'Roadrat' questions

What element of foreshadowing is employed in this section and why? (pg 62)
McCarthy uses the foreshadowing with the boy is playing with a toy truck and the 'roadrat' gang. 'The boy took his truck from the pack and shaped roads in the ash with a stick' this gives the reader a sense of normality and reminds the reader that the boy is still a child and so through 'playing'  is trying to keep the boy sane through this horrific journey. McCarthy has used this piece of description to emphasise the innocence and vulnerability the boy still carries with him. Through the novel, we see the child develop into a stronger and more understanding person, almost in a bildungsroman approach of the journey of the boy. As this event is the beginning of the novel, this may show that his innocence and vulnerability slowly fades away in the novel as he witnesses more horrific, life threatening events. The boy also makes truck noises which indicates that he has heard the sound of a truck and therefore when he was younger more humanity remained but has gradually fallen apart. This event foreshadows the arrival of the gang of cannibals- 'The truck had rumbled into view' the truck is also making noise like the boy used earlier. There may be symbolism of the boy controlling the truck when he was playing with it, maybe taking control of the 'bad guys' in the novel as he represents the 'good guy' linking to the theme of good vs evil. Taking control of 'bad guys' is maybe a reference to the job of God, and as readers we could make that comparison with the boy as he claims later in the book ' I am the one'. He also makes roads with a stick in the ash which may symbolise the gaps in society and humanity. There is another reference to 'ash' which does reinforce this concept of burning which links to the hellish place they find themselves in and could suggest the cause being a nuclear disaster or war. 


What does the description of the men teach us about them? (Characterisation pg 62-3)
McCarthy's reference to 'them' indicates they are a firstly a group but then also a reference to the 'bad guys' in general, everyone has lost their identity, the man realises what sort of people they are, cannibals, and so by calling the men 'them' generalises the bad and the good in this world.McCarthy takes away any human characteristics away from the men 'They came shuffling through the ash casting their hooded heads from side to side' this could be a reference to death as they have 'hooded heads' which is feature of the original 'grim reaper'. They are 'shuffling' through the ash showing they are weak and deprived of food, the repetitive use of the 'ash', still suggests this idea of a hellish world of 'burning'. They are also wearing 'canister masks' and one is wearing 'biohazard suit' which are items of protection against toxic fumes, maybe protecting themselves from the toxic fumes of the Earth or a symbol of their separation from society as they are cut off from the clothes they wear. The biohazard suit is 'stained and filthy' showing even though they are protected from society and humanity, nature can still leave a mark on them. The stains are inferred to be blood, as they go through the world murdering people as a way to survive. They possess a presence of violence with the 'clubs...lengths of pipe' comparatively  to that of gangsters and other criminals. They are 'coughing' which infers more disease and filth, which shows the protection they wear cannot protect them from the dangers of nature and society.


McCarthy uses a simile when describing the truck 'Lumbering and creaking like a ship'. Why does he do this?
The truck is described by McCarthy as a 'ship' which is a biblical reference to Noah's Ark. Although in the case of 'The Road', the 'ship' does not carry the 'good guys' on it, whilst Noah's Ark did carry the animals upon it. The purpose of building the 'Ark' is to preserve the good and wash away the bad in the storm. Here the 'bad guys' are upon the 'ship' maybe showing how the minority of good, have been overwhelmed with bad and are being taken over by them. The ship is also reference to a journey of the man and boy's tiresome ever lasting one. The man and boy continue to follow the birds migrating south, like following the 'dove' in the tale of 'Noah's Ark'. The man and boy still remain the 'good guys' in this reverse of religious imagery.      


Why does Mccarthy describe the Road Rat in such detail? (Characterisation pg 65)
Firstly, McCarthy describing this man as a 'roadrat' infers an image of a scavenger, filth and disease which is what is suggested by the word 'rat'. The fact this character is a 'roadrat' shows he is scavenging along the road, the road being the link across the world and is a base to find humanity. The 'roadrat' is described 'Eyes collared in cups of grime and deeply sunk' showing he is exhausted and has faded away and has no ghost like facial features. His eyes are 'deeply sunk' showing he has many things to hide behind them, for all he has seen his eyes have retracted further. 'Like an animal inside a skull looking out the eyeholes' , his animal reference shows that he has lost his humanity and now hunts and kills people, turning to cannibalism. This perception of him looking out of the eye holes of an animal skull, shows death and but also the view of the world through the eyes of animal, hunt to kill. 'He wore a beard that had been cut square across the bottom with shears and he had a tattoo of a bird on his neck...' McCarthy describes the 'roadrat' to be 'wearing' the beard, again reinforcing that all his human characteristics have gone and it is not real and does not tie into his form of humanity. The tattoo of the bird on his neck is another biblical reference to guidance, as the dove guides Noah, he is guided by himself along the road. He is also described as 'lean,wiry,rachitic' showing that he is skinny and has an animal appearance to him. He is wearing clothes from a business firm 'logo of some vanished enterprise embroidered enterprise across the front of it' Here again, McCarthy demonstrates that humanity and society fades away as this link to business and work and 'living' is becoming invisible to everyone. The 'roadrat's description is very vivid and gives the reader a focus and insight on a 'bad guy' compared to the good of the man and boy.  


