Friday, June 11, 2010

Sunny-How the first evaluation went..

I think the first evaluation turned out to be real hard. I was kind of shocked after getting the test sheet because there were a lot of things to write and I was doubtful whether I could finish in time. As I tried to write the short answer questions as specific as possible I almost ran out of time and had to write the essay real fast. I guess the essay questions were the trickiest. Because I had to analyze the paragraph by my own and was not confident of my answer. Also I had to think instantly and correctly at the same time! Gosh, My head was about to explode. Fortunately I did not miss any questions but I was answering in a rush and now I can hardly remember what I wrote;;

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Page.200~250(My experience)-Jessie

As I read through page 200~250, there wasn’t such a part that grabbed my mind except one scene. Since the beginning of the book, the man has taken a good care of his son with his best. Every time they were in danger, or when the boy needed protection, his father was always there, performing his duty as a guardian. At the end of this chapter(or whatever you might call it), the boy gets sick for the first time, which gets the man into a great depression.

He held him all night, dozing off and waking in terror, feeling for the boy's heart... He pressed his hand to his forehead, conjuring up a cool forehead. You have to stay near, he said. You have to be quick. So you can be with him. Hold him close. Last day of the earth. (Page.247~248)

I am not sure about the last sentence that I quoted. Last day of the earth... Maybe it means that the man took care of the boy with all his heart as it was the last day of his life. It reminded me of all the illness that I had and memories of my mom and dad staying right next to me, nursing and being worried about me.
I was really weak and fragile when I was young. Everybody admitted that fact, and that made my parents anxious. Every single time I caught a cold, I had such a high fever, and once I had to check into a hospital for a medical care. My mom stayed up all night long just for me. How immature was I? I insisted on my mom reading books to me as I fell asleep and now I know that it might have made her more tired... But maybe that's what has made the relationship between my mom and me a lot closer. I remember all of those heart-warming nights.
It's not only when I was so young. I've had anemia(which I still have), and sizzling sun has always been a problem on me. I can't stand the heat of the sun, and summer is sometimes an obstacle since outside activities are limited to me. It was the summer of 2005, and the weather was fine "as a summer day", which means it was burning hot. It was a field day of my elementary school, and I had so many things to do that day, such as having a race on the track as a representative of our class, dancing, and so on. Therefore, at the end of the day, I wasn't myself. I overused my energy, and I passed out, and when I woke up, I was at home. My mom and dad had carried me from school to the house. I was so touched and every part of my body could feel their love. I'll never forget that day... How impressive that day was... Nobody would know.
Because I haven't been so healthy so far, there are more episodes about being nursed by my family. My aunts, uncles, and even my younger brother had taken care of me, and I am so happy to have them around me as my precious family. I can say that the boy is really lucky to have a father like that. He will remember the day that his father showed his deep, deep love. I know that. I thank for the man for reminding me how important and lovely my family is.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Unique, Respond to the Book, p.252~287

Sorry being late ㅠㅠ I forgot to bring the book home last week so I couldn't write a post on the weekend. Fortunately, I had read to the end when I was reading last week's part, 200~252, and that's how I can sit here to write a post :)


1. p259

Just help him, Papa. Just help him. He was just hungry, Papa. He's going to die.
He's going to die anyway. /He's so scared, Papa.
The man squatted and looked at him. I'm scared, he said. Do you understand? I'm scared.
The boy didn't answer. He just sat there with his head bowed, sobbing.
You're not the one who has to worry about everything.
The boy said something but he couldnt understand him. What? he said.
He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one.

Umm, some might think that the man is not behaving here, but well, I think the man is doing an understandable thing. Of course, the man left the thief to die when he didn't really need to. But what the thief did to the man and the boy is devastasting enough to kill them eventually. Imagine the shock and despair the man might have felt when he found out that they were robbed! If you don't have any supply on the road in this world, then you die. The man got so upset that he did the same thing, which is letting one die on the road, to the thief, and it makes sense to me quite a bit. Even if it's not a good man's thing to do, it's still what typical man of this world would do.

And the boy saying that he is the one to worry about everything made me be more sure that the boy is a special one. He's like Jesus, who took over all the sins of human race and died for them. The boy is a pure and sacred sprit who sympathizes with others' agony and pain. ... But a minute ago, writing the quote up there, I imagined that maybe, the author wanted to say something there, that we should all take care of each other. The boy does not need to be a special figure. The author could have wanted to say that the boy's worrying all the things is a right thing to do and we should follow him. Even if the situation that surrounds us is terrible, we should not be selfish, we should keep listening to others' words.


2. p262, 266

He needed vitamin D for the boy or he was going to get rickets. (p262)

He took a clamp from the kit and caught the needle in the jaws and locked them and set about suturing the wound. He worked quickly and he took no great pains about it. (p266)


Reading these, I thought that maybe the man had been a doctor. I had suggested that he might have been one, but well, at that time, I was not sure, and most importantly, there was the man's saying that he is not a doctor. However, this time, I think that the possibility increased. How could the man know that if you do not take enough vitamin D, you get rickets? How could he suture the wound with the needle so skillfully if he hadn't been a doctor? ... Yeah, it's not an important thing, whether he was a doctor or not, but still, it interested me :)


3. p275

He turned and looked at the boy. Standing with his suitcase like an orphan waiting for a bus.

It's a foreshadowing, isn't it, the boy looking like an orphan? It foreshadows that the man will die and the boy will be left alone...

4. p278, 283

You have to carry the fire. / I dont know how to. / Yes you do. / Is it real? The fire? / Yes it is. /Where is it? I dont know where it is. / Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it. (p278)

How do I know you're one of the good guys? / You dont. You'll have to take a shot. / Are you carrying the fire? / Am I what? / Carrying the fire? / Yeah, we are. (p283)

Carrying the fire appeared again~ It is the momentum of the boy's life. His purpose of life is to carry the fire. And he has the fire in him. I think that means the boy is carrying humanity with thim. The fire is the heritage of human race and I think that is humanity. And it's not only the boy who carries that fire. Everybody, Every human being does. So it's important for us to keep living. We need to keep living, keep carrying the fire and deliver it to the next generation.

Carrying the fire is also used to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. I don't know whether the guy the boy met and followed really understood what the boy is saying, but still, he agreed that he's carrying the fire and that drove the boy to follow him.


5. The ending.

I like this ending. Of course, it's not the happiest ending we can have, because the man die (!!) but still, considering the situation, it's a happy ending. The boy won't die, at least. He met a new group to follow. He won't stick to the death body of the man, but he will continue to carry the fire. He will keep his journey and that's what makes the novel a happy one.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

last review on THE ROAD

There are 3 person in my head when I think about the boy. He has very unique characteristic and is not much revealed in the story.

259pg
You're not the one who has to worry about everything.
The boy said something but he couldnt understand him.
What? he said.
He looked up, his wet and grimy face.
Yes I am, he said.
I am the one.

1) This part actually made my hair stand because it was exactly the same dialogue I had with my friend if only looking at this part and not looking at the upper part or the background. She loves sticking her nose on others' business and this sometimes got on my nerves. Therefore, I quite understand the feeling the man would have had when the boy tried to help most of the strangers they approach. The reason I said that my friend exactly resembles the boy in only that part of the dialogue is because she might not often have good intention for being interested in others :p While the boy wants to help others, she just wants to know all about the world around her. She's curious creature haha. Still, she helped me and her close ones a lot and because of her interest in others, she was one of the best people to talk to when I had something to decide or bothering me. She had quite different personality this way but now I think it helped us to become one of the best friends.

259pg
He's not gone, the boy said. He looked up. His face streaked with soot. He's not.
What do you want to do?
Just help him, Papa. Just help him.
The man looked back up the road.
He was just hungry, Papa. He's going to die.
He's going to die anyway.
He's so scared, Papa.

2) If I were to change this dialogue, it would be like this.
-> What do you want to do?
Just leave it. Leave it alone.
My classmate sitting next to me looked at his desk.
It doesnt bother you at alll. It's going to die.
It's going to die anyway.
It's scared of you.

There was once a mayfly-like bug on my partner's desk and he tried to play with it. However, it was really bothering. Although I'm not a great fan of insects, the idea of killing it or especially torturing it disgusts me. Especailly after reading Franz Kafka's 'Die Verwandlung', I had somekind of feeling that insects actually have perception.

255pg-260pg
I wasnt going to kill him, he said. But the boy didnt answer.
They rolled themselves in the blankets and lay there in the dark.
He thought he could hear the sea but perhaps it was just the wind.
He could thell by his breathing that the boy was awake and after a while the boy said:
But we did kill him.

3) The boy kind of creeped me out this part. However, except the part above, the boy pretty much showed saintlike personality. I couldnt be sure with all the parts in the story but I had impression that the boy is similar to the baby Jesus. Of course they are both young, and the way the boy tries to help others by giving out some of his shares it is similar. Also, through out the story, mention of carrying the fire seems to have some kind of connection too. Like Jesus, himself being a connection of people and the God, the boy also seems to be connecter to survivors as the boy is one of few, or only one who still contains purity.

Week 6 Vanessa- three insightful questions

Yeah! We finally finished reading ‘The Road’. I’m just so happy by the fact that I actually read all the text in the book and understood at least the important events. I expected the story to end that way because there were some spoilers among us (too bad!), anyways I’m just so glad that the little boy met someone whom he can trust and went on to continue his journey.

