BA #2 Cormac McCarthy's The Road

I: At the end of The Road, McCarthy still leaves us hanging. He does not ever answer many secrets from the beginning of the book and just leaves us with more questions to secrets at the end of the book. The biggest secret at the end of the novel is whether the family that decides to take care of the boy are good people or cannibals. This relates to the question of whether the boy will soon find civilization now, be eaten, or maybe lose the "fire" and give in to cannibalism himself.

II: The secret of whether this family is good or cannibals also relates to the secret of who may have been following the boy and his papa the whole time throughout the novel. During the novel Papa did not trust anyone for they may be cannibals and whenever he heard people trailing behind him and the boy would be sure to leave sight. The boy and Papa never found out who was following them exactly because Papa thought they were cannibals but it could have been this "good" family that has now taken in the boy.

III: I believe these secrets are significant to understanding the narrative because they may give away many of the answers to the secrets. Answers to the secrets would help the reader significantly understand the ending better of whether the boy lives happily ever after or not. Some may also argue that the secrets are not significant to understanding the narrative, for McCarthy wants to leave as much as possible for you to figure out and imagine. He wants you to be in the boy and Papa's shoes and know just as much as them. If McCarthy ended up giving away any answers at the end then that would ruin his trend of secrets through the whole book.