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McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 183

Posted by Malwina Dymek in Being Human - Giknis - C on

The passage below is what I think could be added to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road before the final edition on page 183 right after a dialogue.


In a murky weather, the man went looking for something to start a fire. All the branches soaked through. Nothing to use. Everything was futile. The man walked through dismaldingy ground that used to be a grassland. He kept searching for a while, but could not find anything. They did not have a lot of time until the sunrise. The man figured they will be fine by the morning. He came back to the shed where the boy was shivering and waiting for him.


Papa. What if you dont wake up?

Just like in your dream?

Yes.

I wont. I will always be here with you.

But what if you dont?

It is my responsibility to take care of you.

Will I find the good guys if you dont wake up someday?

Yes but you will need to be careful.

Why? Because there are bad guys?

Yes.

Who can I trust then?

You will know the good guys when you see them.

Okay. What are we doing here if we dont know if we will survive?

Faith.

Faith?

Yes. God will show us the way of the South.

Im scared.

Why?

I want to go with you wherever you go.

You need to believe me we will be okay.

Okay.

Okay.

I’m still cold. Can we go to sleep Papa?

Yes. Of course.

Okay.

Okay.


Here is the rationale to explain my decisions for the creative scene.

I decided that creative writing of this project will be added right after the dialogue between the boy and the father on page 183. Their dialogue ended when the boy was talking about his dream, where his father did not wake up. I wanted to continue their dialogue where the boy asks him what is the point of going down the road and what will happen to him if the man dies.

I wanted to focus on the boy and how he always asks questions when he is not sure and is scared. He asks a lot of questions about what will happen to him when his father does not wake up and if the good guys will take care of him. Since the scene happens at night, cold weather lets me use the motifs of what the boy says throughout the book for example, “I’m cold” “I’m scared”.  

The themes I picked were: faith, who can you trust?, God and safety vs. risk. Faith and God are important parts of the book that the man values. The man talked to God, which is why I thought it would be good to include God, when he tells the boy that God will show them the way. The theme about ‘who can you trust?’ and ‘safety vs. risk’ had to do with good and bad guys. This is why I had the boy ask his father if he will deal with the bad guys just in case the father will not wake up. Good and bad guys come up in the book all the time and they are also the people who they meet on the road.

The main motifs I included in the dialogue were “I’m scared” and “Okay”. These two motifs are repeated in the book most of the time when the boy and the father talk. “Okay” is usually what the boy says to his father’s answers. One of the essential questions was “What is the point of going down the road?”. The reason why I picked this question was to show what can happen at the end of the book. When the father answered that God will show them the way, the boy knows that place will be a better place comparing to where they were on page 183. I came up with ‘dismaldingy’ vocabulary word to describe where the man was walking to find something to start the fire. I used adjectives that both mean dark and gloomy, just like the road in the book.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 281

Posted by Abdullah Jeffers in Being Human - Giknis - C on

The passage below was edited out of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road final edition

As he walked through the solemn woods the boy revisited his dream from the night. He lay somewhere on the road as if he were a bambino, naked. His senses at first nonexistent. As they returned, a sticky and smothering ash fell all around him. It was night time yet he saw through the suffocating darkness perfectly. An endless expanse reached in every direction. It was both inviting and deplorable. He called out papa. No reply. No Echo. Silence. The boy, a clean illuminated avatar eventually stood up; his outline etched permanently on the road. He was cold. Frightened. Alone. The ash began to milden, then finally cease. As the last particles of ash assumed the ground, he looked up to the sky to behold a new sight. What he imagined were stars, dotted the dark ocean above. The stars gazed back at him, strange and intense. They twinkled and danced, so much so that the boy thought he recognized shapes amidst them. A gust of ash forced him to shield his eyes and when he looked back up he thought he recognized the outline of a pistol. As he tried to focus more ash began to fall again. He blinked. He woke.


This is my rationale to explain why I did what I did

My passage will be placed on page 281, in the middle passage after the sentence that ends with “to the road.”  I placed it here because the boy needed some way to understand how to move forward. It is never really clear why not accepting the pistol provoked the boy to trust the new man. I also, think my scene will make the boy’s rationale clearer for trusting the new man, and how the boy is now changed in a way by the passing of his father. 

