In The Road, the earth is covered with ash, fires burn on the ridges; a human being smolders; the father explains that he’s been struck by lightning. What does the fire represent?
Here are some ideas:
In Greek legend, Prometheus was part man, part immortal. Zeus assigned him to create man, shaping him from clay and water. But Prometheus became a little too fond of his creation. He’s largely known for giving man the sacred gift of fire, stolen from the gods. Zeus didn’t like this idea much.
In another story, when he and Zeus were developing the ceremonies for sacrificing animals as tribute to the gods, Prometheus again sided with his creation, man. He divided the slaughtered animal parts into two packets. In one was the ox-meat and innards wrapped up in the stomach lining. In the other packet were the ox-bones wrapped up in its own rich fat. One would go to the gods and the other to the humans making the sacrifice. Prometheus presented Zeus with a choice between the two, and Zeus took the deceptively richer appearing: the fat-encased, but inedible bones. That’s why, throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men make sacrifice to the gods whenever they land safely on an island, slaughtering a cow or an ox, wrapping the thigh bones in fat and burning them, while roasting and eating the rest themselves.
Zeus reacted to this trick by presenting man with a “gift,” Pandora—the first woman. She came from the forge of Haephestus, beautiful as a goddess. As a wedding gift for Pandora and Prometheus’ brother, Zeus gave a box that they were told never to open. Naturally, Pandora opened the box, and out flew all the troubles of the world that continue to plague mankind today.
Later, Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where an eagle flew down and ate his liver, which constantly regenerated itself (remember, he’s an immortal). His punishment was endless, until eventually, Prometheus was rescued by Hercules.
So—make the connection to the novel:
After they leave the house where the people are locked in the basement, waiting to be eaten, the boy asks, “We wouldn’t ever eat anybody, would we? No. Of course not. Even if we were starving?... But we wouldn’t. No. We wouldn’t. No matter what. No. No matter what. Because we’re the good guys. Yes. And we’re carrying the fire. And we’re carrying the fire. Yes. Okay” (129).
At the end of the story, just before he dies, the man talks to the boy. The boy says, “I want to be with you. You cant. Please. You cant. You have to carry the fire. I don’t know how to. Yest 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… (279).
Later, as the man is dying: “The boy sat by the fire wrapped in a blanket watching him. Drip of water. A fading light. Old dreams encroached upon the waking world. The dripping was in the cave. The light was a candle which the boy bore in a rigstick of beaten copper. The wax spattered on the stones. Tracks of unknown creatures in the mortified loess. In that cold corridor they had reached the point of no return which was measured from the first solely by the light they carried with them” (280).
Finally, when the boy meets the man who takes him in, he asks, “How do I know you’re one of the good guys?” You don’t. You’ll have to take a shot. Are you carrying the fire? Am I what? Carrying the fire. You’re kind of weirded out, aren’t you? No. Just a little. Yeah. That’s okay. So are you? What carrying the fire? Yes. Yeah. We are” (285).
Write a paragraph with a substantive TOPIC SENTENCE to answer the following two questions. Be sure to refer to the myth of Prometheus in your response.
· What do you think McCarthy expects the reader to think as the boy equates being “the good guys” with “carrying the fire”?
· What are some of the contradictions to this idea? Does McCarthy resolve them?
In a world with seemingly no hope , no structure and no civility it becomes apparent that someone needs to preserve mans once good name. McCarthy expects the reader to be able to piece together that being "the good guy" and "carrying the fire" simply means that the boy needs to live and continue to be civil.Throughout the story the man does things in a more humane way then most other people. He does this in efforts to get to boy to see that humans weren't always savages.
ReplyDeleteCarrying the fire, passing the torch, keeping the warmth all mean the same thing; hope will go on. In The Road, Mccarthy expects the reader to be able to connect that the it is the job of the good guys to carry the fire which means that they have to keep hope alive. And it seems that Mccarthy wants you to equate the good guys with people who are not cannibals and do not steal from other people or do things to harm them unnecessarily. While this is generally true throughout the book, there are a few times when the man does not fit the the description of a good guy perfectly. For instance when he takes everthing that the man who stole their cart owns from him. In the eyes of the boy, this is not a good guy. But Mccarthy doesn't directly resolve it, however the reader can imply the man was only doing it because he stole from them frist and left them to die and he was doing the same as well the man was pretty much on his death bed.