1. On page.259 there is a phrase where the little boy says he himself is the only one who cares about everything. At the first glimpse I didn’t think this phrase is somewhat important or crucial to the theme of the story but as I thought about it, there were some insightful meanings in this phrase. So why did the little boy say something like that? My answer to that question is that the little boy perceived his father as not a very warm-hearted person (now that they are in harsh condition) and thought he himself was the only one to save other people stranded on the road. The little boy saw his papa not helping other strangers on the road and not opening his heart toward them. Even though as a reader of this book, some people might think that the man’s attitude toward other stranded people on the road is somewhat reasonable because it is just for survival, the little, warm-hearted boy’s mind doesn’t quite understand that situation and only looks on the outer side of his father. Another reason why the little boy says he is the only one who has to worry about everything is because the boy already knows from happenings that other survivals on the road cannot care for others. For example the boy saw people eating each other, which was a big shock to him. From those circumstances the boy is quite sure that other people on the road do not have the heart to care for everything in the world. I can also assume that the boy is really frustrated and disappointed by that fact. There’s basically no one that he can rely on and he might feel some kind of a heavy duty to understand everything in the world and help the world recover from that great depression.

2. On page 260, on the second paragraph the last sentence says ‘But we did kill him’. The little boy says this after they encounter a man who stole their cart full of supplies and got them back by threatening the stranger with the flaregun. The stranger wasn’t physically killed so he just went away, but there is a question to why the boy said ‘But we did kill him.’ I think we can understand that sentence better when we consider ‘being killed’ as in mentally getting hurt. After the man and the boy got their cart back and left the stranger on the road, even though it was them surviving from another danger, the little boy was really upset. He knew that the stranger was hurt in his heart. The little boy understood the stranger’s feelings and probably thought ‘how would I feel if I were in that kind of a situation?’ This thought made him say that the stranger was mentally hurt by the man and the boy trying to scare the stranger away. This also directly relates to the first question I asked about the boy being the only one to understand everything in the world. The little boy always kept in his mind that he is the only one that cares for others no matter who they are, so he wanted to understand and sympathize with the stranger’s situation and his feelings. From this it is clearly proven that the little boy is someone who cares for everyone like God.

3. Lastly on page.268, the man and the boy are talking to each other and the man suggests to tell his son a story but his little boy sharply pointed out that ‘We’re always helping people in the stories but we don’t help people.’ It just means that the boy knew that they don’t act the same way with the behaviors of themselves in stories. What can we figure out from this? I can assume that the little boy had the intension of motivating his dad to help other people on the road by saying this ironical phrase. The boy probably figured out that if he said this, his dad would somehow be really ashamed of himself and feel sorry for not showing his son the best of him. Or it could just be the boy expressing his sudden anger and internal feelings of wrath. The boy is not happy with their behaviors, avoiding the others on the road, not even thinking of taking them along their journey. Some other thing I could figure out from this phrase was that the little boy, knowing that the reality does not exactly fit with the imaginary story, lost his childlike innocence and already overcame the reality of the world. It makes readers kind of sad by the fact that the little boy feels something that he shouldn’t have felt so early at that kind of age.

Seora-Writing 3 insightful moments

p. 259
What do you want to do?
Just help him, Papa. Just help him.
The man looked back up the road.
He was just hungry, Papa. He's going to die.
He's going to die anyway.
He's so scared, Papa.
The man squatted and looked at him. I'm scared, he said. Do you understand? I'm scared.
The boy didn't answer. He just sat there with his head bowed, sobbing.
You're not the one who has to worry about everything.
The boy said something but he couldn't understand him. What? he said.
He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said.
I am he one.
This part of the book is when they catch the thief who was stealing all of their stuff. The boy hopes to just leave him but the man insists on taking all of his clothes and leaving him with nothing just like he was doing to them. However, because of the boy, they came back to him, to give him his clothes and his stuff back but he was gone.
We could make a lot out of this part of the book. The first question is that, are they really the "Good man,"? I mean, we all know for sure that the boy is, I'm just wondering if the man is. I think that he only becomes a "Good man" after considering the possibilities of how it will affect the boy. And when it comes to the boy, the man will do anything. He didn't have to take all of his stuff just like the boy said. If he really was a good guy, he would take mercy on him just like the boy said.
Also, the part where the boy says that "I am the one". We know that he has grown up from the start of the book, physically and mentally. In the beginning, he was more like under the protection of the man, but in the end he was protecting and guarding the man. And he acknowledges that he has to make a difference since his dad would care nothing more than the safety of his own.
p.265
See if you can find the first-aid kit, he said.
The boy didn't move.
Get the first-aid kit, damn it. Don't just sit there.

This is where the man got shot by an unknown man who was watching them from the house with an arrow. He was bleeding badly in his leg but he manages to stitch it himself and walk to the south.
I thought that this part was impressing since he was cursing at the boy. I know that this is a situation where he was hurt and he couldn't think clearly but unlike the beginning of the book, I could recognize a lot of cursing of the man in front of the boy. I can't really tell why for sure but I do know that the man is becoming more harsh and cold-hearted. It's mostly because of the feeling that he will soon leave his boy and he wants the boy to become more stronger, and he doesn't give too much of attention to the boy than he did in the front. Not in a bad way, but in good ways where he respects the boy's feelings and allows him to stand on his legs.
p.270
I want to be with you.
You can't.
Please.
You can't. You have to carry the fire.
I don't know how to.
Yes you do.
Is it real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I don't know where it is.
Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it.
This is where the man feels deep inside his heart that this is where he's going to die, and he tells the boy to go on to the south without him. But the boy keeps telling him that he wants to be with his father and that he can't leave him, but the man convinces him by saying that he is the one carrying the fire inside his heart.
From the middle of the book, there has been some talks about them being the good guys since they are carrying the fire. We could connect this fire with the fire in the Bible. There are lots of fire in the bible, and they could all be translated into different meanings. But the best translation of the fire in the bible that connects well with the fire in the road, was the meaning of "saying". In the bible, it says that the fire means the words of the God, and whoever listens to it and senses it will feel the burning of their soul. He wants, no, maybe the man knows that he will make a difference in this devastating apocalyptic world.
Finally, this is the end of "The Road". Wow... ㅋㅋㅋ

Tracy-Assignment

Almost the first time I've ever done this on time, yay.
The end of The Road!! I’m really sad that the father dies, but at least the boy lives. With people he doesn’t know whether they are good or not. But anyway he’s still alive.
Again, I’ll be focusing on father-son relationships. I guess not relationships, since it’s just one relationship.
From page 256 to 258, there is the man threatening the other man who stole their stuff.
(I can’t write it here because that alone would probably take at least two hundred words so I’ll just write some parts of it.)
Back. More.
He stepped back again.
Papa? The boy said.
Be quiet.
He kept his eyes on the thief. Goddamn you, he said.
Papa please don’t kill the man.
The thief’s eyes swung mildly. The boy was crying. (p.256)
In the end the father didn’t kill the man. But the way the father was going, I think he might have killed the man. But he didn’t, and he listened to the boy.

And they set out along the read south with the boy crying and looked back at the nude and slatlike creature standing there in the road shivering and hugging himself. Oh Papa, he sobbed.
Stop it.
I cant stop it.
What do you think would have happened to us if we hadnt caught him? Just stop it.
I’m trying. (p.258)

At the start of the book the boy would have been mad and wouldn’t have spoke to the man. But the boy tries to understand his father, why his father acts the way he does.
I think both the man and the boy are trying to understand and be good to each other.

What about dreams? You used to tell me dreams sometimes.
I don’t want to talk about anything.
Okay.
I don’t have good dreams anyway. They’re always about something bad happening. You said that was okay because good dreams are not a good sign.
Maybe. I don’t know. (p.269)

The man is unsure about what he thought before. The man used to think good dreams were not a good sign, but now he’s not sure. Good dreams are not signs: I think this is pretty negative, and that he’s changing to be more positive.

And the saddest part… I almost cried while I read this.
No chances. Do you hear?
I want to be with you
You cant.
Please.
You cant. You have to carry the fire.
I dont know how ot.
Yes you do.
Is it real? The fire?
Yes it is.
Where is it? I dont know where it is.
Yes you do. It’s inside you. It was always there. I can see it. (p. 278-279)
Carrying the fire was one of the conditions of the good guys. So the man is saying that the boy has to live, being a good guy. And the boy is a good guy. By the way the man’s saying the fire is inside you, I guess carrying the fire would be acting like the boy: sacrificing ourselves for the benefit of others.

I am sad this book is over… I hope I have the courage to read this difficult book again.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Last assignment! -- JACK

In p.250, the boy is still sick, maybe because of swimming in the cold sea, and the man is also growing to sick. He tries hard to stay awake, but it is impossible to do so. He slaps himself or stands up to gather some wood, but he keeps falling asleep. At last, he clenches his fists and pounds the ground with rage, sobbing. I believe he got angry due to the dark and hopeless world covered with gray ash. After the man doing this, his son wakes up and says that he had a weird dream that he does not want to talk about. Probably a dream of the father's death or something.

