Oisin Hyland Dec 8, 2022 Giknis

In “The Road”, the author, Cormac McCarthy does not often go into the specifics of things. Roads, cities, brands, and even people remain nameless over the course of the story, sometimes making it difficult to follow along. From the very start of the story, McCarthy uses “the man” and “the boy” to address his main characters. The only time specific terms are used is when they find the Coca-Cola and the introduction of Ely, no road, city or person is named other than that. In my drawing I decided to highlight McCarthy’s austere form of writing by keeping the characters and their surroundings simple. In addition to McCarthy’s lack of specifics in the story, I also wanted to highlight how important the boy is to his father. Even though the man is older and has obviously lived in this world longer than the boy, on multiple occasions throughout “The Road” the boy is often there to lead his father. The boys development as a character from the first page is evident due to how much maturing he has to do because of his surroundings. The post-apocolyptic world that he has been faced with has made him grow up much faster than he should have. This is most evident when you ook at how many questions the boy was asking in the beginning of the story compared to that of the end. I chose to highlight this by drawing the boy in more color to symolise how important the boy is to his father and how lost the he would be without him. “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy can be interpreted in many different ways depending on who you are. But it is clear to most that this is a story of a father and son bond that can not be broken. No matter what obstacles face them they are going to keep walking the road to survive.

Road to Nowhere, Talking Heads We’re on a road to nowhere Come on inside Takin’ that ride to nowhere We’ll take that ride I chose this song simply for the title. The man knows where they’re going but when the boy asks where they are going he doesn’t give the most direct answers. It also reminds me of the book because the man has no idea where or what he’s expecting to be south.

Radioactive, Imagine Dragons(corny) I’m waking up to ash and dust I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust I’m breathing in the chemicals This song is literally so corny, but I still have to think about how accurate it is to the world of The Road. In the road everything is gray, even the rain is gray like ash. The boy and the man protect themselves from the ash by wearing some kind of mask and like the first line of Radioactive they wake up to ash in the air.

Goodbye(I’m sorry), Jamestown Story It’s so hard, lost in the world confusion. And I need to leave, for a while. Life is so meaningless, there is nothing worth a smile. So goodbye, I’ll miss you. I chose this song to reflect the mothers death on page 34(on the PDF).

Back to God, Reba You gotta get down on your knees, believe Fold your hands and beg and plead Gotta keep on praying You gotta cry, rain tears of pain Pound the floor and scream His name ‘Cause we’re still worth saving I thought this song reminded me of “the fire” and what that means, We know that the man is at least somewhat religious, and we know that he believes they’re the good guys because of the fire. The man also prays during the book a couple of times when things get tough.

Have a Talk with God, Stevie Wonder When you feel your life’s too hard Just go have a talk with God Like song 4 this is also about talking to god, but this song isn’t really about begging for mercy. It’s more about talking to god and picking yourself back up. The man is staying alive for the boy, and when things aren’t going well he prays on it.

Lost boy-Ruth Boy This song is a good representation of the book because how in the early age of the book they were kinda lost. They were lost in where they were and also in who they are. They didn’t really know who they were because they were all by themselves and had no one around them to remind them who they were. I also think that the whole book is kinda about how they are lost in a way where they are always walking down this long lonely road with really nothing to do but play with junk or try to find food.

Stronger-Kelly Clarkson This song is a pretty good representation of the book because the song is based on whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Which I think helps describe the book because in the book the man and the boy have been through a lot and had injuries and have been sick to the point where they wanted to quit or die but ended up fighting through it and moving on. Like when the man had bad soup and had the worst stomach ache ever and wanted to die and told the boy he wanted to die but he realized that what didn’t kill him made him stronger.

Stayin’ Alive- by the Bee Gees This song is a good representation of the book because of how they say staying alive. It symbolizes how the man and the boy need to stay alive in order to survive. So they need to be getting food almost everyday and making sure they are getting good rest and good rest in a good place to rest. You would think that the man would have a better mindset about making sure they stay alive the longest out of everyone left but the boy also really wants to stay alive because he realizes how important his life is and what meaning it has.

Eye of the Tiger – Survivor This song is a good representation of the book because of how they are like tigers. They need to be alpha and leader of where they are to make it out alive. They need to be like warriors if they wanna be taken seriously and I think they know that because they have weapons and have used their shotgun before to shoot someone, so they are not afraid at all to use it against someone. Which is good because then people will know who not to mess with and then they won’t have anymore trouble throughout the whole road.

Count on Me- by Bruno Mars This song is a good representation of the book because of how the kid can count on the man and the man can count on the boy. They can both count on each other and that’s what makes their bond so strong. The boy counts on the man to provide a lot and make sure they are safe and have food to eat while the man counts on the boy to make sure the man doesnt go insane and that their supplies stay with them. Also how they will always be there for each other and wont stab each other in the back no matter what. Even though the man has thought about it sometimes when they were really struggling.