Does This Book Complete the Road to AP Merit?

Upon completion of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, it is my duty to asses the validity of the claim that this book is AP worthy. Beyond being a Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, The Road is clearly a book of AP merit- but why? The Road is an AP level novel for a variety of reasons; it can be interpreted in multiple ways, it is a detail oriented story, and the purpose of the novel goes beyond entertainment.

When I say that the road can be interpreted in multiple ways, I mean that different pieces of the book can be put up for debate. As I mentioned in a previous post, I believe that the most debatable theme in this story is noting the differences between good and bad. Throughout the novel the son constantly ensures that his father and him are the “good” guys. Some might make arguments that there are no good people left in society. Others may say that everyone is good from their own point of view. Overall, it is important to note that the novel will be read differently for each reader. One of the reasons this novel is AP worthy is because 5 people could read it, and come up with different meanings. Unlike novels that children read, the good and the evil are not clearly stated, and not everything is laid out to be easily seen. The Road begins to make a journey to becoming AP worthy by providing a different experience for each reader.

Part of the reasoning behind why a novel can be interpreted differently is due to the focus on detail shown throughout the novel. Focusing on detail over general plot is a huge part to creating an AP worthy novel. In The Road, there is not much plot. There is a basic guideline, move south, but there is no army to defeat, no journey to overcome, and no large end goal like most plot based novels. Plot based novels are easily seen in young fiction, like Harry Potter. In these stories, there will always be an attention to detail, however the focus will be on the plot. In AP worthy novels like The Road, detail is key. I do not mean detail as in describing a tree or a house very well, but by repeating descriptions, or using specific language to show hidden meaning within the novel. For example, McCarthy uses repetition of detail as a key in showing the overall bleakness of life; almost every sentence in the first half of the novel referenced the grey landscape. Novels have different focuses depending on the difficulty level, but AP merit novel must keep a focus on detail more than plot.

Tying in to the last qualification of an AP merit novel, a book must have a greater purpose than entertainment. For example, books read for the purpose of stretching imagination, like the Hunger Games, should never be called AP worthy. An AP novel is one that requires thinking. This is linked with the last reason, stories that are focused on plot generally are more focused on pure entertainment. It is the stories that focus on detail that provide a deeper meaning. In The Road, the purpose of the novel is not to enjoy or focus on the journey, but to see what McCarthy is shown with his writing. One of the major ideas McCarthy shows is how basic concepts will change as society does. As previously mentioned, the idea of goodness is one that can take many forms in the new world. As a whole, a novel becomes AP worthy if it is meant to be taken as more than words on a page. Much like The Handmaid's Tale, which had an underlying focus on people's roles of society, and how control is gained, The Road is more than simply words on the page, making worthy of the AP title.

Obviously the novel is considered AP worthy… it has to be if students are reading it for this assignment. After completing the novel I can easily say that it is rightly awarded this title. It goes above and beyond many standards, and is a novel that has many underlying meanings. This well written novel has clearly earned its AP acceptance.

A Road Built on Theme

With most of The Road behind us, it is time to start focusing on what McCarthy s trying to show. As I mentioned in my last blog post, McCarthy is not creating a novel with a focus on plot. There is no large enemy, no huge obstacle to overcome, the focus of the story is on the traveling, and the connections that grow between the father and son. The majority of the pages in the novel have been used to set up numerous themes, all of which are shown in many scenarios.

Since there are only two developed characters in the entire novel, it is clear that most of the themes will occur in the interactions between the father and son. The two are a dynamic duo, meandering down the road, starving most of the time, yet still having the strength to create themes. This strength is shown in one theme I believe exists- strength because of love.