Some days later, the father and his son go on a trip along the beach and make a leanto and stay there for 2 days. At this time, they just forgot about the danger remaining on the road. The man didn't ever think that somebody would take their cart, tarp, and everything. However, when he sees the boot prints, which were neither his or his son's, what he forgot just comes up to his mind. They run to where they had stayed before and find nothing is left. "Oh Christ," the man says. "You stupid ass," the man says to himself. Shocked, the man decides to keep track of the bootprints, and on the road, the child finds some beachsand. They walk and walk and walk and eventually catch the thief. He is holding a knife, but our man has a gun, so he orders him to put down the knife and step back. Again, our little boy feels sympathetic and begs him not to kill him. Thus, instead of killing the thief, the man makes him take off whatever he is wearing. The boy cries, so the father puts the clothes they deprived him of on the empty road and sets off. This is one of the exciting scenes of The Road, I believe.

The father keeps coughing. While they are walking, resting, and sleeping, the man coughs. So hard that a cluster of blood came out. It becomes more and more frequent, and as it gets worse, the father weaker and weaker. Walking along the road, they encounter a sea city, where some houses existed. Suddenly, from one of the houses, an arrow flies toward the man, and it is close. Another shot hits the man's leg and causes a sharp pain. But at this time, the man is prepared and shoots the flaregun back to where the arrow came. A few seconds later, a scream. The flaregun hit the shooter and he got burnt. Such a nice shot, maybe this is the second time that he made nice shots. The first time was when they met one of the truck people. The man sutures the wound and sets off again.

I actually couldn't get the meaning of carrying the fire, but while reading p.279, I was able to understand what fire was. It was the hope inside our heart. Because of this fire, the man and the child could go on and on along the beach, but now, the fire inside the man is going faint and dying. The man dies! Oh, God, the man dies. But the more astonishing situation is that somebody else with was watching them. Fortunately he is a good person and helps the child.

The trout, on which the map of everything was, is now dead and cannot be put back. I'll miss you, man.

Week 6 - Memorable Scene



Finally the last part of the book! The ending was a bit sad but I, myself is happy to get this done! So I was happy to draw this scene and it only took about 15 minutes, I guess. Now let's analyze this thing more specifically.

You all may remember this scene clearly. In page 255, the man and the boy tracks up the trail of bootprints, searching for the thief who stole their stuff. In the end, the man catches the thief and gets back everything from him. What's more, he even takes his clothes away too(although that is yet described in my picture.) . The boy begged his father, not to take his stuff but the man showed no mercy. He made a complete revenge on the thief. However, the man accepts the boy's request and returns to the place where the thief stood. But it was too late. He was gone. So the man just put the clothes on a rock and leaves again.

This is the back and forth of the above scene. The reason why this scene was so important is that there're a lot of actions here, while most scenes of this book rarely contain any. Moreover, it was the first time for the man and the boy to have their stuff stolen. Even more, the man was so cold and threatening to the thief. And there are more reasons to support the significance of this scene but I'll just stop here since it's going to take forever: there is no over-highlighting this scene, actually.

I was a bit surprised by the man. So far, what he had shown to us was just unceasing love and his sacrificial care for the boy. However when it came to another person, especially a 'bad guy' like the thief, he could be colder than ever. I knew that when he blasted his pistol at one of the truck people at the beginnig of this book but was unconscious of that fact since he never attacked anyone after. But now that he intimidated the thief and robbed him back, I, again, realized that his love is only for his son and he was able to do anything for their survival.

So this is what I thought about the thief scene. I'm sure some of you may have felt different and some felt the same as what I did. Well anyway, the story came to an end and half of our burdern also came to an end! God Bless the Gifted Class! And now is the time to move on to the LORD OF THE FLIES, isn't it? I hope it to be more interesting than this one.

Damn the road.

What's this ugly ending?

Annie, 'The Road' vs 'Blindness' - #2

We finally finished reading the book. Yeapee!~~~~~~~~~
On the first week of ‘the Road’, I compared ‘Blindness’ with ‘the Road’. This week I will compare them again. Well, this time I will focus more on comapring and contrasting the different endings of each book.

On the end of ’The Road’, the man died and the boy went with other good guys. In some ways, it can be called a ‘Happy Ending.’ From the start we knew that the man was sick and that he was going to die. Thus, it wasn’t that surprising when the man died. If you look from the boy’s view, it is sad that the man died but at least the boy survived. And, we can know that the boy is going to be protected well by those people. Maybe, the boy will be happier than when he was with the man. However, what I will focus on is the apocalypse.

In ‘The Road’, the situation didn’t get any better at the end of the book. Even though the man died, it was still the same world. Everything was still gray, no difference. Unlike this book, everything was back to normal at the end of ‘Blindness’. People start regaining their sight. It can just be seen as a typical ‘Happy Ending’ since there is no more blindness, the cause of everything.

However, when I looked at the very last part of the book closely, the woman who was able to see all the time through the book said ‘People were blind to start with, and they are blind, now. These people can see but they don’t look.’ Somehow, to the author, the catastrophe didn’t seem to have ended. It was there to start with and it’s still here. Throughout this book, the author focused on showing how the woman helped other people and how the main characters formed a group and worked together. Maybe, what he was trying to say was related with this fact. Even though the world itself didn’t change, the author wanted the readers to learn this fact and change their view towards the world. This book made us rethink about the world around us.

I think this part can relate with ‘The Road’. In this book, the world didn’t change at the end. It was still the same. Just like ‘Blindness’, the author wanted to focus more on the relationship between the man and the boy than on the setting. I felt that these two books are different from other apocalyptic books or movies because it wasn’t trying to solve the initial cause of the apocalypse. In most of the movies of this kind, it’s more about solving the cause and returning the world back to a normal world. But, these two books seem to make us think about how we would act in an apocalyptic world. They don’t talk about how this apocalypse happened or how it was solved, it was there to start with and it just is there. It is the cause of how people act but everything’s not about this apocalypse.

But, I think the two apocalypses are somehow different. For ‘The Road’, the catastrophe, which wasn’t cited clearly in the book, was the background. I mean, the humans remained the same and it was the setting that changed at first. However, in the ‘Blindness’, it was the humans that changed first. No matter this small difference, the cause led to similar post-apocalyptic situations. The world ran out of food and people started hurting each other. So, I guess the reason why I keep coming back to ‘Blindness’ is because it’s so similar in structure and the message that I gain from it.

P.S. This time, I focused more on talking about my thoughts than rather on what ‘Blindness’ was about. Well… I knew I was supposed to be explaining the summary but, I didn’t want to write the same information again. For people who didn’t know what Blindness was about, you can look on the first week’s assignment. I’m really sorry~ ///And, I really don't know what I'm trying to saying... so tell me about the things that doesn't make sense :)

Assignment 6- three questions-Sunny

Q1: How did the attitude of the man change, comparing to the beginning?
At the first part the man hides things from the boy. Usually his own feelings and thoughts because he does not want his son to quiver in fear. Even in breathtaking scenes he stays calm and try not to panic. But as time goes he realizes that himself is now dying and acknowledge the fact that he has to tell the boy how he thinks and how he interacts. As the man lose his energy and goes toward death, at the same time the boy gets older and stronger which increases the possibility of survival. I guess this makes the man's attitude change toward the boy. In page 272 when the boy ask 'Are you real brave?' to the man and the answer is 'Just medium'. If the boy had asked it before when the man was healthier the man would have probably answered 'yes', at least to give the boy hope. I was shocked when the mans says the bravest thing he ever did was 'getting up this morning'. I mean it would be scary to wake up every morning and think about struggling again to survive. But the man always wanted the boy to believe that they'll survive and he did not say things like this before. Another thing that has changed is that he started to respect the boy. He knows that the boy has grown up and has his own thoughts. The man does not convince the boy to believe they are good guys, he just listens carefully to what the boy says.

Q2: How did the attitude of the boy change toward the man?
This question kind of made me creepy and confusing at the same time. The boys words and behavior are sometimes hard to catch and when I realize the boys intention it turns out to be a scary thing. The boy, as I said above is now starting to decide by his own and tries to conceal his thoughts from his father. In page 268 he says he does not want to tell a story and does not want to confess his inside stories. The strange thing is that the man used to ignore the boy's minds, but he wants to know what the boy really thinks, now. I suppose the man accepts that the boy has grown up and is willing to understand the boy better by asking questions rather than simply ignoring it. the boy insists that they don't help people. Cormac McCarthy is an author that is asking us about morality and the dialogue between the man and the boy reveals this better. I caught that the boy is sick of living in a apocalyptic world. In page 268 the boy says his dreams are more like real life and the real life is not happy for him. Unlike his fathers hope(the man wants the boy to be hopeful) the boy is kind of becoming similar to his father. Confessing the fact that he knows the world is a bad place to live emphasizes the situation they are struggling with.

Q3: Did the book end positively or negatively?
I think it ended optimistically. I can't say it ended a happy ending cause the man died and left the boy in the world, and I thought dying together at the same time in a same place would be better. Although the man died the boy met other people who say they are good guys and have other kids too. I suppose they are good guys because they do not take the pistol from the boy and wrap the mans body for the boy. So it's like the man send a present for the boy, not to leave him alone.
I hope the boy grow up into a proper adult and get to see a world without gray ashes, with bright colors and have a opportunity to swim in the blue, blue ocean someday.

Assignment number 1-(4) Writing down 3 parts from the book

Pg. 259
He’s not gone, the boy said. He looked up. His face streaked with soot. He’s not.
What do you want to do?
Just help him, Papa. Just help him.
The man looked back up the road.
He was just hungry, Papa. He’s going to die.
He’s going to die anyway.
He’s so scared, Papa.
The man squatted and looked at him. I’m scared, he said. Do you understand? I’m scared.