I chose to use the boy because there is a fork in the road (no pun intended) on how McCarthy could have progressed after the man dies. His options were to either give the boy a new caretaker or let the boy travel alone as a man. Since Mccarthy went down the path of a new caretaker, I chose to have the boy seem to be reborn. He is reborn stronger and more mature and now this new caretaker must teach the boy about things the man could not. I use a dream for this because the book never gives us any details about the boy's dreams. However it is strongly implied that the dreams he has foreshadow major events in the book. 

My peice answers the question “how does one mature?” by emphasizing the pistol. When confronted by the new man the boy offers his pistol and the man rejects it. This is showing that the boy is beginning to think more maturely. The boy prior to my scene would have either cowered or begged for help. My scene will foreshadow this event and it is also what pushed the boy to accept the new man as a good guy. The boy connects the man's non acceptance of the pistol to his dream. 

I used an unfamiliar word, bambino, to try and mimic McCarthy’s writing style. A bambino is a newborn baby, I am using it to emphasize that the boy is being reborn. Not only does this describe the boy figuratively but it also does literally. In my scene I am trying to give the reader the feeling that the boy is actually laying like a newborn. Another word that I use is deplorable. It literally contradicts the warm feeling of being invited. Something deplorable is something that causes a person grief. This endlessness of the new landscape represents the endless possibilities the boy's life can take. It is beckoning the boy to come, yet the boy knows what the road has to offer, and must not accept its invitation joyously.



McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 252

Posted by Michelle Friedman in Being Human - Giknis - C on

The passage below is the scene in the middle of the night at the beach that never made it through the final edits of The Road.


Standing back up on his feet was difficult. He walked a bit farther away from the boy, toward the beach. He bent over with his hands on his knees. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer, his lungs ached and he head spun. He prayed the boy didnt remember any of this when the sun comes up tomorrow. The waves were rolling slowly, crashing and pulling closer. Still coughing and spitting up blood the man quickly started.


He ran to the boy. He was still asleep and the man felt his forehead. It subsided and was back to normal. The boy was whimpering quietly and tears were leaving dirty streaks on his cheeks. Please, leave my papa hes got the fire… me instead. The man sat next to the boy. Tears now streamed down his face too. He brushed the boys hair slowly, wiping the sweat and tears away. Soon the boy’s crying quieted. The man coaxed the fire back with what was left in the ashes but it didnt warm the chill creeping into his bones


Im supposed to save you, you dont save me. What are we doing here? I cant be here without you.


The infinite darkness made the man’s hearing sharper, but there was nothing left to hear. The world was already dead.

My creative addition to the novel is inspired by key motifs, themes, essential questions, and literary techniques. My rationale is explained below.


My goal in writing this passage is to give the reader a unique look into the strong paternal love and affection. This novel tells an amazing story of a man and his son, but their relationship is unlike any other. The boy and the man depend on each other to survive and at times it seems like the boy is truly the older and wiser of the two. In this passage the man faces this reality and breaks down. The boy is restless and sick on the beach when the man hears him talking in his sleep. The boy is worried about the man and, once again, wants to protect the man from danger.


This book explores themes of selfishness vs selflessness when they meet Ely, when they stay in the bunker, and when the man and the boy share a can of soda. Each time, we see that the boy is astonishingly selfless and giving. In this scene I was hoping to convey another side of that theme. The man loves the boy for his compassion and generosity, but is equally concerned that one of his best features will bring the end to him.


In a dead, post-apocalyptic world the man and the boy travel south. Perhaps the south will bring warmer weather. Whatever the reason, neither the man nor the boy are able to answer why they are still living in the world at all. In this scene, the man breaks down and tries to convince the nothingness around him that he is watching out for the boy, not the other way around. He resigns that he is nothing in this world without the boy. This speaks to a theme of meaning and purpose that is really relevant to all readers. Is our life only worth fighting for if we have someone to love? Or maybe it’s the other way around- only if there is someone in the world to love us?