It has been clear that the purpose of the father is to help his son survive. Unfortunately he may be very good at walking on a road, but his ability to find and ration food seems to be lacking at some points. The dynamic duo spend the majority of the novel starving, and it is here that the strength and perseverance of the father is shown. He watches his son starve and it is his love for his son that makes him fight twice as hard to see him well fed. It’s from this love that he draws much of his strength to keep pushing towards the south, to never give up, and most importantly, stay positive towards his son. The father never becomes angry at his son, even after he leaves the fuel tank open, losing all of their valuable fuel. Any obstacle they face simply makes him fight harder to provide for his son. As mentioned in a previous post, the father continues mainly for his love of his son. WIthout him, I believe his strength would fade rapidly, and his demise would occur quickly. The love he has for the boy gives him strength, and this interaction creates a key theme in the novel.

Without any clear challenge, it is necessary to ask: who are the good and bad guys? The father tells the son they are the good guys, and he seems to believe it… but is everyone left in the world telling themselves that? It seems that no one has the intention of being purely evil in the novel. There is no quest for power, everyone is trying to live. Could that not be used by every person to rationalize themselves as a good guy? The point that McCarthy is showing in the post-apocalyptic world is that there is not a clear line between good and evil. To the characters(and hopefully the readers) the group of people who are cooking a baby are clearly evil, but could that group say that they are good because it was necessary to survive?.. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, but McCarthy relies on the reader using their own perspective to place characters as good and evil. He does not say “they saw an evil man” he shows the interaction and lets the reader decide. He even gives the reader a few tests as to deciding where to place the main characters. When meeting the old man on the road, the boy wishes to give him aid, while the father would prefer to keep moving. For many compassionate readers, they would side with the boy, and think that the man is being mean in this scenario. From a different perspective however, the man thinks he is being good for saving food for himself and his son. Perspective plays a key role in explaining the interactions between good and evil.

So far, I have not found the novel overly interesting. I think it is well made for it’s intentions, however it does not suit my reading style. I expressed a few complaints in previous blog posts about the style of presenting events McCarthy uses, and I am just seeing a continuation of singular events, that do not tie into a much larger plot. Like many books that focus on themes and motifs rather than plot, I find myself caring less about the challenges that the characters face, and spending my time focusing on the smaller details that make up the themes. It is clear that plot is not as major as the in depth meaning, so I find myself paying less attention to what little pieces of plot we are given. I am about to read the rest of the novel, and I have to stick with the previous prediction: the characters are both on the road to death. With the lack of food, protection, and with the father’s sickness getting worse, I cannot think of a feasible way these characters could survive. That being said, there could be an exciting turn of events in the south that could prove me wrong. With the survival skills shown by the father, anything could be possible.

Everyone is Starving... For Some Plot

           The middle of the book has been reached, and frankly I am yet to feel like I am reading a novel. Thus far, we have been given a broad plotline: survive, and move South. After that we are left to watch the journey of the two characters. To me, this does not feel like a novel. It feels like a collection of memories that occur in chronological order. What I have perceived so far is that there have been many small events, like the viewing of the army, the cannibalistic group, and the finding of the shelter, however the story lacks a plot that ties all the events together. I feel as though any of the events could have been removed, and the story would not have been changed. The plot of the story seems to be 'survive' however the events during the survival process lack any connection.

         With that being said, perhaps this is McCarthy's style at work. With what we have read, it seems as if McCarthy is creating a new model for novels to take place on. He has skipped or altered many of the steps in a stereotypical novel. For example, we have not received any exposition on how the new world came to be. McCarthy began the story with the father and son and has ignored the underlying question; how did that world come to be? McCarthy doesn't seem to have a specific roadmap in mind. There are not set obstacles or objectives that will be conquered one by one until the climax, it is just a series of events, with the only linkage coming from the fact that they all take place of the long road. With what has been read so far, I do not expect for McCarthy to place any rising action or climax into the story. If I had to place my bets now, I would say that we will be led down 240 pages of unconnected events, ending with the inevitable deaths of our characters. I do not believe that our protagonists will come across a massive obstacle, which will become the climax of the story. I think it is impossible for the story to end in any way other than the death of our characters because the mood of the story seems to show the consistent battle for survival, on which the characters come close to starvation, only to be saved by some stroke of luck. McCarthy's style for the book will lead to the continuation of a timeline of events, and end with our protagonist's' demise.