This scene’s describing the moment right after they found their cart again, and left the thief on the road, naked. As same as usual, the boy pleads his father to help the thief and still, the man is being tough on that matter. But the thing I found special about this scene, was that the man looks somewhat shaken by what the boy said to him. I could sense that kind of feeling when I was reading the sentence, ‘The man looked back up the road.’ I cannot be sure about this, but maybe the man would have thought he was too harsh on the thief, right after he listened to the boy pleading. Or he might even have regretted what he’d done to the thief. He’d never showed such a vacillation when he saw other people on the road before. Also, one more thing that’s a bit special about this scene is that, finally, the man is somewhat giving up being 100% brave in front of the boy. The biggest hint for that guess was the part, ‘The man squatted and looked at him. I’m scared, he said. Do you understand? I’m scared.’ This is the first time the man tells the boy directly that he also is scared. The boy might have started to feel from this chance that the man no longer is strong enough.

Pg. 259
You’re not the one who has to worry about everything.
The boy said something but he couldn’t understand him. What? He said.
He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one.

I have given a thought to this scene for a long time since I couldn’t be sure about splitting this scene from the upper one. (As you can see, this scene is on the same page with the upper one.) But in the end, I concluded that this scene’s featuring something different from the upper one. I guessed that this scene is crucial scene that shows us the boy had grown up a lot since they had been on the road. Until now on, my general feeling toward the story was that the boy was always getting some help or protection from the man. Though I could feel him growing up as the story goes on, I didn’t think him as a protector of the man. But this time, it was a lot different. (Well, in my opinion) The boy didn’t seem to know how hard the situation was, but by the boy saying “I am the one”, I could feel that the boy was already aware of almost everything. He knew his father being sick a lot, and he knew that his father was going to meet his end soon. He would have been in a lot of confusion since he didn’t know exactly what was going to happen after the man’s death.

Pg. 284
Do you have any kids?
We do.
Do you have a little boy?
We have a little boy and we have a little girl.
How old is he?
He’s about your age. Maybe a little older.
And you didn’t eat them.
No.
You don’t eat people.
No. We don’t eat people.
And I can go with you?
Yes. You can.
Okay then.
Okay.
Right after the man’s death, the boy meets one guy who was wearing yellow jumper (or something… I can’t be sure about his appearance). At first, the boy was very suspicious about that man, but by identifying what that man has done to children or the fact that they are carrying the fire may have been an important reason that the boy could think him as a good guy. I sometimes think that the conclusion of this story is somewhat abrupt, since his encounter to this guy appears almost right after the man’s death. The man and the boy couldn’t meet just one good guy through the whole story, but in the end, ‘suddenly’ a real good guy appears. Anyway, meeting other good guys was one of the expected happy endings we talked about last class, so even I think it’s a bit sudden, I’m not unhappy about the ending.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Tracy Assignment

Almost the first time I've ever done this on time, yay

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Assignment for p200~250

p. 200 is starting with the dialogue between the father and his son, but this time, it seems that the roll of the father and his son is changed, upside down. Before this scene, it was always the man who suggested that they should keep going; however, from now on, the little boy is suggesting it, which means the boy became much more active and took up some roll of his father. Probably, this is because the boy is getting used to the post apocalyptic world faster and faster. We can see this when the boy does not get shocked even though he sees an infant being eaten. Finishing this dialogue, they set out again on the road and keep going. At the next page, the boy asks his father, “Can I go ahead?” Isn’t this kind of progress surprising? He had not made any choices even the smallest ones, but now, he wants to go ahead. He flips and flails his arms running as if nothing disgusting had happened just before.

Walking on the road, the child finds a big house, and again, our hungry and curious father wants to take a look at it in order to search any edible food. The boy, at this time, gets scared of getting in there as usual as before, maybe because of the shock after seeing “human food” under the hatch. So even though it is getting quite dark, they make a travel to that house. The house contains a lot of things including a warm hearth, delicious stored food, some blankets and clothes. After making it sure that there was nobody living in or staying around there, they remain in that shelter for four years. One day they decide to start walking again, heading the coast where the man and the boy longed to go. Walk, walk, and walk. They eventually arrive at the coast that was motionless, gray, and unlively. The boy who expected a beautiful and blue ocean gets so disappointed that he bursts into tears after swimming in that ash covered water. Freezing cold. The boy gets sick and feverish, and his father also suffers from fatigue. At this time the God help them by giving them a chance to look into a wrecked boat in which lots of useful things including first aid kits, some waterproofed cloths, and what most makes the boy excited, a flare gun.

They store what they found in the boat on the cart, and again, start walking along the beach, but they had to stop because the boy left the pistol on the beach. Even though it was already dark, and the man could realize that it would be darker soon, they return to the beach and find it. At that time nothing could be seen but sometimes a flash of lightning. Even worse, it rains, but the cautious father hears a patter sound which was made by their tarp. After sleeping under there they go up on the road.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Week 6--Assignments

REMEMBER: Our next class is MONDAY, MAY 31!!!

Find at least 10 examples of the literary terms from p. 250-end.

Blog assignment one:

due: Before Saturday, May 29 at 11 p.m.

Create a new post responding to p. 250-end of The Road. This post should be a minimum of 500 words (one page typed--you can use a word processor to check yourself). You should complete one or more of the following:


1) Create a time-line of the events for this section of the book. Include everything that happens and all of the characters that are involved. Try to include as many specifics as possible. Include page numbers for reference.
2) Find a character or situation in the book that reminds you of someone you know, something that has happened in your life, or something you have read/seen before. Explain in detail what about the book reminds you of something from life and how it is similar or different from what you know about in life.
3) Ask three insightful, open-ended questions about the chapter you have read to this point. These questions should not be easily answered by looking in a dictionary or encyclopedia, but rather questions about the ideas and characters in the text itself. Try to answer each question based on your understanding of the text to this point. Support your answer with details from the text and page numbers.
4) Write down three quotes from the chapter that you read that appeal to you and the page on which they appear. Explain in a paragraph for each quote what is happening in the text at this point, what the quote means, and what about the language of the author appeals to you.
5) Draw picture of a visual image/event from the chapter of the text you have read (you will need to upload it to blogger somehow). Try to label specific things from the text in your picture with the author’s words, ideas, and page numbers. Write a response to the event or image you have captured visually.
6) Write a letter to a character in the book or to the author about this chapter. Don’t just summarize, give a reason for why you felt compelled to write him/her a letter about some event or word in the book.


Blog assignment 2:

You should read and thoughtfully respond to two or more other students' responses before class on Monday night. A thoughtful response says something meaningful, not "great job!" It should be clear from what you say that you have read and considered their ideas. You can ask questions, add ideas, disagree, or support their points.

Blogging etiquette is that you should try to respond to people who respond to you.

Meeting the minimum of blogging requirements is a minimum grade. Try to respond to everything you find interesting.

Monday, May 24, 2010

In this part the man and the boy both reminded me of my friends. They don't have exactly same character, but some particular parts they show similar reaction or personality.

The man : From the beggining of the story the way the man reacted to certain situations and his personality shown in the story reminded me of one person. Throughout the story, it's quite obvious that the man is hot tempered but somewhat motherly... The way the man cares about the boy's health and mood is similar to my friend. Of course, my friend doesn't overreact as much as the man do, but sometimes I do get nervous about my friend minding me too much.

(pg 247) He carried him up to the camp and covered him with blankets. he tried to get him to drink some water. He put more wood on the fire and knelt with his hand on his forehead. You'll be all right he said. He was terrified.
Dont go away, the boy said.
Of course I wont go away.
Even for just a little while.
No. I'm right here.
Okay. Okay, Papa.

I was surprised to see that actually our relationship? resembles this quote pretty much. I get kind of whinny with my friend and bit stubborn. However, my friend usually agrees with my opinion unless it is too reckless or he is in a bad temper. In the story, the man curses or make the readers nervous by his hot temper. However, I dont mean that he has bad character because I would have been in a rage or desparing if I were in his specific situations. I first thought that the man is somewhat thoughful. But as I continued my reading, I began to think that he reacted that way because of his hot temper. For example when he shot the second man he met on the road, the man with truck, he shot him at once when the stranger got hold of his boy. My first thought was that he loves the boy very much and is calm because of his oranized moves. But I thought more about this and figured out that he is rather quick tempered because if he is thoughtful then he might have not shot the stranger because of the risk he has to take. If just if his shot was off, then, it's almost 100% certain that the boy is going to be harmed. Furthermore, sometimes the man when he is in a rage, is not good at handling the boy's heartbreak. This usually happens when the man didn't help or harmed other people or when the man is risking his life to go into the house to find some foods.

(pg 258)Stop it.
I cant stop it.
What do you think would have happened to us all if we hadnt caught him? Just stop it.

After leaving the scene the boy usaully cries or whines or doesn't talk at all and this gets on the man's nerves. Lastly, my friend doesnt believe in people like the man doesnt. I'm still unsure if my friend trusts me or not. Eventhough my friend is popular among peers and seems to be nice to people around him, it doesnt mean that my friend is trusting that person.

Tracy-assignment

I'm really sorry I am late!
This part was confusing to me, partly because I read it without concentrating (hard to do at the hairdresser’s). But I can only see two things clear: they are going to the coast, and the other – the man is going to die, sooner or later.

