1. In Cormac McCarthy's The Road, there are many secrets being kept from the readers. One specific secret is whether or not the man called Papa is the father of the little boy. The secret is being held from the readers by the author and is present throughout the entire novel. I first started to question this on page 55 where the little boys says " I wish I was with my mom". This could imply that the man is not his father and that the little boy had a different mother who is now dead.
2. This secret is similar to the short story Carried Away in that the author has withheld crucial information that can help the reader to understand the novel better. In Carried Away, we are unsure of who the man at the train station is in the end of the story. On page 49 we realize that Louisa isn't talking to show she thinks she is talking to. "That edge of a joke, that uneasy kindness, made her think of somebody else. Who's was it?". Knowing who he is would have led to a better understanding of the story instead of being left without answers. This relates to The Road because we are left wondering the entire novel if this is the boys father.
3. I don't think that understanding the relationship of the man and boy is absolutely necessary to understanding the narrative. I do feel that knowing would help make the novel a little bit clearer however we know that the man will do anything to protect the boy and therefore that there is some kind of bond between them.
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3 comments:
I agree with Amanda that knowing the relationship between the boy and the man is not crutial to understainding the story. However, the boy does call the man Papa which does indicate that they are somehow related. Also, I think that if the boy were a stanger the man would maybe not be so intent on saving him. Food is scarce and he willingly shares what he has with the boy and he calms him down when he gets scared at night which implies a depper bond between the two.
The man does even more for the boy, he keeps giving him hope. They keep bringing up the conversation about the fire. At first I thought the fire was real fire and then I relaized at the end that it's something more, I think it means life or innocense. Because the man does this it's almost like he's ensuring confidence in the boy which demonstrates a deep level of caring
I agree in the fact that we do not know for sure that the man is the father of the child. However there are clues that suggest that he is the father. I dont see why the father would randomly take care of a little boy when he himself is trying to find a way to survive. The father talks about how he feels the child is his "warrant" and he needs to protect him. The book also talks about how the mans wife was pregnant giving us more of a reason to believe he has a child.
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