           While I have a bleak view for the outcome of our characters, I cannot say that I did not enjoy this section of the reading. I found that the events that transpired showed much more about the characters, especially the relationship between the father and the son. The most significant scene for me was right after leaving the house of the cannibals, where the father temporarily gives his son the gun, making sure he knows how to kill himself rather than be caught. For me, this helped to show the relationship between the two because it shows the fathers outer strength, and inner worry. He lost no time in preparing to cause a distraction, which would save his son from any form of torture, but not himself. To me this shows what has been going on inside the mind of the father. On the outside he has constantly said that they were not going to die, however he seems to have come to terms with their predictable demise, and wants to make sure his son does not suffer before his death. I found this scene to really show the inner conflicts and the outer actions of the father, and it continues to show how he will suffer in order for his son to feel no pain.

 

 

 

The Road to Character Development

The road to character development has begun, and the beginning seems to be a bit rocky. One major style Cormac McCarthy has in place is his refusal to offer any help to the reader. He does so by eliminating the concept of naming characters. Throughout the book thus far, our main characters have been nameless, referred to as “he”, “the boy”, “the man” or “the child”. While it may be a stylistic choice of McCarthy to leave a cloud of mystery behind the characters, it does make reading about the characters more difficult. If close attention is not given, one might read an entire paragraph thinking that the wrong character is the focus.  As a whole, the protagonists of the story include a father and son duo, with the former being a survivalist and the latter being young and scared.

The father of the story is shown as having one goal: survive as long as possible. More importantly, keep his son alive. Repeated throughout the reading was the father’s willingness to sacrifice himself to keep his son safe. He shows this by making sure his son eats and drinks first, and to keep him safe, regardless of what they face. In the most climactic part of the reading, the man shoots an enemy in the head as the enemy makes a lunge for his son with a knife. Following the murder, the father makes it clear that he will not let anything hurt his son. Throughout the reading, we see that the father knows how to survive. By making multiple fires, scavenging, and having much knowledge about the world, it is clear that the father has the tools he needs to survive, and complete his journey to the South. One of the greatest struggle we see the father have is trying to provide a comfortable, enjoying life for his son in the unwelcome terrain. This is clearly shown through the efforts taken to get his son a Coke, as well as making him hot cocoa. He also tells his son stories, leaves the lamp on for him, and tries to make sure the son is comfortable. This can not be an easy task in the world. Though he be nameless, the actions taken by the father show his survivalist nature, and his care for his son.

Though they may be biologically related, the apple fell miles from the tree in this family. Unlike the father, the boy spends most of his time afraid, and has a very bleak view of the world and their survival chances. This is shown in almost all of the dialogue between the father and son. When he is not giving his father the silent treatment, the boy’s catchphrases are “I’m scared”(21), or responding yes to his father’s statement: “You mean you wish that you were dead”(47). Based on the dialogue we receive it is very clear that the boy does not have the strength of his father. Then again… is it reasonable to expect that he would? On one hand, the boy was born into the society, and has not known any other world. One would think that this would prepare him for the challenges of the world. But a question is raised; can a child be expected to be fearless? I believe the boy is about 9 or 10, judging by his interest in card games, the toy truck he has, and his fear of the dark. In our society, these match the behaviors and interests of many 10 year olds, and may explain the boy's age. Knowing the age of the child would greatly explain his personality.

As a whole, The Road highlights only two main characters in a family. Though they are very different from each other, they are co dependent. The boy needs the man to teach him the ways of the world, and help him through any struggles. The man however equally relies on the boy, to keep him alive and keep him sane. The boy provides someone the man can mentor, talk to, and it gives him a purpose in fighting for survival. These characters seem like foils in some aspects of their personality(being fearless vs. being frightened) however they provide a necessary companion on their journey.