On page 213 it says,
‘At night when he woke coughing he’d sit up with his hand pushed over his head against the blackness. Like a man waking in a grave. Like those disinterred dead from his childhood that had been relocated to accommodate a highway.’

The author is using simile to describe that the man is very sick. We can clearly see here, the man is getting sicker and sicker as they reach the coast. I was hoping they would reach shore, and find some allies before he dies. More better, get better and not die. I like this family so much now, I wish I could interfere with this book and make them happy.

‘Do you think there could be ships out there?
I don’t think so.
They wouldn’t be able to see very far.
No. They wouldn’t.
What’s on the other side?
Nothing.
There must be something.
Maybe there’s a father and his little boy and they’re sitting on the beach.
That would be okay.
Yes. That would be okay.
And they could be carrying the fire too?
They could be. Yes.
But we don’t know.
We don’t know.
So we have to be vigilant.
We have to be vigilant. Yes.’ (p.216-217)

I felt sad because I thought the boy wanted companions a lot. Probably the man wanted companions too. There’s talk about a father and his boy, and I thought about the little boy the boy wanted to keep. There’s also talk about carrying the fire, and I think-I can’t remember-this was one of the conditions of the good guys. So the boy is hoping there are good guys across the sea.

Then he stopped. Where’s the pistol? He said.
The boy froze. He looked terrified.
Christ, the man said. He looked back up the beach. They were already out of sight of the boat. He looked at the boy. The boy had his hands on top of this head and he was about to cry. I’m sorry, he said. I’m really sorry.
He set down the tarp with the canned goods. We have to go back.
I’m sorry, Papa.
It’s okay. It will still be there.
The boy stood with his shoulders slumped. He was beginning to sob. The man knelt down and put his arms around him. It’s all right, he said. I’m the one who’ s supposed to make sure we have the pistol and I didn’t do it. I forgot.
I’m sorry, Papa.
Come on. We’re okay. Everything’s okay.

The boy is always blaming himself about mistakes and agonizing. Then the man comforts him, saying it’s his fault. I felt that this has been repeated, since some time ago-again I can’t remember well-the boy forgot to screw on the lid of the burner., and the man said that he should fix it with Teflon tape.

Seora-Asking 3 insightful questions

Assignment 5 Seora - asking 3 insightful questions
1. Fire
If you keep on reading, you'll easily see that the boy thinks carrying the fire means that they are the "good people". We have talked about this during class time, but it didn't really come to me. In the Greek myth, there is a God of fire named Prometheus. He is the one who stole the "fire", which was only possessed by Gods, and gave it to the people. He was punished by being tied up to a mountain and being eaten his liver alive by an eagle every day for doing so. In this myth, we can see that the fire means power and by giving the fire to the people, they could become civilized and differentiated from animals. I‘m not really sure, but I think that carrying the fire to the boy and the man means that whenever they reach the South, they could hand down fire to them, and might have a chance to live a different life than now.
2. Music
In the part before this, I'm sure you remember that the man carved the boy a flute out of wood. It's not big, but worth questioning out of all the other toys that he could have built him, why a flute? Also, in this part we saw that the man said the brass was the first thing he'd seen in a long time that stirred him. We can easily feel the connection between the music and the man. I'm not quite sure what discussion I'm trying to convey out of music, but I have a strong feeling that the music is a big part of the man's life even before the apocalypse and after the apocalypse.
3. Ending
Thanks to my friend, I already know what will happen to the man eventually, but I don't know the process to it. But mostly my feeling is that it won't be a happy ending where the man and the boy lives without the fear of the bad guys who eats human flesh, or suddenly the world becomes like the situation before the apocalypse and everything turns back to normal again. Okay... well., I'm sorry but the man dies in the end. I'm trying to write about the ending and I can't write my feelings down without the fact of the man dying. For those who read this, I'm really truly sorry, but for those who didn't, good for you. I know the man dies, but I don't know why or how he dies, and I don't know if the boy dies too. They might encounter some bad guys in between and they kill the man. Or, since he has been very sick, he might die of illness. However, as we read in this part of the book, the boy was also very sick, so they might both die of sickness(but that would be very depressing as if the whole book wasn't depressing enough). So we know that it wouldn't be a happy ending because the man dies, but even if he dies, it could still be a fairly happy ending for the boy. He might meet other good guys and they might take care of him, or , it just came to me. After his father died, he might have felt so much sorrow that he became one of the bad guys and started eating human flesh.(This would also not be a good ending though.)
It's late,, very late and I have to get up at 6 tomorrow(well it's not even tomorrow, it's today)and I'm really worried how I'm going to do that, but I'm really sorry. I thought the due date was 11 p.m by Sunday, and I thought I was only a couple of hours late but I wasn't.... I'm sorry. Seeu tomorrow~..ㅠ

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Letter to the boy

Letter to the boy

Hi, this is one of your supporters, Harin. I know there’s nothing I can do for you now as a supporter, but I do care about you with all my heart. I’m little bit older than you, but I always think that you would be much more mature than I do. It’s really terrible to live in such environment, isn’t it? Well, maybe you don’t even know how horrible the world you live in now is. If so, I am really sorry about that. You should know the real beauty of the world. The color you can see is not only the gray, or black. There once used to be green, yellow, orange, blue, etc. Oh, the sea used to be blue. I really hoped that you could see the blue ocean. But don’t be so disappointed. I’m sure that the world with all the colors will come back, and that’s what you have to try and live for, to get the beautiful world back. However, I am so glad to see you becoming more active than before. You found the house, suggested your own opinion a lot. But you think your father doesn’t really listen to you don’t you? Of course it would be very sad for you, but it’s because your father loves you. What he does, what he says are all because of you, boy. He’s got more experience and he knows how to protect you. So, don’t be so sad about it, okay?
And I’m really curious about the meaning of ‘carrying the fire’ for you. Is it so important to you because it’s the way you can clarify the good and the bad people? I personally think that ‘the fire’ in your heart is your passion and bravery. They’re good to keep. You must have them in your mind, no matter what. But sometimes I see you being very weak both physically and mentally. I understand how it feels like to be sick in such a hard situation. Besides, there’s no any medication or hospital to treat your sickness. Instead, you have your father. He’s the best doctor who can look after you. So please cheer up, for both you and your father. I’m not really sure if I should tell you about this… but I think it’s better for you to know. You would know that your father is in a really hard situation. And I remember you being waken up with your father’s coughing. Your father’s getting weaker and weaker. He even coughed up blood. I know you don’t want to believe, but you need to realize the reality. Your father can’t be with you forever. There would be some time you have to be apart from your father. I think you should get yourself ready for it. Learn how to find foods and place to sleep, protect yourself, things like that. I don’t want to be so negative, but I just want to help you. Also, you should be more careful. It was such a huge mistake to lose the pistol. What if somebody took it and was holding the pistol in front of you and your father? Your father can’t do everything for you. I think it’s time for you to start helping him, not to get help from him. I always care about you like your father does. And there are more people supporting you. When you get so tired that you want to stop, think about all the people looking at you and your old man. It will help you keep going. Hope you are always healthy and carrying the fire because you’re the good guys. God is always in the good guys!

Unique, Response to the book, p.200~252

This time, I was so glad that there was not so much violence or horror. But I've got to worry that the ending might not be happy. There seems to be less and less hope. They reached the beach but there's nothing special. There's no end to this journey. How would the story be concluded? I cannot guess...


1. Luck.

The man and the boy met a lucky moment when they found the bunker full of canned food. They were dying of starvation at that time but they got the luck of finding food.

Their luck didn't end there. When they ran out of all the food they took from the bunker, when they were about to die, the boy found a house. The boy was scared to enter the house but there were was nothing dangerous there. Instead, the man found blankets, clothes and canned food.

Later, when they reached the beach with no food in hand, they found a boat. Again, the boy didn't want the man to approach it, but the man finds clothes, canned food and most importantly, I think, a flarepistol.

I can only say that the man and the boy were really lucky to find these things whenever they ran out of food and supplies. Actually, it's quite surprising how they could survive on the road, only by themselves, sticking to their morality, in the first place.


2. But I was anxious!!

Well, even if there were not so many bad things happening throughout this week's reading, I could not help being anxious all the time. There seemed to be too many things that indicate unfortunate things coming.

The boy was scared all the time. He again and again tried to talk his father out of going to an unknown place. Every time I read the boy expressing his anxiety, I became so nervous, I worried that the moment I feel the urge to throw away the book would come. Nothing happened, but again and again I tensed and worried something might happen.

There were also direct references to death. On p202 it says they slept 'the sleep of death'. On p213 the man wakes up at night 'like a man waking in a grave' and a description of corpses which had died in a cholera epidemic. (It made me think that it's foreshadowing the man's death...!) And on p229 the man says to himself that everyday is a lie, but that you're dying is not a lie.

And lastly, the boy was dying! All right, he recovered at the end, but I was so worried that he might really die, leaving the man hopeless and utterly alone. This part even made me sadder, showing the man's love toward the boy: 'He walked out on the beach to the edge of the light and stood with his clenched fists on top of his skull and fell to his knees sobbing in rage.'(p250)


3. Relationship between the man and the boy

The boy is hiding things from his father. On p218 the boy goes out to swim in the sea and comes back, but doesn't let his father know what he saw there. 'When he looked the boy was crying. What is it? he said. Nothing. No, tell me. Nothing. It's nothing.' I'm afraid the boy saw something terrible in the sea, but is hiding that...

