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McCarthy ends the story with the image of trout in mountain streams before the end of the world:
"In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery" (287).
Write a paragraph with a substantive topic sentence in which you answer, in detail, the following questions:
· Do you think this book has a hopeful ending? Why or why not?
· What does it suggest about what lies ahead? After such events, could things be "put back again"? Could the world be "made right"?
· Does it provide closure?
Support your thinking with evidence from the story (at least two specific examples)
At the end of The Road by Cormac Mccarthy, the reader is left with a sense of hope, that the boy will go on to live with other "good guys" and even possibly prosper, but is this the sense that the reader should have? We can infer that the boy will be safe with the new man and his travel companions but this is not really a hopeful ending. It provides temporary hope because we know the boy won't live on his own and starve to death or be eaten by child molesting cannibals, but we do know they will all eventually die. The man himself has said, "the world is dying". And resources are running out and heavily scares. So if the boy doesn't die soon from the cold conditions we can assume that he will starve to death or that after weeks without food the new travelers will eat him since he's the newest and weakest link. And this also leads to the belief that nothing can be "put back again" or "made right" in this post apocalyptic world since humans very existence on it is diminishing the supplies they need to survive. Through out the story the man and the boy always are looking for supplies that were around before the apocalypse which suggest that no one knows how to survive on just the things that are the result of the disaster. They have to way to eat after all the old food cans and dried fruit runs out which suggest the eventual extinction of the human race. The ending of this book provided little closure since the reader is left with unanswered questions like, are these new people really the good guys? The book would have had more closure if the boy and his father had died together or if the book went on to explain even just a week into the boys new life.
ReplyDeleteI think The Road provides no closure in it’s hopeful ending because things can be “put back again” and made right. Even though the boy’s Father dies near the end, McCarthy makes the reader think that there is hope. The Father told the boy to keep carrying the fire, and because the boy found a respectful family to live with, the fire is still burning inside him. This provides hope for civilization because if the boy, sometimes referred to as a sign of God, is still living, then McCarthy suggests that the world will become a better place. Throughout The Road, the boy was shown as some sort of religious symbol of hope; because he lives on past the ending, McCarthy wants the reader to believe that there is optimism for the world.
ReplyDeleteThe Road provides minimal closure because the reader is left to their own devices to reason with unanswered questions McCarthy leaves. What really lies on the Coast? Will the family die just as his Father did? Clues are given to the reader earlier in the book to show that there is hope for society, but insignificant closure exists because of all the opened questions. The reader has little clues to answer very big questions. This might be frustrating, but in some ways it is favorable because the reader can decide how the book ends. I think the boy brings light into an otherwise dark void, and humanity is slowly but surely restored.
Response to Hayley-
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said- McCarthy does hint at a hopeful ending while providing little closure in The Road. I think the boy is in good hands and will continue to carry the fire
in the final pages of the book McCarthy does not really add any hope to the situation. The man is dead and the boy has gone off to live with a new family with two children. so Unless this new group of five people has some never ending supply of food and water they'll be dead pretty soon after the book ends. The man and the boy have a hard time surviving due to the lack of resources so its not very likely that this family will prosper and re create a world where people can live freely. As for closure, i think it was pretty easy to tell how the story will end. The reader knows that they will all die from starvation its really just a matter of time.
ReplyDeletei dont really agree with either of the previous posts, i think the book has a really negative ending but thats just my opinion
ReplyDeleteIn The Road, Cormac McCarthy expresses an unhopeful ending without closure. After enduring years of fatigue and starvation, the boy awakens in the morning to “his father […] cold and stiff” (281). The death of the fatherly figure takes all hope from the young boy although he finds another group of people. The group, consisting of about three or more people plus the young boy, plans to continue their travels along the beaten road. With all the people included in their journey and a small amount of food and water left, the chance of living for any longer is slim. To further the argument, the land’s current condition is desecrated; giving the possibility of finding fertile soil is very unlikely. In addition, if the starvation and dehydration does not kill them, the fatigue and diseases will. Without proper equipment to get fresh, clean water heightens to risks of acquiring a possible life threatening disease. Considering the worlds condition, it can “[n]ot be made right again” because there are no resources available to sustain life and civilization (287). Nevertheless, as a result of McCarthy’s ambiguity, one cannot be completely sure of the boy and the family’s survival. To make the story clearer, it would’ve been best if he had the father and son die together or around the same time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eddy, any positive connotations seem to be non-existent.
ReplyDeleteThe end of the book suggests a hopeful feeling for the reader because the boy is given the chance to continue “carrying the fire”. The reader is lead to believe that the boy will survive with the new family which takes him in. As seen in the book there are a small number of survivors but there are survivors nonetheless, I feel that society will eventually be restored. I feel that even in the boy’s lifetime there may be a restored sense of society as there once was. Even if the boy never lived to see that world, it is possible that his children/grandchildren would. Although there is no true direct sense of closure I feel that the reader is encouraged to believe that the boy will be able to live with this family and indeed prosper as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hayley because she touched upon the fact that there is a glimmer of hope, and although the book may not show much closure, you can still feel hopeful for the boy. The writer gave no true sense of closure thruoghout the novel so therefore I think it is irrelevant to whether or not we can be hopeful for the boy.
