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Gibbs The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Man and the boy (Boy asks lots of…
Gibbs The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Imagery/landscape
Gray, forests, nature
The abundance of ash, burned corpses, and murdered people suggests that violence and savagery took control when the apocalypse occurred.
Food is described in detail because it is so important.
Lots of descriptions of the items that the man finds and how they sort through the loot.
Plot/flashbacks
Dead wife
pg. 52-53 flashback to memory with the man's wife
pg. 18 dreams about his deceased wife
pg. 55- 59. Man and wife argue.. She wants to die and doesn't trust the man to take care of their son. The wife kills herself.
pg. 219 Memory of the man and wife at the beach
Man and boy are traveling south to where it is warmer.
Man had a normal childhood with joyful memories. When the apocalypse happened is unknown but the boy was probably a baby.
pg. 49-50 Man and boy find a man walking the road who is gravely injured.
pg.61 Man and boy encounter armed men traveling. Man shoots and kills one to protect his son
pg. 140 man and boy find underground bunker filled with food and supplies
pg. 59 It's revealed that the boy was born after the apocalypse.
Symbols/ Themes
The road
The road represents the journey, both emotional and physical, of the protagonists.
The road represents independence and self-sufficiency because roads allowed for independent travel in personal vehicles. The boy and man must demonstrate self-sufficiency because society has collapsed.
Fire represents safety and comfort. It also could be a symbol for the relationship between the man and boy that is kindling.
pg. 129 "and we're carrying the fire" -the boy. The fire is hope and a remnant of the old world.
The south represents freedom;
pg. 132 the father doesn't recognize himself in the mirror. This can be taken as a metaphor for how the apocalypse has changed the man.
The first time they open a trap door, there are starving slaves inside. The father says "this is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They don't give up" pg 137. The second trap door leads to an underground bunker full of food and supplies, showing that perseverance is important.
God
The son is referred to as a divine being and the proof of God.
Man tells Ely that his son is God
The boy likes to talk to his dead dad instead of God
Man and the boy
Man says that his only reason to live is the boy
Man sacrifices luxuries for boy. e.g. Coca Cola, hot chocolate
Boy is upset about his Dad's willingness to sacrifice himself. Boy trusts Dad.
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Boy asks lots of questions, which is typical of little kids. Boy is very nervous and scared.
pg. 35 Boy scared of trees falling
pg. 42-43 Boy asks a lot of questions about roads and the world before the apocalypse.
later on, the man asks more questions to the boy. pg. 207 demonstrates this. They both gain reassurance from each other
Boy represents innocence, which contrasts with the man, who has seen the harsh truths of the world.
e.g. The boy wants to help the dying man on pg. 50 but the man realizes they can not.
pg. 173 The boy helps the old man out of the kindness of his heart even though the man wouldn't have done the same.
Man kills to protect boy.
The boy fears death, but the man puts on a brave face for the boy and tells him they will not die pg. 101
the boy wants reassurance that they are the "good guys" pg. 128, pg. 140
The boy grows more accustomed to death and thinks a lot about it
Style
short sentences
no quotation marks for dialogue
Dialogue is repetitive and sparse
Majority is description
no apostrophes
No names except for one fake name used