Cormac McCarthy crafted The Road with a singular and memorable writing style. In my addition to the text I tried to write as close to his literary style as possible. Some notable features of his writing are short and simple sentences that reveal meaning and depth through simple actions and movements. McCarthy rarely, if ever, reveals complex emotions of ideas through long passages. Another notable feature of his writing is the grammar and syntax. Passages may have a sentence or two toward the end of speech that is never explained again. I mimicked this by including a vocal response from the man on the beach. Additionally, McCarthy never uses apostrophes in contractions with words with “not”.


McCarthy Unabrigded: The Road Pages 55-58

Posted by Micah Henry in Being Human - Giknis - C on


This section of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is what I envisioned was not included in the final version of the novel:


Why has mom been acting strangely lately?

I dont know.

Is she okay?

Yes.

Are you sure?

Go talk to her yourself and find out. Ive tried talking to her too much already.

Okay.




The boy descended down the creaking steps, using the candle from upstairs to navigate through the ominous darkness of the world they live in, which night after night, engulfed their residence. The boy always made sure to treat the candle with care. Dropping it would mean that the house would become completely dark, or destroyed by flames. Either situation was inevitably disastrous. Carrying the fire wasnt a choice to the boy, it was an obligation, one he took to heart. Downstairs, at the table, across from the blazing lamp, sat his mother. Sitting calmly. Seemingly thinking, possibly reminiscing, The boy approached her quietly. The woman continued to look outside at the snow.




Mom?

Yes?

Are you okay?

No.

What’s wrong?

Everything.

Why does dad seem upset?

We dont want the same things.

What do you want?

The woman continued looking outside, not once looking at the boy, playing with her fingers, tapping her toes, her eyes filling with the slyest tears, completely blind to her son.

I want you to come with me, I dont want you to be killed.

Mom, we are survivors for a reason. We have to keep hope alive for others, and ourselves.

I cant stay here anymore. Please, leave me be son.

I love you mom, I hope you dont leave.


Here is the rationale portion of the project that will elaborate upon the choices made in the creative portion of the project:


The placement of where this scene should be could have only been before the section of pages 55-58. For there were only a couple of flashbacks regarding the boy’s mom and it would only make sense to put the additional scene before the confrontation between the mom and the dad in which led to the mom killing herself to escape someone else eventually killing her. Due to this being a flashback, it is a reflection of a significant event that occurred in the past, that has passed. To be specific, this event is so vital to the development of the boy because it shows directly how the boy is viewing the family’s current predicament. He isn’t giving into a natural reaction to hopelessness, he sees light in darkness, which is why he carries the fire, because he has the attitude and hope humanity needs to become strong again. Seeing his mother leaving only further influenced the boy to have compassion towards those suffering, intentionally or unintentionally. Carrying the fire of humanity and having the willingness to survive at such a young age, by the boy, is what this book is all about, and this additional scene provides an introduction to the boy’s willingness to do all of this throughout the novel. The term “carrying the fire” isn’t complex, it simply refers to carrying humanity, having humanity still in you despite the current circumstances, you are the light in a world of darkness, this reference being made as the boy walks down the steps with the candle to go talk to his mother.

This reference to the boy’s past and how he reacted to his mother leaving is significant. For in the novel, it is shown that the boy evidently cares greatly for his mom, wishing to be dead with her and not living at one point. This fact however shows even more how much more human this boy is. Being human does not mean simply being positive all the time, it means acting accordingly to a situation, sometimes. He is a seven or eight year old boy, of course he is going to want to be with his mother after knowing she wanted to die, it shows the boy has emotion and cares for others, at such a young age, this boy is specially gifted. The world is devastated, the current situation of the boy and father isn’t bright, but it is the fact that they continue to survive, and do whatever they can to survive, within the borderlines of humane acts, that makes them special. What would you do if the world was ending? The boy has made it clear, carry the fire, and have hope, plentiful hope.  


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 199

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Being Human - Giknis - C on

The boy and the man have just witnessed an infant left to cook over a fire, the boy goes off on his own.

