He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one.

This is a scene I imagine was cut before the final publication of The Road on page 259, continuing from the above statement.

I worry about where we’re going, what will happen to us, the ones who eat people.

The boy held his gaze

Where are we going Papa?

We’re going south

What’s in the south Papa?

I wish I was dead

The man came to life and grabbed his son by his shoulders and shook him hard

Don’t say that!

Why not? Mama’s over there, we won’t be hungry, we won’t be scared.

We’re carrying the fire

You killed that man.

I didn’t kill him

You took everything from him

He stole from us!

He didn’t steal clothes off our backs. What is the point of carrying the fire if you only carry it for yourself?

He looked down at the boy, his shoulders lifting heavily with every breath.

He was a bad guy

Everyone isn’t a bad guy! If we were really good guys we would help people. We wouldn’t take everything from people. If you had found blankets and food would you have just left it there?

He knelt to a squatting position and rubbed his legs.

No

Then how is he worse than us?

He rose until he met the boy’s eyeline and looked into his eyes.

What if I promise to pass the fire onto the people we meet, as long as they’re not cannibals?

I want you to do it because it’s what’s right

Okay. We share the fire. And if they’re bad

you’ve gotta take a shot.

Inserted Scene

(The Road 66) They came to an old iron bridge in the woods where the vanished road had crossed an all but vanished stream. He was starting to cough and he’d hardly the breath to do it with.  He dropped down out of the roadway and into the woods. He turned and stood gasping, trying to listen. He heard nothing. They were but ten minutes from the roadrats. Maybe less. Looming trees around them, leafskinned and twisted. Barren branches like tendrils. Scorched, scaly bark. They moved through the carcass of the woods and the man coughed and coughed and coughed and looked behind him frequently but they werent there. Still no time to catch their breath as they hurried through the shadowy grove until the woods were suddenly blazing bright and tormented with loud snaps.

The man yanked the boy’s arm and pulled him away. An ablaze tree fell in front of them and thundered. In every direction trees crashing down. Some alight with flame. This way! He held the boy’s hand tight and darted them out of the way of falling tree. A growl erupted from the ground where tree connected. They ran but the boy was dragging. Papa! The man coughing and weak and exhausted but somehow with the energy to maneuver around the falling trees. One nearly hit the boy but the man snatched him out of the way. Trees still crashing. Why are they falling Papa? They had nowhere else to go. They continued around the trees through the howls and the ripping and the thuds until it was finally quiet.

The man stopped and looked back at the carnage. Hulking trunks splayed across the ground. Smoke oozing into the gray sky. The man held the boy’s hand. The boy was silent. The man pushed forward. He staggered on another half mile or so and finally dropped to his knees and put the boy down in the ashes and leaves. He wiped the blood from his face and held him. It’s okay. It’s okay.

Rationale — An explanation of the decisions made in the inserted scene

The essential theme that shaped and created my cut scene of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was the theme of changed purposes in the new world. What was not dangerous before have become threats, and threats are everywhere. What was devalued or taken for granted before have become vital and necessities. I wanted a scene that revolved around an example of this, which is why I added a scene in which they are in the woods and trees fall around around them. This connects to this idea of changed purposes by having the man and the boy in a dangerous situation where the danger is trees, something that in the old world was innocuous and not dangerous, even were symbols of life and peace, and have become threats in this new world. My scene serves to foreshadow and reflect all the parts throughout the book that have or have to do with changed purposes and the transfer from the pre-apocalyptic world to the post-apocalyptic world by having it revolve around this theme.

My choice of placement has to do with the characterization and character development that takes place. I wanted to develop the way in which these characters behave in the face of immediate danger — how they act under impulses and under adrenaline. They are always at risk as long as they are on their journey but I wanted to develop this side of their characters in an extreme situation. This is why I chose to insert this scene at the bottom of page 66, which is moments after they escaped the roadrats: they are already in the woods, they are early enough into the journey to not be on or near the brink, and having just escaped the claws of danger adds to the intensity of the situation. Since these are the driving forces of the scene, the themes of fear and survival were also addressed, as they act out of fear and desire to survive under the pressure of this danger.