Why is the Road Rats character so explicit whilst the man is so implicit?
The 'roadrat's' explicit speech infers that he is uneducated 'I ain't goin nowheres'. McCarthy uses colloquial language here to maybe suggest that even the standard English language in the world is beginning to disappear or that the majority of the 'bad guys' are uneducated and become mislead in to crimes against human nature whilst the man, who contradicts the character of the 'roadrat' seems highly educated takes the role of the 'good guy'. The man is implicit as he hides the fact that he is highly educated throughout the novel up to this point, however his language and actions support the suggestion that he is. On the other hand, the aggressive manner of the 'roadrat' also contradicts that of the man, as the man tries to avoid being aggressive, however there are points in the novel when he does become that 'bad guy'.McCarthy's use of the 'roadrat' is as a demonstration of a typical 'bad guy' in the novel, his blunt and also causal behaviour shows he is not intimidated by the man and boy and seems to threaten them 'Whatever we can find', from this section we learn that the Earth has lost humanity and people have turned against human nature and reverted to cannibalism.  The man's reference to 'I'm not anything.' proves he believes he has lost his identify and may be a reference to being 'alive in a dead world' as the emptiness inside of him and his desperation to let go of the past spurs him to continue with this journey. As readers, we feel sympathy for the man as he has lost everything, everyone and is being to lose himself, whilst the boy begins to find himself and grow stronger. 


What do we learn about the man through his exchanges with the Road Rat? (Pg 68. Consider the Man's impressive medical knowledge, look at the description of the grabbing of the boy and the shooting of the Road Rat)
The man's intelligence is demonstrated through his impressive medical knowledge 'frontal lobe...colliculus...temporal gyrus' which infers that he was trained as a medical professional. Throughout the novel, up to this point we learn little about the man's past life. When McCarthy reveals this to the reader, it shows that in crisis, all humans remain the same in the sense that there is equality of social class. At this point the 'roadrat' is equal to the man, however was presumably poorer and uneducated before. This point is demonstrated again as both of their swift movements show they have both killed before, the 'roadrat' tries to take the boy captive to basically eat him 'He dove and grabbed the boy...'  whilst the man, as a father instantly defends his son '...he swung with him and leveled the pistol and fired from a two hand position balanced on both knees at a distance of six feet'. This may make the man a 'bad guy' to kill someone however this was only instinct to defend his son and he was killing the enemy. The distance he shot the man from, also suggest that he has done this before. Whilst the man, strives to be good, he is still a murderer and may becoming one of the 'bad guys'. The boy's reaction of being 'mute as a stone' shows that the boy is disappointed in his father for committing this crime against nature. He is also in shock after this event and begins to realise the true dangers of this journey they embark on. However I believe the most significant point from this event is that the boy learns that he is 'the one' to preserve humanity and remain the 'good guy' prepared to sacrifice himself for humanity which may be a biblical reference to Jesus.    


"A single round left in the revolver. You will not face the truth. You will not" Who is the man echoing here? How do you believe these words are uttered?
These are the words of the man's wife echoed in his mind as a constant reminder of her presence. The wife reminds him that he cannot face the truth either meaning he cannot give up or that he is a coward and wont accept that death is the only option to escape the harsh reality of the world they now find themselves in. She believes he will never be able to kill his son and so wont accept that there is no hope. 'A single round left in the revolver' shows that he has killed not once, but twice, with the 'roadrat' and someone else. This therefore means that only one of them can escape the hellish world if it comes to it and the other will suffer alone. This may foreshadow that only one of them is too survive until the end of the novel with means of protection- the boy. 'You will not' may spur the man to prove himself to his wife or to maybe start to give up.


Why don't the other men chase after the boy and the man following the shooting? (there are clues on pg 73-4).
The other men do not chase after the boy and man, in this incident they are furious for losing their friend, but take the opportunity of eating their dead friend ' bones and the skin piled together...a pool of guts'. This horrific unimaginable violence just reflects how these men would go to the extremity of their own friend in order to survive. The cannibalism is a normality to them now as they did not disguise the evidence of their doings, they are not ashamed of who they have become. The men have become more like animals than humans now and will hunt to kill, and will literally eat 'Whatever we can find' as they don't have the energy to find them.


It is not until page 77 that the man finally cleans the "gore" and "dead mans brains" from the boys face. Why? (Be aware that in the intervening pages he has kept him warm with blankets, fed him etc yet not cleaned his face)
Although the man doesn't clean he boy's face straight away he does supply him with blankets and fed him. This is because in this world of survival, cleaning the boy's face is not a priority even if it is covered in 'gore'. The man has practically cut off his emotions in order to survive, his coldness and distance he keeps from the boy, doesn't allow him to empathise with the boy. The boy has just seen his father kill another man and so I am sure would desperately wanted the reminder of it washed from his face. In a modern society, this would be seen as a lack of a good parenting and the boy must come first in all situations, however the man views their way to survival as pushing through, not stopping to linger on past events.