On p252 the boy hides his dream. 'I had some weird dreams. What about? I dont want to tell you.' What dream? He once had a dream of his father dying. He again had a dream so terrible as that one? Or he saw the future, considering that he is often refered as a special being, like God?


4. The Sea (The Coast)

The man expected something to be on the coast. Warmth, food, supplies and maybe some good people. But there's none. Only sea water and salty wind are there. The sea is not blue, either. The boy swims there but he comes back crying. There's no living thing on the coast like seagulls or crabs or clams. The coast was their hope, their destination, but there's nothing on the coast.

In this situation there comes out a flashback (in other words, the man's memory) that makes me feel sick. He was on the coast with his wife. 'When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.'(p219)

The coast was once a beautiful place for the man. But it's not anymore. It makes me be sorry. And worry that there might be not many things to do for the man and the boy...


5. Other people

Quotes below show that the boy is expecting there to be some people, other people than them, living on.

'What's on the other side?/ Nothing./ There must be something./ Maybe there's a father and his little boy and they're sitting on the beach./ That would be okay./ Yes. That would be okay./ And they could be carrying the fire too?/ They could be. Yes.'(p216)
+ Carrying the fire appeared again.

'There could be people alive someplace else./ You mean besides on earth?/ Yes./ I don't think so. They couldnt live anyplace else./ Not even if they could get there?/ No./ The boy looked away./ What? the man said./ He shook his head. I don't know what we're doing./ After a while [the man] said: There are people. There are people and we'll find them. You'll see.' (p244)
+ The book now tries to be on a universal scale. The boy is asking whether there are other creatures besides on earth. Even if the man says no, I think there are. And I think the boy is knowing that, too.

'Maybe we could write a letter to the good guys. So if they came along they'd know we were here. We could write it up where it wouldnt get washed away./ What if the bad guys saw it?/ Yeah./ I shouldnt have said that. We could write them a letter./ The boy shook his head. That's okay, he said.'(p245)
+ The boy is disappointed. :-( He is just accepting the man's word, understanding what he's worried about. It makes me sad. He became too old for his age.

'They couldnt see it very far, could they, Papa?/ Who?/ Anybody./ No. Not far./ If you wanted to show where you were./ You mean like to the good guys?/ Yes. Or anybody that you wanted them to know where you were./ Like who?/ I dont know./ Like God?/ Yeah. Maybe somebody like that.'(p246)
+ So the boy wanted to shoot the flarepistol to signal to other people on the earth. And maybe to God, too. To let them know that they are here, to urge them to come and find them...?



+) Questions.

I don't quite get what this part means:
'I think maybe they are watching, he said. They are watching for a thing that even death cannot undo and if they do not see it they will turn away from us and they will not come back.'(p210)

Who are 'they'? Their turning away from the man and the boy is good or not? What is the thing that even death cannot undo? Does it mean that Gods are watching for a thing like humanity and love and if they do not see those things in the man and the boy then they will leave them?

Christine, Three Questions

I think this week's assignment was the most difficult part in this book. It took me the longest time to read it, since there were lots of parts and quotes those I couldn't understand. Though I thought those for myself, there're still things that I can't figure out. As being so, this week, I would write about some of my questions about this book.

  1. page210. They are watching for a thing that even death cannot undo and if they do not see it they will turn away from us and they will not come back.

At this part, the man says this at the house which was found by the boy. Since the boy got scared that there could be other people in the house-ever since they accidently went into human-raising cell, he says to the man that maybe they(the others) are watching. And this quote was an answer from the man to the boy. However, I couldn't understand a thing that 'even death cannot undo'. He says that if they don't see it from them, they'll go away from them. What could it be?

Though I couldn't find out what that exactly is, I was able to make some guesses about it. At this point, every survivor on the earth is very near to death. And of course they'll feel uneasy and nervous about it. Does God exist? No one knows. No one knows, because this kind of disaster shouldn't be happened when everything's under the control of God. People want something that everlasts. Something that'll save them from the chaos, or at least calm their nerves. And maybe they'll try to that from the man and the boy. If they find out nothing from the man and the boy, they won't com back.

2. page218. But when he looked the boy was crying. What is it? he said. Nothing. No, tell me. Nothing. It's nothing.

The boy went in to the sea to swim. However, after he came out, he suddenly started crying. Why? Simple might be answer is that it was just because the sea was too cold, but it's too simple. Maybe he saw something that's shocking, like another corpse. Yet, this can't be the reason of 'sudden cry'. Or else, though he didn't experienced that much, he might felt nostalgia of the past. The time when things were stable in peace. No eternal darkness. No coldness either. He ironically figured that out in freezing sea water.

3. page238. Every day is a lie, he said. But you are dying. That is not a lie.

The man realizes that his health is getting worse and worse. Even blood comes out from the cough. He saids that daily life have been a lie. Why so? Well, he always had to pretend that there's hope, and there'll be a better world when they reach the South. It was all because of the boy. It seems that the man doesn't afraid of the death. He said that he envied the dead. Meanwhile, it isn't the same with the boy. Not only the man wants him to live on, but also the boy himself desperately wants it. He always hided his feelings in front of the boy, but now there's one thing that he won't be able to hide anymore. It's the fact that he's getting weaker.

Like this, though I did the best I could, I can see that my answers are weak and illogical. I hope you guys could give my your personal opinions! Thank you:D

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Assignment- Writing a letter to the man. Sunny

Dear the man
Hi, I'm Sunny in South Korea, I guess who I am and where I live is not important to you now. Struggling to live every second would surely make you indifferent to other things. I just wanted to encourage you and tell you that me and our classmates who are reading the book are paying careful attention to you guys and hoping that the story would end happily. So cheer up!
Anyway I've read till page 251 and want to tell you how I think. While you were going south you encountered a house, right? Your son was afraid right before you went into the house, and I was trembling, too. Since I've seen cannibals and people who were eaten brutally and usually when the boy says he's afraid and doesn't feel right, something bad happens. So this might sound rude but I hope you respect the boys words, too. Sometimes children's instinct and institutions are sharp and correct. And in your case the boy has undergone those situations incessantly and he was born after the disaster happened so that makes him kind of more keen in some cases. I feel really pity for the boy when he accepts everything like it's normal. Seeing people die and meeting people who eat others are not normal and you know that because you lived in the before world when there were no ashes and terrifying elements trying to get you. But the boy, he does not know the world which was filles with happiness and brightness and I suppose I'm really lucky to live in this world. Through you and the boy attitudes to corpse and dead people are sometime to monotonous making me really shocked. It's like you guys are starting to lose human emotions and morality, this increases the possibility of you turning into bad guys, and I definitely do not want this to happen. By the way I'll be really glad if the boy get to see a world without gray stuff.
I could see you were disappointed and sorry to the boy not being able to show a blue and clear sea to the boy. If the boy knew how blue and transparent it used to be, he would have probably be inspired enough and try harder to survive. Time to time the boy tells you that they are going to die and makes you tired and I know it really bothers you. When my brother does that to me I sometimes lose my temper and I think your good and controling your feelings. You are also trying as hard as you can to conceal the fact you are sick to the boy, because if the boy knew he would get shocked and think he is doomed.. Unfortunately the boy is sick, too. and it would be frustrating to see your loving child suffering. I understand your thoughts but I suggest you to take care of yourself more. Assume you get too sick to take care of the boy and couldn't get provisions. Then the boy would starve and die at the end.(Sorry to say this. I simply want you to confront the reality directly.)
You said "No matter what. I will not send you into the darkness alone." To keep this promise take good care. Parents sacrifice for their kids and I see that in you, too. However to much can worsen the situation. I tell you something that will make you hopeful, you know what? Usually the good guys , protagonists live till the end to succeed so don't worry to much. Me and my classmates certainly won't be glad to see a sad ending so at least for the boy and for us do not lose hope!
From. Sunny

Week 5 - Memorable Scene

From page 221 to 250, the whole plot is directly related to this boat. In fact, this boat and the beach is the main setting of this week's story. Let me explain this scene in detail.

"Below them a hook of land shrouded in the dark scud blowing down the shore and beyond that lying half over and awash the shape of a sailbot's hull." (pg.221)

In page 221, the boat first appears in the sight of the man and the boy. As for the quote, 'hook of land', I assumed it was the shape of the land where the boat is located. So, I drew the coast line in a hook shape, as you can see. And then when the quote said, 'scud blowing down the shore', I decided to describe the wind by a flapping sail. Also I made the sail ripped off in order to create a sense of devastation and provide the feeling of apocalypse. That's why I also made the windows broken too. However the last quote, 'half over and awash', is something that I failed to describe. I knew I had to draw it half-sunken but as I concentrated on drawing, I realized that I only immersed 20% of the hull. So please don't entirely rely on my drawing.

"Pajaro de Esperanza"(pg.223)

This is the name of the boat. In page 223 when the man reached the boat, swimming, he saw the name of the boat in gilt lettering. In the picture, yeah, it doesn't really glitter but as you know, the gilt must have been rusted and covered with years of ashes. So I left the letters dull on the hull.

Moreover I also drew the grasses along the beach. I couldn't exactly find where the existance of grass is clarifed but as you read, I'm sure you could see a lot of references of grass.