The passage I wrote below is what I imagined was cut from Cormac McCarthy's The Road while he was writing the book.

He knew he shouldnt have come. Entering the house meant all the memories rushingback to him, but he couldnt help it. Seeing something that once represented his haven in a cold, godless world led to feelings he was not able to describe. He thought that visiting his house would not have a big impact on him. He just wanted to be able to revisit his childhood, his past. The mistake he made was not realizing how dangerous memories can be and how change can affect someone. He didnt know until he was able to see that it was just not the same anymore. Dreams in the world did not represent a child’s imaginings or nightmares. Dreams now meant one or the other: the present or the future. Bad dreams made him fear the world he lives in, but it still reassured him that he was alive. Good dreams let him knew he was giving up. That the end was coming for him.

When it was too late, he noticed that only the house that stood was the present. All of the memories, the events, the happiness were left in the past. His whole life was gone before his eyes. Nothing left. What is there to live for he thought. What is left in this world. Is there hope?  He wondered if this is how weak he has already gotten to think about death so easily. Everything so gray. The world so empty.

Here is my rationale to explain the decisions I made for my project.

For my section, I placed it on page 27, after the first paragraph. I wanted to be able to touch more upon the idea of good and bad dreams and giving up, so I thought it would be most beneficial to place it where I did because the paragraph focused on his memories and dreams. My scene adds more to the man’s character development because the readers are able to see how dangerous memories can be. Just by the man remembering his childhood and recalling his joyful moments, it makes it harder for him to move on and shatters his firm belief of trying to survive in a world where everything is gone. In order to foreshadow how sever his illness is, I made him think about giving up and death since that shows the readers that he is having a hard time trying to keep moving on. Foreshadowing this in his house seemed like an interesting choice since his house only represented what is now “dead”. While the house itself was still present, all of the memories and moments shared in his home were dead along with everyone else he cared about.

The theme I chose is dangers of memory. Good memories from the past seem to be one of the biggest obstacles because they remind the man of what he used to have and what he doesn’t have anymore. This theme is significant in my scene because everything is revolved around the idea of how memories can interfere with trying to keep going. My motif is dreams because I think dreams and memories have a very close relationship with each other. Both have always been a recurring theme since memories hinder the man’s motivation to keep going and dreams only made him fear the outcomes: being alive in a dead world or the end coming for him. The essential question I asked was: What is there to live for? What is the point of continuing to survive? Because there is nothing left, both characters have thought about this question at least once in the novel. Even the readers cannot help but ask this question since there seems to be no hope of living in a better environment in the near future. Even in the novel, there are numerous obstacles that tell them dying is easier than surviving. As for a McCarthy-esque vocabulary, I used “rushingback”. I put these two words together because I wanted to create the illusion of all the memories literally coming back to the man at once.

The passage I have molded below represents an opportunity that I have capitalized on in the hopes of establishing a deeper understanding of a character in the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Creative Piece

The man focused on what he perceived to be the wind without answering the boy's statement. He drifted on into his own thoughts forgetting about the boy and the world around him. The man opened his eyes shortly afterwards only to find the boy gone. There was a camp fire set up despite the fact that the man had no tools to light one himself. He quickly arose and began to panic in search of his boy only to have a shadowy figure approach him. The man quickly aimed his flare gun at the figure.

Where’s my son

A young handsome man arose from the shadows with a face that seemed oddly familiar to the man.

Is he important to you

Are you an idiot

I’m whatever you want me to be

did you take my son?

If I did

Then you’ll die

What gives you the right

My son does

He’s just a boy

He’s everything to me

Would you kill for him

It’d be the right thing to do

The fire

What

You carry it don’t you

What kind of bullshit-

Don’t let it consume you otherwise it’ll burn out

Wait who are-

It’s your serah after all

The man awoke to the sound of the boy yelling at him

Papa you’re coughing blood

It’s fine

It’s not

I said it’s fine go back to sleep I have medecine.

The man ignored his own blood in favor of pondering what exactly he just experienced.

