Characters

Cormac McCarthy does a very good job of displaying his characters emotions and explaining everything they are experiencing. This makes it easier to relate to them even though they are in very unrealistic situations. The man is very patient with his son but yet he still gets frustrated and angry with him sometimes. His son is curious and adventurous even in the disastrous world filled with suffering and darkness. He reminded me of every single child I know. They are always asking a million different questions! The relationship between the father and son is very affectionate. They only have each other and I feel for them as I am reading. It saddens my heart to think about what would happen if they were separated. It made me think about what would happen if my family was all dead except for one of my brothers or parents. It would be hard to want to keep living but you’d have to stay strong for your family’s sake.

Movie Clip - http://youtu.be/mJHgAHblHtw

The strength of the man in the book is uncharacteristic of most people who would be put in that situation. There he is, alone with his son, in the world. Death from starvation, canabalism, guns, even suicide, is staring him in the face. His wife found a 'way out'. Yet this one man stays strong. He cares for his child, he loves his son, he somehow finds a way to get his son the essentials for survival.

How many of us could say we would do the same? I think often most of us just take the easy way out when life gets tough. Even in every day tasks. This book gives us an un-realistic perspective, but it is still very relivent to our every day lives.

Writing Style

I want to talk a little bit about Cormac McCarthy's writing style because it seemed unorthodox to me. Unlike most novels, The Road was not separated into chapters or different parts. Also he doesn’t ever use quotation marks when characters are speaking. I think this is one way he is able to keep his audience reading because in my opinion not a lot happens in this book and it takes a long time to get into it but you never know where to break from reading. There are section breaks in the form of dots (…) once in a while but besides that it is just paragraph after paragraph. I found this slightly confusing because I couldn’t tell apart reality from dreams and flashbacks with occur very often in this novel. They have to because there are only two characters really and we don’t know the background of the situation at all.

The two characters do a lot of walking and walking and more walking. That is the story line. Once in a while they run into some trouble and that’s where it gets interesting. It makes me wonder how McCarthy was able to string along the readers for all the “in between” parts. I did enjoy the book and at some parts I couldn’t put it down but afterwards it hard to think of any major events that happened. I think it is his wide vocabulary and the way sentence structure that keeps people entertained. It was much different from The Hunger Games which was definitely meant for a younger audience.

An example of his writing is:

“Can the be? Hold him in your arms. Just so. The soul is quick. Pull him towards you. Kiss him. Quickly.”

His short chopping sentences give off the emotion of intensity and fear. All these different things are running through the man’s head at this part and it gives the reader the opportunity to relate because most people have probably experienced choppy thoughts that jump all over the place when you are scared.

Lastly, phrases like “the soul is quick.” What does that mean? So when something like this pops up the reader has to stop and think about it for a minute.

With such an interesting setting and idea I think this book had a lot more potential than came through but yet I still enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down.  

Humanity

Humanity is defined by the human race, human nature and the quality of being humane and kind. It shares a meaning with words like sympathy, tenderness and goodwill. Humanity is extinct in The Road by Cormac McCarthy in more than one of the ways. The human race was almost abolished by an unknown event that left the world covered in ash and most of its citizens dead to the world. Those who did not die in the initial “event” often committed suicide opposing to living in the dark, dreary place and peace and happiness was inexistent. Those who remained were few and far between and they turned on each other. The people turned to cannibalism, the captured fellow human beings and locked them in cages so they could slowly eat them bit by bit. I cannot imagine that being the case if our lives as we know it were ended so abruptly, yet at the same time I can. Some people just would not care about carrying on “the fire” of civility and benevolence. I hope I would not become a person who would literally do whatever I needed to do to survive, but how can we know unless we are put to that test?   

Love Triangle

One thing I loved about this book and kept me from putting the book down was the crazy love triangle that is described throughout the book. Katniss Everdeen and her hunting partner gale are no more than that – hunting partners, but that is not how it looks from everybody else’s perspective. As Katniss is thrown into the Hunger Games she finds herself thinking about Gale and missing him more every day. What makes matters worse is she is forced to team up with Peeta, who has secretly been in love with her since they were kids. The book is written from Katniss’ angle and it adds a fabulous love story on the side of all the action. As Katniss gets closer to Peeta as together they fight for their lives, could she possible forget about her best friend? I did not find out in the first book, but I cannot wait to read the second and third to unravel the secret.

"He can never truly be yours, because he carries around a piece of me."

Being the diehard twilight fan that I am, this made me think of Bella, Jacob and Edward and their awkward love triangle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hjOAunM40k&NR=1

Friendship

Another major theme found throughout the Hunger Games is teamwork and friendship. Even though the characters are placed in this unbelievable situation that could never picture yourself in, you can still relate to the characters because of their relationships with each other. Because of this real factor to the story, it makes it more realistic and enjoyable even though it is completely fictional. Teamwork is an essential component of this book right from the beginning. Katniss and Gale are hunting partners. The forge through the woods together searching for food and always watching the other person’s back. They split up whatever they scrounge up in the day and take it home to their families. Every day they do the same thing and from this partnership grew a beautiful friendship.

Katniss and Peeta’s relationship is a little bit different. They are forced to be friends against their own will. They are being shoved into this predicament where people are expecting them to be “star-crossed lovers” when really they will be fighting against each other to survive in the games. I think everybody at some time in their life has pretended to like someone that they actually cannot stand. Girls especially, (not to be stereotypical) but we have a tendency to put on a fake “oh I’m so happy to see you” face when as soon as they are gone we start badmouthing them behind their back.

Mean Girls Clip - http://www.youtube.com/embed/tJyyhNwdQz0

 

Like Katniss and Peeta though, if you give it some time and give that person a chance, they might grow on you. They might not be so awful after all, you just have to get to know them.

Stick it to the Man!

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins makes you consider what is possible in the future. It takes place after North America collapsed upon itself due to unnatural weather and raging wars. What remained was rebuilt into thirteen different districts, together they are called Panem.

Some of the districts are very poor and if a person starves to death, it would not be a surpise. This makes me realize how much I take for granted every day and how good my life really is. The districts that were most deprived started a rebellion against the Capitol and were defeated, the Hunger Games are the punishment each year to remind the citizens that the Capitol is in complete control. Control is a major theme throughout the entire book. The Capitol trying to prove that the citizens are nothing without them and the citizens try to resist control without being killed. The Hunger Games is a competition held each year. One male and one female are chosen from each district to compete in a fight to the death. The Capitol takes away somebody’s child and delights in watching them struggle to survive. I have never had to fight for my life but if you down scale it a little bit, there are power struggles in everybody’s life.

Different types of control issues in today's soceity. - http://www.speakoutloud.net/category/power-and-control/

Whether it is a drinking for the first time, a child who does not want to eat their vegetables or an adult quitting their job, at least once in your life you will feel the urge to “stick it to the man.”   

The Solution - http://www.livestrong.com/article/14694-handling-the-use-of-power-and-control/