The man put the boy down as they got closer to the road. The boy started walking quietly in front leaving the man to pull the cart. He came upon the river again. He heard the man calling to him and turned around. The man was falling far behind. He kneeled next to the river while he waited and stared into the darkening water. Tears started to run down his face and he sat down by the bank. The boy pulled the mask from his face. He cupped it in his hands and splashed himself with water. It was cold and tasted of ash. The boys tears flowed harder at the feeling of it. He closed his eyes.


Humming came from the cleanroom when he woke up. The boy stood and let it guide him through the  darkness. She kneeled over the onceadayer washing her face and turned to look at him.

What are you singing?

Nothing.

Thats not nothing.

Its a song I use to sing to you when you were a baby.

Why?

To make you happy.

Okay.

The boy sat next to her.  

You dont sing.

I know.

She wet her face once more.

Whyd you do it again?

Im just tired. Needed to tell myself to wake up.

Why?

Because you need to do that sometimes when you feel bad.

Does papa do it?

I dont know.

Okay.

Go back to sleep. She hugged him to her heart and kissed his head. He went back to bed as she turned and wet her face once more.




In this scene the boy’s point of view is put into perspective, something that only occurs once the man is gone. After the boy and the man see the nearly eaten infant, the boy has a moment to himself (McCarthy 198).  The boy starts to lead, almost leaving the man completely behind causing foreshadowing of later events.  He stops at the river and waits for the man to catch up. Water’s role in The Road has represented cleanliness and purification. With this the boy washes his face with it, only to find it tainted with the world around him. Face washing is commonly associated with times of hardship to wash off the toxins and impurities. As he does, a memory of his mother comes into view.

The boy has a rare scene with his mother. She and the boy have never had any type of interaction throughout the book, setting this as a good moment for her to unknowingly teach him something. She is in the “cleanroom” (the bathroom), but there is no reason to go in there other than to use the “onceadayer”, the bathtub filled with clean water. This was decided due to the fact that water is precious and should be preserved for when it is needed. She is humming a song that she sung to him as a baby. She explains that she sung for the happiness of the boy, posing the question of the worth of survival without happiness and the ability to cleanse your mind of doubt. Referring back to infant scene, it is apparent that people in the new world do not care for their children, deeming them a burden and deciding to use them for food. This memory allows him to see a glimpse of the world he never knew through his mother's mild affection. Not only does he learn of his mother's affection and the old world, but he learns of her unhappiness. She tells him that she washes her face to wake up as though the clean water will cure her weariness. The water also brings her joy, represented by her singing. The boy says, “You dont sing.” showing that this is not something she finds the strength and happiness to do often, confirmed by her mentioning that she sung only when he was younger. The saying, “Wash away your sorrows,” comes into play often when rereading this scene. The boy learns of a way to cope with the world around him from his mother, though he leaves her behind to completely wash away her sorrows knowing to give her space to regain her happiness in this fleeting world.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 173

Posted by Esperanza Gonzalez in Being Human - Giknis - C on

​The passage below is what I imagined was left behind in McCarthy's The Road. This is Ely's untold story. 

Everyone will be satisfied when everything comes to an end. Trust me, no one would rather be in this hell of a world. I mean, unless it’s someone like you.

Me? I don’t like-

I know. But you chose to be in it because of him. I don’t blame you.

You would do the same, wouldn’t you?

The old man stays in silence as he stares at the fire.

You wouldn’t-

You don’t know anything.

The old man picked up the little twig from the ground and threw it in the fire.

You had one?

Billy. My happiness only lasted 7 years. Never saw him since then.

The man took a stare at his sleeping son, and turned back to look at the fire as it intensified.

There was barely enough bread for us three. I suffered an accident, and was unable to work. I preferred that he ate.

Three?

The old man stood in silence while he threw another twig at the fire.


She didn’t want our angel to live the same fateism. Selfishly, she took my heart with him to the adoption center. She never told me where but rather why.


I’m pretty sure he’s an angel. Angels keep going forever.

You’re right. Just remember. Your hope is just like this fire. You have to feed it twigs. If it’s small, it will not warmth you. If it’s big, you’ll have enough to warmth others.

And how’s your fire?

Right now I have ashes. But I rather have my ashes than none at all.




​Here is my rationale, explaining my thinking in depth. 