ReplyDeleteIn the Road by Cormac McCarthy the book has a somewhat hopeful ending however the world is still a hopeless place. The boys situation is not changed when he goes with the new man. He still is on the road, except he is with different people. The boy will still have no hopes or dreams, and is still in the same situation as before. the world will stay as it is because in the past when civilizations fall, they don't have a second chance at success. For example when the Roman Empire fell, it did not have a second chance and their is no Roman Empire today. This applies to The Road in that civilization can not go forward after its fall. The ending does not provide closure to the story because nothing major happened in the story. For example the man and the boy go on the road looking for as much food as possible. The man dies and the boy is left without him for days, until he is found by another man and is "rescued". however he will be in the same situation as before.
ReplyDeleteI agree with eddy, the plot and the boys situation doesn't seem any different than what was before the man died.
ReplyDeleteIn Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road, the ending appears to show a glimpse of hope in an otherwise hopeless world. After the man succumbs to illness, the boy is alone, his life hanging on the edge. He is discovered by a new man who takes the boy under his wing. The reader may initially think that the boy will "carry the fire" onwards, yet they come to terms with the reality of his situation. Not much has changed. More people have been added into the picture, but that's about it. There is scarcely any agriculture; water is contaminated as well. Cannibals roam searching for any means to stay alive. The unspecified event has set society backwards, and rebuilding the past will not work out. When all is said and done, there is no closure in this novel. The boy and the plot aren’t has not changed from what it was before.
ReplyDeleteI think that the novel The Road by McCarthy has a hopeful ending because when the father died, he told his son that he will have to find the good guys and take care of himself and the fire. He also told his son that he is the best guy; he can talk and hear him. The father demonstrates that he will take care of his son and he gave him security to keep going and find the good guys. Talking about what lies ahead, it suggest that the boy will be alright with the “good guy” that he found him and they will be keep going until the end. After the events the things cannot be “put back again” and the world count be “made right” because they already passed but you can try to do better and do your best. The ending of the book provide closure but made the reader think what would happen to the boy and if he will find the “good guys.” I would change the ending of the novel The Road that the father stays alive, the boy continue living his life and they find the good guys. I like when the father told the boy “You have my whole heart. You always did. You’re the best guy. You always were” (279). This made felt the boy with more security hearing the words of his father and think about that he has an unfinished life.When the man found the boy the boy asked the man: “How do I know you’re one of the good guys?” and the man said: “You don’t. You’ll have to take a shot” (283). This made the boy felt that he have to do his own decisions but he have to be secure of himself to made the right choice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel because it can "not be made right again” because there are no resources available to sustain life and civilization.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the novel, The Road, the story ends with the boy who meets a man and a women with two children, who supposedly wishes to help him and invites the boy to travel with them. McCarthy includes this ending to show the reader that there is hope for the boy to live, even after death had taken the life of his father and he is left with no directions and no instructions showing him where to go and what he should do next. The older couple taking the boy in shows the reader that there can be a somewhat happy ending and the boy will not be lost for the rest of his life. The ending suggests that there is a place in the world for the boy and that life can go on for him, but it does not seem apparent that the world will be reconstructed, as human life is very limited and coming close to extinction. The author gives some hope that the boy will live by meeting people who give him guidance and a place in society, but is very vague on what will happen next. Because there are still "bad guys" in the world, it seems that it will never go back to the way it was, and the few that are still alive will always have to look over their shoulders. The story, however, does not provide closure, as there is no justice for the boy's father's death, or for the death of millions of others in whats left of the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel in the sense that there is no closure at the ending of the novel. There seems to be no hope for the world, and no signs that the world will ever be constructed into what it used to be. Even though the boy meets another family who can take care of him, the author does not include any information that can lead the reader to believe they will survive with nothing left.
When one knows they only have so long to live and are slowly dyeing they have no hope. The father’s death in its self diminishes the boys hope. Somehow the boy gets rescued by this other family, but this is not as hopeful as it sounds. The new family is going to have just or more trouble surviving in the apocalyptic world. They would have to find more then twice the food the boy and the man had to, and look how the man turned out. No one is going to protect or share the same love for the boy as the father did so he will have to be able to defend himself. Starvation lies ahead of the boy and his new family. Worse then that they have to watch out for the dangerous cannibals. They always have to live in fear and never have a moment of rest. It would be very hard for the boy to see life as normal because his dad played such a key role in the boys life. The boy will always feel that emptiness where his father use to be.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with eddy, the boys life is just as bad or even worse now. He has no father that can really look out for him because this new father has to look out for 2 more children and will not be able to divote as much attention to the boy.
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ReplyDeleteresponse to John Hellman-
ReplyDeletei agree because the fire give the boy hope in the end
In response to Eddy- I basically said the same thing as you expect that there was a bit of TEMPORARY hope but other wise the book had a bleak ending because obviously the longevity of their lives is non existent because food is running out so I don't see why you disagree with my post.
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