Again, this is the main setting of this week's story. The man swam to the boat to grab things as much as he could. He didn't find much of useful things but the profit wasn't too bad. For instance he found a first aid kit, 50-foot long rope and a flaregun. He also found some canned goods but they didn't look so fine. Anyway after the scavenging, he set a fire at the beach and stays there for a while. The reason why he didn't move anyfurther was that the boy was sick. It seemed like the boy became ill after swimming in the ice-cold ocean water.

This is the summary of what happened in the beach. Nothing so important has happened again, except the boy became ill and the man's condition kept getting worse. The next 40 pages will put this story to an end and I wonder how the author will finish this story up so soon.

We'll see.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Annie- Letter to the man☆

Dear the man,

Hello? Nice to meet you. My name is So Yeon Kim. You can call me Annie (which is my English name) or just So :) I guess many of my classmates have already written a letter to you. You may be tired of receiving letters in your situation but, I really want to encourage you and the boy!

First, I will introduce myself. I live in a small country called Korea. You may have never heard of it but it is located next to China. Oh, your world could have been a totally different from my world but, I am guessing that the world before the apocalypse is similar to mine. I said I’m guessing because in the book, there’s not much said about the world before. I go to a foreign language high school (which is why I can write in English).

I decided to write a letter to you for this week’s assigned part because the boy was sick. I was really worried for both you and the boy. I mean, there’s no medicine, no doctors, or anything that could help the boy survive. The boy could have died of that sickness and I’m very sure that you would have died too if the boy died. And, I really wouldn’t like that. I really want you and the boy to survive (I’ll call it surviving… even if you guys don’t like it….). So, when I read the part where the boy was sick, I was so desperate… wishing for him to survive. Then, I thought how desperate you would be. I would never be able to experience it unless my family had a fatal disease…..so… I wanted to encourage you not to give up!

I first thought about writing this letter to the boy but, the boy can’t read well… I think… And, he’s currently sick so you can read this letter out loud for him! Really, don’t give up! Even though I can’t see or feel how awful, the situation is, I can at least imagine by how you described it. It is gross, inhumane, and awful. I mean there won’t be words bad enough to describe the situation. But I believe that there are many; maybe millions of people that want you to survive. So, just do not let go!

From what I have seen, you are a brave and intelligent person. You know ways you can survive without going through inhumane experiences. You didn’t choose to eat other people even though you were starving. (Of course, it could have been because of the boy. But if it was me, and I was really right before dying, I would have eaten….) Not only that, you know how to use things you find. When I read what you have done with the things you find and how you find those things, I am always surprised. I ask myself ‘How does he know that? Is he an expert? Would I be able to do that if I were in his shoes? and so many more.’ I know that I won’t be able to survive long or be brave like you. So, you are quite good at this.

If you don’t give up, I know you can do it. I don’t know when you can stop surviving and actually live your life but, I think time will come. At times when you want to give up, think about the boy. Just like you, the boy will die if you die. Think about the world that you know but the boy doesn’t. That world may come back… So, what I really want to tell you is just don’t give up! No matter what happens to you in the future, I really hope that you don’t give up. You have the ability and luck!


From Annie that believes you can do it no matter what!

P.S. Don’t feel too pressured by this letter. I just wanted to encourage you. I know you are sick already and you may want to die, but just try your best! For you and the boy. The prize may be nearer than you think.

Week 5. Vanessa Letter to the man

Dear the man,

Hi! This is the first time I’m writing a letter to you. First things first, my name is Vanessa Cho. I live in the normal, non-apocalyptic world (I wish you could be here, too!) and I’m a few years older than your son. To be honest, I really wanted to write a letter to you since I started reading the first few pages of the book, but then I calmed myself that when story gets deeper and more events happen, I might have more to say to you. So, now I’m writing a letter to you with all my heart.
I’m sure that I won’t fully understand how you feel every day since I’ve never been in a post-apocalyptic situation. But one thing I can be sure of is the fact that you and your son are really having lots of trouble and facing the harsh environment. What I’m trying to say is that I really have sympathy toward you and every time I read the book I want to somehow help you guys get a light of hope. I’m always impressed by the actions you take to protect your son. I can’t help myself crying (a bit of an exaggeration?) whenever you calm your little boy even if you don’t know what you might face later on. But you know what? I think your existence itself is a great relief to your son, so don’t be so sad even if you feel incompetence and exhaustion. Your actions also make me think of my own parents as well. They love me very much just like your unlimited attention to your son. I think the close bond between parents and their children never fades, especially in difficult situations.
Anyways, I was really thrilled and nervous at the same time when you stood in front of a house that seemed to be deserted. (pg.204) Since you have a memory of the naked people lying in the basement of another house, I assume you might have been really worried at the first time. But what did you find? You found food! Hurray! You could also fire the hearth and keep warm with your son. You must have been really glad to have done something to make your son proud. The meal you had there was really good, right? But I could see that you didn’t lose tension because you had the pistol gun right next to you even while eating.
I didn’t quite understand why you said ‘They are watching for a thing that even death cannot undo and if they do not see it they will turn away from us and they will not come back.’(pg.210) Who are they? And what is the thing that death cannot even recover? At a brink second, I thought that ‘they’ might be the other survivors and ‘the thing’ might be something like food or supplies. But I really am not sure.
Next, you reached the beach. Well, it wasn’t a beach that people would normally accept it as. It was gray and had a really depressed atmosphere. I saw you have found a boat and inside it there were rather lots of valuable things that you could use. Especially I was really surprised and glad at the time when you found the flaregun. When your son said the pistol gun was not there, I thought, how are they going to survive? What happens if they meet the bad guys? Now that you’ve found at least the flaregun, it made me relieved. Taking risks sometimes helps, huh? I think you are really brave in trying to fight against your state and making new attempts.
Oh, how did you feel when your son got sick and you couldn’t actually do anything except to give him some sugar water? You must have felt so terrible, being the boy’s father, you heart must have sank with sorrow. That’s probably why you sobbed in rage, clenching your fist. When I read that part of the book, I was again really depressed and wanted to give you hope. Even if I cannot be a great help to you, I really hope that you will endure and fight against this situation. Always keep in faith and please take good care of your son. The last thing I want to see is you two suffering from danger. I’ll give you all my energy! Keep the faith

Sincerely Vanessa, Cho

Assignment number 1-(2) Finding a situation that reminds me of similar experience

Well, I don’t know if it can be said as a ‘same’ situation, but when I was reading the part about the man shooting a flare gun, it made me remind of firecrackers I enjoyed watching with my older brother. It was a summer of 2007, and all of my family members went on a trip to Jeju Island for 4 days. I remember it as one of the most memorable trips since I could visit almost every tourist attraction of Jeju Island in 4 days. Especially, before the night we came back to Daegu, we had a very ‘luxurious’ dinner, I should say. We visited the restaurant shaped like a passenger ship and we could enjoy our dinner, watching spectacular scene of the night of Jeju. After finishing dinner, my parents and grandparents remained longer in the restaurant since their talks continued on. I and my brother started to feel boring and went outside to play on the seashore. While we were walking along the beach, we found that there was stationery nearby. Almost at the same time, both of us thought of a firecracker, and we went straight to the stationery to buy some. We didn’t know how to light up the firecracker, so that it took some time. But in the end, we found how to, and we enjoyed watching fireworks display until my parents and grandparents ended up their long, long conversation.
On page 242, the boy is saying ‘Wow’ after finding out that the flare gun is used for signaling, and that the boy will be able to see the man shooting the flare gun when it gets dark. ‘Wow’ means he’s surprised and expecting something, right? I can’t be sure about this, but maybe the feeling I had would have been similar to the boy’s feeling depicted in the book. In fact, when I was much younger, (I can’t remember exactly… Maybe when I was about 5 or 6 year-old boy) I once was watching other people playing with firecrackers. It was very sudden and accidental. One of the guys who were playing with firecracker did not see me sitting right next to them, and he just shot the firecracker in the direction where I was sitting. Luckily, it didn’t hit me directly, but I had to stay up all night suffering from the chemicals that went into my eyes. Since I had such a bad experience, I actually had some kind of ‘firecracker phobia’. However, when my brother told me to buy one, I became curious about what is going to happen when I, myself, light it.
The boy in the book would have also been a bit scared about flare gun since he saw the man shooting a gun to the stranger he met earlier, and he knew the fact that it’s a dangerous thing. But again when he saw it, he became a bit curious about what would happen if he shots a flare gun. Well, since I thought that my experience was somewhat similar to this situation, I could remind me of that experience.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Week 5--Assignments

REMEMBER: Our next class is MONDAY, MAY 24!!!

Find at least 10 examples of the literary terms from p. 201-250.

Blog assignment one:

due: Before Saturday, May 22 at 11 p.m.

Create a new post responding to p. 201-250 of The Road. This post should be a minimum of 500 words (one page typed--you can use a word processor to check yourself). You should complete one or more of the following:


1) Create a time-line of the events for this section of the book. Include everything that happens and all of the characters that are involved. Try to include as many specifics as possible. Include page numbers for reference.
2) Find a character or situation in the book that reminds you of someone you know, something that has happened in your life, or something you have read/seen before. Explain in detail what about the book reminds you of something from life and how it is similar or different from what you know about in life.
3) Ask three insightful, open-ended questions about the chapter you have read to this point. These questions should not be easily answered by looking in a dictionary or encyclopedia, but rather questions about the ideas and characters in the text itself. Try to answer each question based on your understanding of the text to this point. Support your answer with details from the text and page numbers.
4) Write down three quotes from the chapter that you read that appeal to you and the page on which they appear. Explain in a paragraph for each quote what is happening in the text at this point, what the quote means, and what about the language of the author appeals to you.
5) Draw picture of a visual image/event from the chapter of the text you have read (you will need to upload it to blogger somehow). Try to label specific things from the text in your picture with the author’s words, ideas, and page numbers. Write a response to the event or image you have captured visually.
6) Write a letter to a character in the book or to the author about this chapter. Don’t just summarize, give a reason for why you felt compelled to write him/her a letter about some event or word in the book.


