Working in their table groups, everyone discussed the following three questions. Groups shared out their responses to these questions after having time to discuss each one.
1 - Does the boy live happily ever after at the end of The Road.
2 - Is the father a hero in The Road?
3 - Is the boy really worthy of being called the "word of God"?
Next, people got together in small groups based on the motifs that they had worked with in the second quarter and had a few minutes to work on and then present an overview of the significance of that motif in the book. Notes from this discussion were as follows:
What role(s) did your motif(s) play in developing the story?
Pistol - Power role: security and protection (safety). It gave them a way to end their lives or to kill other people (which would keep them safe). Can also scare people away from them.
Represents survival and death - can kill attackers, aslo a means of suicide if things are really grim.
Cart - Holds all of their things, allows them to carry their food/supplies. Also a source of comfort/home (holds toys, blankets).
Carries the things they need for survival (blankets/food/tarp), limits where they can go (can’t wheel it through), also have to hide it.
helps and hinders
Coast/South/Sun- South is a symbol of destination and hope, a safe haven. Coast, similar to the south, kind of an alternate route/journey. The sun is different - symbol of giving up (gone and been gone). They’ve accepted the fact that the sun is not there for them (has to do with how much they have given up).
Coughing - Foreshadows the man’s death, shows that the man is sick, looks at how his son relies on him.
Darkness/Ash - Darkness and ash block out the sun (which represents goodness/god) Darkness is the darkness of our souls/nature. The sun is god, and god is gone (hence the darkness). The darkness is a measure of hoplesness (it grows and shrinks).
Ash represents the society that has burnt out/civilization gone.
Death - Represents safety, fear, a last resort. Death can be better than life, an escape, but also brutal.
Fire/Dreams -
Fire (literal) - keeps them alive, they know they can survive and keep going when they have it. Represents civilization (the boy is carrying the fire (see fig. example).
Fire (figurative) - perseverance and good morals in a bad world. The boy realizes that this is his legacy.
Dreams - giving up, a reminder of the world as it had been/how life used to be. Dreams can haunt you.
Food - For survival, kept them alive, also gave them hope whenever they found it. It was always a goal to find the next food source (they had to keep going).
Symbolizes hope - hope fades when they run out of food/drink. Food/drink give them hope for the future. Metaphorically and literally enable them to move forward.
Shoes - They help with survival (keep feet warm, keep feet protected).
Submitted Work:
None
Handouts:
None
Homework:
Write for ten minutes in your writer's journal responding to the following question:
What are some important themes and messages in The Road?
If you have not yet complete the "Essays and Waffles" note sheet from our class on 01.26, do so for our next class.
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