One of the characters that made me curious ever since I finished The Road was definitely the old man. We knew him as Ely. One of my favorite parts of the book was when he felt vulnerable when he saw the boy. It made realize that he still had a paternal instinct. Which made me conclude that he might’ve been a father at a time. Even though he didn’t quite share his story with the man, I knew that his story was time worthy, which is why I wanted to explore that part of the book.

I guided myself from Ely’s paternal instinct. That made me decide how and why Ely’s attitude was a huge part for his character. When the papa and the boy encountered Ely, he automatically thought that they were robbers. He didn’t even try to run or fight it. Which made me realize that maybe he’s already accustomed to other people taking away what is his. That gave me the idea of the plot.

The plot consisted of the Ely, his little boy, and his wife. After suffering a tragic accident that enabled Ely to work, he could no longer support his family.  It came to a part when they became extremely poor and they couldn’t support their 7 year old boy anymore. His wife then took the decision to take their son to an adoption center. The wife thought her son would be better with another family that could give him what he deserved. The wife took Ely’s son away, and he ended up regretting it forever.

  During the organization of the plot, themes and motifs came naturally. One of the themes that automatically stood out to me was hope. When something you love so dearly, and it’s taken away from you, you tend to lose motivation, hope, and purpose in life. Specially if you lost it all, like in a world where there’s literally nothing left. You’ve got to work what you’ve got. Sometimes having hope is the only key for survival. But in the contrary, if you actually have something to fight for, your desire for survival should be greater than any other person. Which is why I made Ely share his story with the man. To serve as a reminder to keep going. Even if the odds seemed to be against him. The motif I chose to do was fire. They dealt with fire pretty much everyday, which is why it was a great idea to metaphorically show the importance of hope, and the way it’s maintained so it doesn’t die. Just like fire.  


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 183

Posted by Brittany Cooper in Being Human - Giknis - C on

Be aware by reading this passage you have opened your mind into what could be a parallel universe from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road ..


Holding the boy in his arms rubbing his thin black hair.

Its going to be okay.

Okay ?

Okay .

Close your eyes and go to sleep.

Inhale. Exhale. His eyes are closed. The man lays him down. Feel the breeze that flows across his body. His dreams begin to take over his thoughts. Hear the ocean breeze that runswards the sand. A familiar voice in the distance.

Honey.

Honey, come on.

You’re going to miss the kite show.

Without any words exchanged, the man walks towards her. Holding out his hand, waiting to touch hers. Twirling her around in his hands. Laughter and love fills the air. A countdown from a crowd full of people.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Eyes all over the crowd light up like stars in the sky.

Turn around and close your eyes.

Okay.

Covering her eyes, distracted by the noise from the crowd around her he says turn back around. Down on one knee he was with a little black book. Before the question could be asked the answer came unfold.

Yes I do.

The man go up from one knee and kissed her. Everyone around him became mute. He was the happiest man on earth. Holding hands walking towards  where the ocean meets the sand. There was nothing in view except for dim path of light. She walks towards in extending her hand.

Come with me.

He takes her hand nothing left but footsteps on the sand as their souls walk towards the never ending pathway of light.



Although my part never made the cut, here is my rationale to explain the choices I made for my project ..


The placement in where I choose to start my creative piece  is significant because in the book “The Road”, in  boy’s mind his dream was so strong that instantly he awakened  full of emotions. Almost as  if the dream was really real.  It is interesting because to the man he was unaware that the boy unknowingly had a dream about the man dying. I choose to do a scene about a dream because in the book dreams are nothing but an illusion of reality. Dreams in this book have multiple meanings to them. The dreams are essentially a parallel universe, however each dream varies on the outcome.  Whether it is negative or positive or whether the man or the boy posses the dream. It reveals a new fragment to the plot of the story. 