ReplyDeleteWhen thrown into a world with no hope there are different ways people can react. Some people end up as cannibals but those who carry the fire keep hope alive and keep everything good and decent alive as well. There are “good guys” who care about others and there are “bad guys” who will do whatever it takes to serve themselves. The good guys carry the fire and they preserve hope and goodness. Although the man and his son don’t do everything perfect, they are still just and know that mankind has great potential to be great people and do great things.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy expects the reader to connect "being the good guys" with "carrying the fire;" however, some would say that in some cases, the Father was not being "the good guy" and therefore not "carrying the fire." The boy connects these two statements and becomes under the impression that they are the good guys and they are the ones carrying the fire. McCarthy inserts a contradiction that he never fully resolves: when the Father takes the clothes off of a man who stole all they own. The boy say this relatively harmless act and then doubted that they were the good guys. If they weren't the good guys, then they were never carrying the fire.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy expects the reader to believe that the good guys carry the fire, or continue to go on and live in a world filled with darkness and hopelessness. The boy connects being "the good guys" and "carrying the fire" in that they continue to go one in their goal of reaching an inhabitable area without going to extremes such as eating people. The contradictions to this idea is that they stole food from the uninhabited bunker, but the boy thanked the people even though they were not there. Also when they saw the man in the basement of the cannibals house, the boy understood they could not save them.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy focuses on the idea of "carrying the fire", consistently throughout the novel. The boy needs reassurance that they are the good guys as encouragement to "carry the fire" for his father. The boy surviving and maintaining his good morals can keep his father alive in a way. I believe that this is what McCarthy wants the reader to understand.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy expects the reader to think as the boy equates being “the good guys” with “carrying the fire” that the boy trust the man being the good guy and both will carried the fire to protect themselves if anything happen. The father let his son know that they are the good guys and have to carry the fire. They have to carry the fire finding the good guys and keep going until they made their goal. McCarthy doesn’t resolve the contradictions of this idea is that they felt a little guilty when they took food from the people that they left in there. But they also needed food to survive and keep going on this adventure.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy expects the reader to infer that “the good guys” who “carry the fire” are actually the remaining people who bring hope. Although there are some contradictions to this theory, such as the fire contributing to the destruction of humanity and nature, McCarthy is able to refute them. During the man’s last moments of life, he speaks to his son and says that the fire resides inside him; specifying what “fire” McCarthy is referring to in the phrase “carrying the fire” (279).
ReplyDeleteIn a hopeless world with no light at at the end the tunnel, the people searching for good can be confused with the bad guys. In McCarthy's story, he associates "carrying the fire" with being good. In connection with the myth of Prometheus, the author seems to connect the idea of keeping the fire with empathy. The same way that Prometheus helped the human race by creating a way for them to be able to eat the meat that they are offering to Gods, the boy in the novel feels bad for the old man that they encounter and convinces his father to also "carry the fire" by making him give the man food. When the boy meets the man after his father dies, and asks him, are you carrying the fire, he is really asking if they are good people that have empathy and limitations that still make them civil, such as not eating humans.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy wanted readers to think of the fire as hope and light. The hope that there might someday be a brighter day is in the boy. The boy carries the fire because he hasn't given up like his mother did. The fire could also be seen as a light that guides people out of the darkness. With out the help of each other and the dependency of the fire there would truly no hope. Even promethias was freed after carrying the fire through his punishment. It does not make sense when good people who carry the fire have to do questionable things like kill others even if it is for there own safety.
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ReplyDeleteMcarthy wanted the reader to connect carrying the fire to carrying hope. Much like Prometheus gives the humans a way to survive McCarthy portrays the boy as a beacon of hope, and that maybe he can help reshape the world. All the man wants is for the boy to live because if the boy lives there is still hope
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel McCarthy leaves the fire as a vague subject, a visual that the reader is supposed to figure out for themselves. The fire represents numerous ideas, frequently suggesting that it is the strength inside of the characters that keeps them going and not give up. They are "the good guys" because they do not take the easy way out and feed off of others like the rest of their kind continues to do. They also try their hardest in difficult times and find ways to overcome obstacles instead of giving up like they so easily could have. This idea could be contradicted because during the novel the man steals food and clothing from different houses, or purposefully neglects to help other people who are on the road, but justifies this by doing everything he can to help his son and staying strong for him.
ReplyDeleteMcCarthy uses carrying the fire as a connections to keeping hope and faith.In the world where they live the earth is covered with ash, fires burn on the ridges; and everybody fends for themselves, except for the man and boy who keep "carrying the fire" and still have hope.
ReplyDeleteMcarthy portrays the boy as a modern day Prometheus because the boy carries the fire just like prometheus did. the light that the boy carried represented being the good guys just as prometheus carrying the fire represents hope for man kind.
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