Road Rat Questions!

• What element of forshadowing is employed in this section and why? (pg 62)

"The boy took his truck from the pack and shaped roads in the ash with a stick" this foreshadows the arrival of the Roadrat, but as reader we may not relate this to an upcoming event as we just see a child playing with his toys, which would appear normal. The foreshadowing of the truck with the Roadrat taints the boys toy truck, becasue we as readers now relate the truck to danger. This takes the innocence of the Boys toy truck away and replaces with negativity. This could show that the boy is having his childhood/innocence taken away from him. The way in which the boy "shaped roads" suggests that he feels lost and is subconsciencly trying to find a direction to go to."He made truck noises" again is an innocent thing for a child to do, yet we now associate that noise with danger as it foreshadows the Roadrats arrival.

• What does the description of the men teach us about them? (Characterisation pg 62-3)

The description of the men can teach us that they are perhaps not the good guys. This is becasue they are described as carrying 'lengths of pipe' and 'clubs' This gives us the impression that they are dangerous and we feel concerned for the safety of the man and the boy. 'They came shuffling through the ash casting their hooded heads from side to side' this creates mystery surrounding them as they appear secretive, like they want to protect thier identity maybe.This could suggest that they have something to hide 'stained and filthy' is written as one sentence, like its not just their clothes that are dirty, but also themselves that have been stained with their misdeeds. 'one in a biohazard suit' 'some of them wearing canister masks' this suggests that there has been some kind of nuclear catastrophe, which has them protecting themselves from the harmful gases and toxic surroundings. But this could also suggest that they are dressed in this way so that the reader can identify that the man are not the good guys and are not to be trusted.

• McCarthy uses a simile when describing the truck 'Lumbering and creaking like a ship'. Why does he do this?

McCarthy uses a simile to describe the truck 'lumbering and creaking like a ship' is a religious reference to Noah's ark. The truck symbolises safety and humanity surviving the 'ravaged landscape' as the Noah's ark brought the animals to saftey saving them from the flood. However the difference between Noah's Ark and the truck is that the boat did make it through the floods and the animals survived, but we cannot be sure of the 'truck' will survive taking humanity through the possible nuclear disaster. The truck 'lumbering and creaking' could portray the long, slow journey of recovery the boat took, so the journey to restore humanity and the Earth will take a lot of time too.

• Why does Mccarthy describe the Road Rat in such detail? (Characterisation pg 65)

McCarthy describes the Road Rat in such detail becasue he wants us too remember this particluar man and event. McCarthy wants to show how bad the situation of humanity has become. 'Eyes collared in cups of Grime and deeply sunk' an image of a monster is created. 'Like an animal inside a skull looking out the eyeholes' this creates a disturbing image becasue it is like the Road Rat had been taken out of his real body and has found a new one, like an animal would do once its shell has become old. This could suggest that by trying to stay safe, the Road Rat has turned to a lifestyle that he doesn't like, but has to do it to survive. By comparing him to an animal McCarthy is degrading him to something that is not as highly regarded as a human. This can suggest that he must be bad and evil to be thought of as an animal. 'He had a tattoo of a bird on his neck' the bird could represent hope and freedom, which could indicate that the Road Rat did once have hope for the world to become better, and maybe still does. "He was lean, wiry and rachitic" this tells us that his physical apperance is down to the lack of food avalaible. "...and a black billcap with the logo of some vanished enterprise embroided acrsoss the front of it" the description of the hat he is wearing, reminds us of the civilization that once took place. It shows that there was structure and normality of life before the destruction took place and the hat momentairly reminds us of this.

• Why is the Road Rats character so explicit whilst the man is so implicit?

The Road Rat is so explicit because he talks in a slang like manner "I anit going nowheres" this language reflects the Road Rats lack of education as he does not talk like the man and the boy. The Road Rat answers most of the questions the man throws at him which suggests that he does not find him threatening and perhaps he feels that he has power over the man so he doesn't try to hide the answers. The man is so implicit towards the Road Rat becasue he does not want him to find out any information about him that could potentailly harm him and his chid. "Are you c doctor?" "I'm not anything" this statement suggests that the man either wants to forget his identity and the past or doesn't want the Road Rat to find out anything about him. It creates mystery surrounding the man becasue as readers we have joined them on their journey in the middle, we do not know anything about the man or the child, so we perhaps like the Road Rat, want to find out more background about them.

• What do we learn about the man through his exchanges with the Road Rat? (Pg 68. Consider the Man's impressive medical knowledge, look at the description of the grabbing of the boy and the shooting of the Road Rat)

We learn that the man has very impressive medial knowledge "A frontal lobe" "Colliculus and temporal gyrus" this suggests that he had job in the medical profession before everythimg took place.This shows that the man could have had a very good job and therefore a comfortable living in the past, so living in terrible conditions is something he has had to cope with as time has gone on. When the man kills the Road Rat his shot is very professional and precise "And leveld the pistol and fired from a two-handed position balanced on both knees at a distance of six feet" this shows that the man must have had some experience with shooting and weapons. This would make the reader question where the man got this ability from as we really don't know much about the past of these two characters. The fact that the man was so prepared and calm when he shot the Road Rat tells us that he is a very controlled character who is ready for the worst situation (as he always carries the pistol around with him).

• "A single round left in the revolver. You will not face the truth. You will not" Who is the man echoing here? How do you believe these words are uttered?

The man is echoing his wife who spoke these words to him. He still remembers shows that they have stuck with him, and he is constantly replaying them in his head becasue he feels that the time will come when he has to kill his son, but deep down he knows he cannot face it. "You will not face the truth" is his wife telling him that he will not face the truth that he will have to kill his son to protect him, but she knows that the man cannot do this so she tourments him by making him feel like a coward. "A single round left in the revolver" shows that he has once chance to do this, to kill his on to protect him but he can't do it because he could not live with the guilt.

• Why don't the other men chase after the boy and the man following the shooting? (there are clues on pg 73-4).

The other man don't chase after the Boy and man after the shooting of the Road Rat becasue they have got their food. "He found bones and the skin piled together" the cannabals are eating the man, so they do not need to use up their limited energy and time to chase after the boy and the man.The bluntness of the fact that the men have eaten a fellow member of there group is shocking becasue it shows the desperation of thier situation, and how they would turn on each other, not becasue they want to, but becasue they have to in order to survive. It is frightening that the world had gone back into the dark ages where cannabalism was normal, but sad that people have to go to these measures to survive.

• It is not until page 77 that the man finally cleans the "gore" and "dead mans brains" from the boys face. Why? (Be aware that in the intervening pages he has kept him warm with blankets, fed him etc yet not cleaned his face)

The man does not clean the boys face because he does not see it as a priority. He see's it as an essential to keep the boy warm and fed rather than cleaning him up. Survival is clearly the main aim of the man, whlist we as readers would sympathise with the boy and clean him. I don't think the man is deliberately being harsh towards the boy, but is simply dealing with the practial side of things such as survival, and then will try to deal with the more emotional aspects of the situation. We as readers would find this shocking and horrible, but its just the way the mans mindset is, cleaning the "Gore" of his sons face is not the first thing that comes to his head, whereas as readers it is the main thing on our mind.