiple times where the pair had the chance to help others, but the father always turned them down, which went against everything that the boy thought they stood for. The new environments and people he interacted with changed his perspective of the world as well. There’s possibly no future to look forward to or any chance of anything getting better. This ultimately lead me to idea of him thinking of suicide. In the book he wants to be with his mom, but we know she left him long ago and that she’s dead. The wound of his father’s death is fresh. Offing himself would bring them back as one family. The idea forms around the essential questions of who/what do we live for and what is our motivation in a world that’s so damaged? It seems that in this world, one’s action can’t simply be written off ad good or bad because the end goal for everyone is to survive. When that’s not possible, you start to think realistically. The sequence in the beginning of my piece doesn’t come off as something terrible, but peaceful. Though there is a a good amount of violence that takes place in the book, there’s always a counter of peace resting in the grey overcast. Writing in McCarthy’s style was not at all easy, especially the vocabulary. I chose the words barren and devoid, similar in meaning, yet both powerful enough to stand alone. There’s no true description to how this world actually is. Yes, there’s ash everywhere and bodies are strewn across the ground, but it’s also a barren wasteland of lost attempts. Attempts at making it out alive, of holding on to that hope that keeps the fire burning so bright.
Comments (3)
Log in to post a comment.