The plot for the creative piece was very simple. In the book “The Road” the man shows his affection towards the boy in a  oddly way. It comes across however as reader as severely over protective. I wanted to recreate a time in the man’s life where he was once carefree and happy. His wife who is signified as “her” in this section is not mentioned often in the actual book because, she leaves in the very beginning of the book. It is unknown of what really happened to her character, although you have a clue. Therefore I created this flash black in the man dreams, where he was head over heels in love with her. The setting is on the beach, which is a familiar setting in the book. However there are people all around, caught by the attention of the kites in the sky. The man proposes to the women and their full of bliss. But the twist is at the very end it says “He takes her hand nothing left but footsteps on the sand as their souls walk towards the never ending pathway of light.”, this sentence right here is SUPER important. I say this because it lets you know that this is not real. The man and woman are no longer in existent,as it says their souls leave their body.  By context clues you can infer that the man and woman are following the never ending light which would be considered the gateway to heaven. My McCarthy-esque word is runswards which means to run forward and or to run towards.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 83 by Sergei Mass

Posted by Sergei Mass in Being Human - Giknis - C on

Explanation:


The piece below is what I would've imagined Cormac McCarthy having in the final copy of The Road, but it was not placed in the story. I felt that the story was missing the essential component of why exactly is the man continuing his trek down the road even though he knows that there is not much to live for. I felt that the explanation for this would best fit in a part where only the man is awake and the boy is asleep, but earlier in the story which gives support for the use of page 83. It was quintessential for the boy to be asleep so the father could drift off into his thoughts without an interruption from his son. I imagined this scene to be a flashback with the man and his wife were discussing what would be happening after stuff went down with the nuclear winter. The man and his wife were meant to have a back and forth so it showed a sense of tension in a situation like this. I felt that the man in the whole book was walking the road to give the boy a life and show him the world while being by his side. I felt that, that message was not flat out stated and was not revealed much and it was needed to be brought out in this piece.

Life is the main theme of this piece; the rest of the novel is very dark and gray, but with this I wanted to bring some light into the book. Although it does not scream “flowers and unicorns everywhere” and “ding dong the witch is dead”, I wanted to show the value of life and others lives in the piece.

The style aspect of this was hard due to the lack of quotation marks and the straight to the point language, and when I read a book, I usually come across a lot of beating around the bush and wordy sentences. It was tricky to be less wordy with my piece and to be straight to the point. I wanted to be blunt, but not too blunt that it was very boring to read.





Creative Portion:


Insert at page 83 after “Yes because we are carrying the fire.”



The man sat and thought to himself in the wee hours of the morning as the boy rested beside him.

Are we really carrying the fire? I feel that I am failing the boy. I want to show him the proper life, but god, look what is around me.

He looked through the forest as if he was looking for the answer all around him; he could not seem to find it.

He imagined the conversation he had with his wife just before she left. She was pacing back and forth, wondering what was going to happen to her, the man, and the boy. Her palms were growing clammy like the dew in the morning which the man and the boy would wake up to.

What are you going to do when the shit hits the fan? How are you two gonna survive.

We will… we will have to make due with what’s left.

What do you mean what is left? There will be nothing left.

The boy has quite a life to live, even though this shit happened. Look you have to realize that. You need to stop being so negative. I want the boy to live a somewhat normal life.

How do you expect to do that?

I don’t know… I guess it will just come when the time comes. I’ll teach him about life, i’ll show him the world; shit I’ll do the best I can. I need to do this for him. The boy means the world to me. I know my condition is worsening, but i’ll have to keep on going for the boy.


*End of piece*


McCarthy Unabridged: Page 25

Posted by Morgan Caswell in Being Human - Giknis - C on

Creative piece: 

She stood there, on the edge of the woods. The blade in her hand was gray, and dull.


Don’t do it, he said.


She looked at him, blankly.


If there was another option, we wouldn’t be thinking about this. They’re going to rape him. Or kill him, or worse. But maybe this was supposed to happen. I wouldn’t be able to watch them suffer anyway.


But maybe he wouldn’t suffer. He’s young. He still needs someone to protect him. I’m going to die, you’re going to die. Why kill yourself?


There’s is no hope. Nothing is going to change. He is going to die. It’s going to be long and painful. He will see things no child should ever see. You’re going to let him suffer through that for you’re own selfish desire to live. I can’t stay. I can’t stay with you, and I can’t stay with him, she said.


Crying was something the man rarely did. He could feel his eyes burning. He watched the red blood slowly well up on her wrist. He watched her go pale, and all the life disappear from her. He wanted to comfort her, but there wasn’t anything he could have done.


