McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 292
The passage below is what I have imagined was cut from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road before the final edition was released.
Creative Piece:
The boy and his brand new friend went into the yard to play. There was so much dust. Not a typical playground. They got so caught up in having fun that they didn’t even notice how dirty their faces were getting. The boy’s friend hit him and ran away. The boy started to chase him and followed him into the woods. He started to be surrounded by the rancid smell of death but didn’t let that bother him. All he could think about was finding his friend. For a brief moment he even forgot all about the man.
Hello? Where are you?
The boy kept wandering about through the woods. While running he stumbled upon something and ultimately fell on it. He felt the thing. It was a person.
I found you!
The boy didn’t hear an answer. When he took a closer look he realized that the body was a dead body of a stranger. He quickly pushed himself off the body. He started running away from the woods and back towards the house, but he remembered something. His friend was still alone in the woods. He wondered. Is he okay? I can’t just leave him. I have to help him. He could be in trouble. The boy stopped. He thought for a little while. He then turned around and walked back through the woods. He wanted to find his friend.
Written Rationale :
Throughout the book, the boy’s character has been praised very often. Every time a decision had to be made, the boy always seemed to help the man make the right choice or at least present the man with the right choice. They boy seemed to be the smarter, more loving, and most importantly more integre person in the book. He never wanted to hurt anyone nor allow anyone to suffer before his eyes. He would always ask the man to either bring someone with them or feed someone. He would also often ask his dad if they’re the good people. He had to make sure he was doing the right thing at all times. He was like the representation of God on earth, the man’s only reason for living. My creative piece is an addition to the book. It is what I think would happen if the author didn’t end the book the way that he did. It would be inserted on page 292. The boy has always wanted to have a friend his age. When he saw the other little boy, he was so excited that he was willing to run after him. He just wanted to talk to him and have fun like a regular boy. It was pretty clear that he never had an experience like that before and he was dying for that to happen.
My piece would not be inserted right after the book ended because the boy would need time to become close to his friend and the rest of the group in order for my scene to happen. The adults would need to trust the boy for them to be able to play in the yards unattended in a dangerous world like that. That particular day, the other boy decided wrongly to run into the woods. The boy, as smart as he is, also made the wrong decision and followed his into the woods. He knows better but he wasn’t thinking straight as he is after all just a boy and when boys are playing games they aren’t thinking straight. The boy did not want to leave his friend even after he fell on a dead body. There are several reason one being because he wasn’t as spooked about dead bodies anymore and two being that he was very integre and he wanted the good of everyone around him.
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