Rationale:

My rationale behind the creation of this passage is that I wanted to further define a motif often present in The Road. Throughout the book the boy and man have conflicting ideologies of righteousness and perseverance which leave them at odds with one another. Despite their differences however the man and the boy still agree that they are both “carrying the fire.” This phrase is important to both the man and the boy as it drives them forward in their pursuit of survival. For my passage I wanted this motif of fire to be defined more clearly for the man and thus I had the man have a dream where he comes into direct contact with his own personal “fire.”

For my dream I wanted the man to realize that the fire he possessed was defined as his right to deal justice and his integrity as a human being. To do this I had the man placed in a scenario where he was given the upperhand as a the judge, jury and executioner. I did this also bearing in mind that the man was already recently placed in a similar scenario where his boy believed he made the wrong choice. I had the shadowy figure in dream be one who didn’t seem threatening to the man to have him further question if killing him was the right choice if he had taken the boy. This was important to me because it allowed me to show that the boy’s well being dictated what the man perceived as justice and integrity. The boy was fueling the man’s fire. I wanted this also to be shown as a serious problem for the man which I did by having the shadowy figure mention that the man’s fire could consume him. This was to show that if the man focuses too much on the boy then he could wind up hurting the boy along with himself in the future.

At the very end of the passage I had the shadowy figure mention that the man’s fire could consume him. At this point I had the man refer to the fire as the man’s “serah.” The purpose of this word was to represent the man’s convictions and and approach to life. The man’s serah up until this point in book was to isolate the boy from the world in order to survive. I wanted this be the point in the book where man question if his “serah” was right. The man constantly brushes off the righteous morals of the boy throughout the book and I used this dream to have the man question if the boy was right to have his morals.

In the morning they walked along the river, following a small trail of old footsteps that mixed the sand with mud and grime. Hollowed trees littered the riverbank and the excess of water had long since drove the trees into the murky grey water. A small village stood ahead, with homes that sat covered with ash and half flooded. A tarp sat in the middle of the village covering a three-legged stand. The man lifted the tarp to find an old painting of a man and a dog running down a green road with the joyful sun smiling down on them. A tragic reminder of the bright and simple past.

Can we bring it with us?

No, it’s too big for the cart.

Okay.

The boy looked at the buildings around them as they stood and swayed in the blackened swamp.

Should we look through the home?

No, there's nothing here.

He left the tarp covering the painting and walked away, the boy looked at the painting for a moment before following him, the faded blue tarp left on the stand to guard the ancient oiled canvas. They made camp further down the trail, the boy was still looked back towards the sunken village.

Papa, are their any more paintings?

Maybe

Can I make one

Yes, when you're safe

Okay

The man felt a cough building in his long-damaged lungs and turned away from the boy as his throat released a stream of ash and dead air.

This is my Rationale to explain why I feel that these choices should have been made;

In my piece, I started out with a description of their location, as most of the Road segments begin. As the piece fits in on page 276, I mentioned the tidal river with the broken bridge and used it to set up a broken flooded environment where they are forced to go around, following a path left by previous travelers. I decided to bring in a village in order to provide a place for the painting to feel natural and show a subtle piece of character development for the boy.

I choose to add in the painting to show a small remainder of hope in the barbaric world of The Road. Additionally the painting would work to give the boy an understanding of why to live on, showing him a small image of the world before and the idea that their can still be beauty in this world. The painting also allows a closer look at the boy who is shown to be quite creative at some points such as towards the beginning when he paints his face-mask with a piece of charcoal. The boy also asks if they can keep it, given that it’s his trademark response to almost all of the new things he finds.

Another smaller moment I added in was the boy asking if they should search the houses. The boy has constantly expressed fear when it comes to searching the houses, but here he understands the need to live on and is willing to take a chance in order to live on. This also sets up the ending where he is willing to take a chance and join the group. However the man is more guarded and disagrees with taking the chance as he knows he doesn’t have much time left and doesn’t want to take the chance and have his luck finally run out.

The boy later asks the man if their are any more painting and if he would be able to make one. The man’s response of “Yes, when you’re safe” rather than “when we are safe” is a subtle foreshadowing of the man’s approaching death that the boy doesn’t catch on. Finally the man’s cough shows how close he is to dying at this point.

Creative

They left you here, didn’t they?