She was going to die.


Goodbye.


Rationale:


As Cormac McCarthy never explicitly stated what happened to the boy’s mother, I chose to to write a story about what happened to her. It’s pretty commonly theorized that she commit suicide because she saw the situation as hopeless, or that something was going to happen to her son and family. She didn’t want to live to see the day that any of that happen.


It’s commonly accepted as human nature that if people can see the end, or they can see a way out of things, they will continue. And from the standpoint of biology, the goal is to continue the human race as far as you can. Suicide is a human idea. We are the only species capable of planning it’s own demise out of pure psychological misery.


This is not even anything that is ever explained to the boy and McCarthy knows that death is never going to be explainable. You don’t die and live to tell people about it. You can’t explain something you don’t understand because you’ve never experienced it. The boy never understands what happens to his mother, and honestly the man probably doesn’t understand either.


However, it’s understood that in this world that the only end goal is to avoid dying. It’s not to advance yourself, get more money, or have nicer and flashier things. It’s literally not to die. So to them, suicide is to fail ultimately and I think she knew that.




McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, page 49

Posted by Jacklyn Middleswarth in Being Human - Giknis - C on

​The below passage is an imaginary addition of what Cormac McCarthy might have added to The Road before the final edition of the book was published:

She paced the dark kitchen while the man sat staring.

Will you just stop trying already? You dont always have to try and help people.

But I do.

Stop it. No. You need to survive for yourself, and let me worry about us as she held her stomach. There is no me and you anymore. There is the smart and ignorant.

Please.

Please? The want to live is an individual barrier. Surviving isnt good enough. This is my life choosing and your life is revolving around choosing to burden me. Your life should be defined by yourself, not me. I am done once he is out. There is no point. There will never be a light to give you hope and I have lost hope too long ago.

She leaned on the gloomcroaked wood. He looked at her with sodden eyes. But you are my purpose.

No. That’s not true.

Without you there is nothing. There are not that many people left.

So?

So nothing. They dont mean anything but you mean something.

What happens when I am gone? There will only be those who are unknown, lonesome roaming with no particular destination.

She leaned her head down to lean against her hand. He stood up to reach out and comfort her but she pushed his grey familiarness away.


​The below passage is a rationale to explain the choices of the imaginary addition of what Cormac McCarthy might have added to The Road before the final edition of the book was published:

After the line “Who is anybody?” on page 49, I decided to place a flashback with the man and woman because it encompasses the change in the man. In many early flashbacks with the man and woman, the characterization of the man is to plead, and the woman’s tone is harsh and unattached. Later in the book the man becomes more like the mother, not exactly unattached to the boy, but more protective which comes off as being hard on him. Since the placement is early in the book, it had to encompass the man’s want for the woman, and the woman’s loss of hope and will. With the man’s want for the woman to stay and survive together, it got me thinking about what the woman means to the man. The boy obviously means a lot to the man, but the woman was the man’s main purpose to live, and to care about who he was. Once she was gone,  he didn’t really identify as anyone, and the identity of anyone else didn’t matter. So one of the essential question is who do you persist for and what happens when it’s gone. This explains the actions in from the flashback to when the man and boy pass the lightning struck man. What this leads into is the theme of the passage: the purpose of living. The man and woman don’t see eye to eye on surviving. I chose to continue this argument of living because the man believes there is some good left out there, but if he truly believes that nobody has an identity, then good and bad people don’t exist, which would mean origin doesn’t matter to the man. Although it is evident in the book the man constantly reflects on the past, and his past matters a lot to him. So the plot of this passage is to show the love the man has for the woman. The woman is apart of the man’s identity, and they are fighting in this scene because they need to figure out why to live and for what reason. The boy stemmed from the woman which is another reason for the man to continue on. The last part of the scene that is crucial is the motif of grey and light. I decided to choose the woman as a light for the man, but everything to due with the woman is dark. Reason being is the woman has lost hope, and everything around her is dark. Without the woman in the man’s life, the greyness becomes greyer. Grey is unclear, so when the woman is gone identity is not a big part because the man is nothing with his light.


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