Blog assignment 2:

You should read and thoughtfully respond to two or more other students' responses before class on Monday night. A thoughtful response says something meaningful, not "great job!" It should be clear from what you say that you have read and considered their ideas. You can ask questions, add ideas, disagree, or support their points.

Blogging etiquette is that you should try to respond to people who respond to you.

Meeting the minimum of blogging requirements is a minimum grade. Try to respond to everything you find interesting.

Week 4 - Memorable Scene





I admit that this picture is not quite appropriate but I couldn't really find any other scene that remained in my head the most. I apologize if this made you feel disgusted.



This scene, as I'm sure you all may remember, is in page 198. It wasn't so a significant event but I'm also sure that you all are shocked here just as you did in page 110 to 111(one of the most brutal scenes, you konw). Again, page 198 describes another brutal secene. This time, a pack of people were literally 'cooking' a little child. Let's see the back and forth of this scene.



"A thin stem of smoke was rising out of the woods ahead."(pg.196)



Here, this is the beginning. The man and the boy were walking just as they always did. And then they suddenly observed a stem of smoke from a woods. In this apocalypse-strucken world, everything around them are their enemy so they had to be alert. At this part, the readers can sympathize with them and also become sensitive. After all the smoke draws the readers attention.



"I think they've gone...They probably had a lookout."(pg.197)



To their relief, the people who made the fire already had already run away. It looks like those people hadn't gotten a proper weapon to protect themselves. In other words, they feared the man and the boy. Anyway, with no one around the fire, they could easily discover what they were doing at the fire.



"What the boy had seen was a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit."(pg.198)



And this is the brutal scene which could have bothered you a lot. The mysterious people were trying to eat a human kid! This is now the second time human-eating scene is directly shown to the readers. Perhaps there could be more of these kinds of scenes, I guess?



The described scene is not significant enough to influence the storyline of the entire story. Yes, I admit that. But here's one thing: was there any other scenes that greatly affected the storyline? I don't think so. So far, to page 200, the context was just about several repetitions of same routine: going and resting. In fact, I even think we didn't need to read the book so far. So, I selected this scene because its image didn't leave from my head. And I'm sure it's the same for you all too.



BONUS SCENE

You remember? This is the picture that I drew last week, which I didn't show you because I thought it was too brutal. But now that I already uploaded the burning kid picture, I don't think there's any need for me to keep this unshown. Enjoy watching.

Peace.



Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The letter to the boy - Jessie

Dear the boy,

It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote a letter to your father. At that time, I sympathized him that he had to take care of you at the same time while taking care of himself. But you know what? Now I'm really proud of you because I saw the other side of you, which impressed me a lot. It seems like you grew up.
It's interesting that you're having more and more conversations with your father. The seriousness and the depth of the discussions are getting a lot deeper than I thought! Sometimes I don't even understand what you're talking about, so it's a surprise to me that a little boy can understand such a compicated, apocalyptic situation. The dialogue about Mars gave me a feeling that it has a special internal meaning itself, which is like the place where you want to go to... Also, it made me think that it was natural of you to be curious of something you can't really find near you but which you heard about.
As I read through Pg.150-200, your kindness and warm-hearted personality were so touchy that you really sounded like an angel to me. You know, the world you're living in is full of enemies and it is barely possible to believe somebody and share what you've got. I didn't understand you when you insisted on taking care of that old man for at least a day. Why did you take a risk? You didn't even know what kind of a person he was. He could have done something bad... Well, fortunately, he didn't give any harm to you. But what was more surprising was that your father accepted your opinion and believed in you. He was different from the time when he rejected to see the boy you once saw in the village you visited. I guess his permission showed how much love and credit he's giving you.
What I have really wanted to talk about is your dad. You two have had a lot of struggles between, and sometimes just reading about it tore my heart apart. I sometimes hated your dad when he kept resisting your pleato do some good things for the peoplein bad condition. He's different now, isn't he? I'm so pleased to see him respecting you and showing real love towards you.
I'm really sorry to ask you about this, and it can be a sensitive part to talk about... Now you've faced many cruel, horrifying moments... I saw you facing those dead bodies, and every time your dad tried not to let you see those appalling scenes... But I bet you know everything... The infant without his/her head...Burnt... You're still a little child and I can tell that you were very shocked to see that. What I want to tell you is that you have to be very brave and should be able to get over more hardships. You don't know what's coming ahead of you in the near future. Now you saw what's going on... So, buckle up, boy! Just don't think about dying and other gloomy things. I believe that you guys can survive! Cheer up and I wish you good luck! My heart will always be with you. <3 :)

With love, Jessie

Monday, May 17, 2010

ASSIGNMENT

Pg.100 ~ 101

“You think were going to die, dont you?
I don’t know.
We’re not going to die.
Okay.
But you dont believe me.
I dont know.
Why do you think we’re going to die?
I dont know.
Stop saying I dont know.
Okay



Do you think I lie to you?
No.
But you think I might lie to you about dying.
Yes.
Okay. I might. But we’re not dying.
Okay.”

When I read this part, I felt that their conversation was too short, rigid, and emotionless. The man usually speaks in a worried tone and speaks long sentences but his son only answers his father by simply saying, ‘okay, I don’t know, yes, no’ . It surely was not a typical kind of a conversation that is expected from a father and a son relationship. Most children in the boy’s age usually like to talk and ask many questions to their parents about all the things they are curious at. This often bothers them that they often get tired of answering the questions ‘Why?’ from their kids and start quibbling about saying ‘Just because’. However, it’s the other way around in this story.
I suppose the man is eager to tell his son only about the bright side of the miserable world they are living in that he often exasperates.
On the other hand, the boy has grown in the apocalyptic world having irritating experiences every single day since he was young. He barely has any hope in his mind. I don’t think that the boy actually gets encouraged by his father’s words. Instead, He mechanically follows his fathers intentions.
Pg.113

‘Shh. No crying. Do you hear me? You know how to do it. You put it in your mouth and point it up. Do it quick and hard. Do you understand? Stop crying. Do you understand?’

This part made me feel really sad. He is telling his own son to commit suicide when the cannibals come to get him. The man may seem brutal to people who haven’t read this book but I can understand him. There are cannibals looking for human beings to feed on and it is one of the most terrible things that could happen to you. The author well described how a father’s showing of affection toward his child could look like in an extreme situation like this.

Pg.144

‘What woke the boy was him grinding coffee in a small hand grinder. He sat up and stared all around. Papa? He said.
Hi are you hungry?’

This scene is the most beautiful part of this book until pg 150 in my perspective. Finally they came to find a nice place with proper foods (although they are preserved instant foods). The man seems very calm and comfortable. I’ve never seen him behaving like this. This scene is so beautiful.

Writing a letter to the boy

Dear boy,

Hello, this is the first time I'm writing a letter to you. I am a student who lives in a relatively peaceful world, far from apocalyptic. I can't possibly imagine what you are going through. You and your dad is always struggling to live and you always have to hide yourselves from the bad guys. You rarely meet new, decent people. The most shocking scene was definitely when you and your dad found naked people in the bunker. That scene reminded me of butchery. That is something that young people like you never should encounter. I assume that you are younger than me so I really feel sorry for you, seeing all those sick and gross scenes.

How do you bear that? Is your will to live on that strong? Don't you sometimes just want to quit and die like your mother did? I still can't figure out what kind of choices should be made at times like that.
On the previous pages, you and your dad met the old man who had survived in a mysterious way. He was very philosophical and his words, though difficult, made a sense and I agreed with him in many ways.
He said "I might wish I ha died. When you're alive you've always got that ahead of you." Maybe this is the reason your father and you can't give up on living even though the world they are living in is wretched.
Were you sad when the man left? You've always wanted to help people but this is the first time I've seen your father allow you to help those people. Are you satisfied with that? or did you want to live with him?

I always got the impression that you are the only pure and innocent thing left in the world. Are you the only kid left in the world? I kept thinking about how lonely you must be and I shuddered. Naturally, I was heartbroken to see that you threw out your flute because that represents life your father used to have before the apocalypse happened. It was like destroying the bridge between past and the present. Of course I understand that you are in no situation for recreation and leisure but still....

Did you notice that your father is getting sicker and sicker? You should take care of him, he was always there for you when you needed him and he was willing to sacrifice his own soul for you. Not anyone could do that. He might have easily eaten you or exchange you for food. I hate to think that your father could possibly die(ㅜㅜㅜㅜ) so please take care of him!!!!!!!!!
I want you and your father to reach the South safely so please take care of yourselves and be brave.

You guys are really good guys because you never ate peole and never stole things from people. Also you really have a kind heart ; you always want to help people you meet on the road. So please be proud of youselves and do what you can do!

Good guys always win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Sincerely,
Yeonsoo