I left myself here.

He turned and went limping down the stairs and opened the front door and went out into the street backward watching the house. When he got to the cart he pulled it upright and piled their things back in. Stay close, he whispered. Stay close.

Are you sure you are really ok poppa

Yes, I'm fine

Ok

The two stood there for a brief moment. Standing in the cold of the harsh winter. For just a moment, he wished that he could die. This was not an option though, he was no longer living for himself. These thoughts running through his head seemed to leave a remnant of bitterness in his heart. But he knew it was not the fault of the boy so he tried not to take his anger out on him. The man could see that the boy did not understand life yet. He thought the only way he would feel better is if the boy understood his actions.

Did you notice how I never asked for his name?

Whoose?

The robber

Yes poppa

That's just in case I had to use the pistol

But poppa we’re the good guys, and the good guys don’t hurt people

The man knew he had done nothing wrong, but wished the boy could see that too. They began to walk, slowly down the road not knowing what the future had in store. The boy was not settled, he seemed to be preparing for the worse.

They put up in a store building at the end of the town. He wheeled the cart through and into a room at the rear and shut the door and pushed the cart against it sideways. He dug out the burner and the tank of gas and lit the burner and set it in the floor and then he unbuckled his belt and took off his bloodstained trousers.

CREATIVE PIECE

The boy could tell that his father was nervous. They had experience road rats before, but there was something around them that seemed to be communicating with the boy. Was there someone else around? Not yet. The boy already ruled that out. What was it? The boy soon began to hear the sounds of heavy footsteps coming from the tunnel. Footsteps coming from multiple people. The boy didn’t have to read his father’s expression to know that the road rats were getting closer. But something else was catching the boy’s attention: Everything around him began changing. The leftover leaves in the trees began to dance in the wind. The wind began moaning and groaning. The leaves on the ground began to shiver with fear. Everything around him was sounding like it was dying a second time. The boy still didn’t think the trees were afraid of the road rats. He looked at his father. Somehow, the boy knew when to look. He glanced at the man’s pocket, even though he was extremely tire from the traveling. The silver gun was now visible. He wouldn’t do that, the boy thought. Why would he kill them? The army of footsteps began more distinct. The man never broke eye contact with the tunnel entrance. The boy knew that they would be getting out of the car soon, but all he could watch was the gun slowly making its way out of the ripped pocket. He wouldn’t actually kill, would he?

RATIONALE

The piece that I have written would be inserted into page 61, when the man and the boy first encounter road rats at the entrance to the tunnel. This piece is essentially supposed to represent a couple of small things. I wanted to write from the boy’s perspective since in the book, we hear a lot from the man’s perspective. The boy is probably from eight to ten years old, so I wanted to take a closer look at how he would react to surprising elements in a broken environment like this. The boy, in my piece, is very curious about what his father is capable of doing, and if he’s actually going to try to kill the road rats. The boy has just been following the man’s path in the journey, and audiences never really get to read about the boy’s thoughts, opinions, questions, or fears. The boy is a very important character, and that’s why I think McCarthy Another element I wanted to add was sound. I have read enough of the visual aids in The Road probably by the end of the first few pages. I wanted to take the story and tell it an another, interesting way. I wanted to describe now only what the environment looks like, but also what it sounds like. The trees creaking and cracking, the leaves rustling and shivering, the wind “moaning and groaning.” A theme that I think should be considered is the idea of murder. Even though the boy is in a state where anything could die, he’s never actually seen somebody get killed. When the boy finds out that his father has a gun, he automatically guesses that he is planning on killing the road rats. I wanted to explore this topic, especially since murder would be soon witness by a small child. I also wanted to tackle the idea of knowing the difference between a good guy and a bad guy. When the man and the boy hear the road rats coming, the man is already getting ready to jump out of the car and later pull out his pistol. The boy is trying to understand that the road rats are bad guys, but that is only because of how the father is reacting to only the sound of footsteps. In a world like this, it would be automatic for someone to not trust anybody, as they are afraid of being backstabbed. However, I wanted to use my piece and describe the boy’s confusion as to how the man knows that the road rats are, in fact, bad guys.