Lauren

When the man thinks about a long time ago when he would help his uncle get firewood on a pristine and calm lake, he thinks about how perfect and peaceful it was. He thinks about this while he is living through a terrible time, seeing dead bodies and trash and cars caked with dust. He says this was the perfect day of his childhood, and that it was the day to shape the days upon. I can relate to this because during periods of hardship, people often think about the past and how good things were then. Sometimes when exams come up for the first semester and the weather is cold, I remember cozy days reading a good book and not having any worries, while I am stressed out studying for exams. Connections like this like what this old man is going through, when he thinks of things that make him happy during moments of “crisis.” I remember walking in the bitter cold on dark, winter nights in Maine, when the silence and cold is almost suffocating. When the man in The Road describes the cold, you can feel the goosebumps crawl down your arms, and this makes me think of the coldest experiences i have ever had where it is difficult to even breathe. ** pg 51-102: Discussion Director: ** 1. Was the woman right when she said it was better to control her own fate and just killer herself, rather than waiting for someone to hurt, kill, and eat her? Was this a selfish act or an act of bravery?
 * Page 1-50: Connection Master **: think about the assigned reading and find 2-3 places which you can specifically relate to. Explain in several sentences what outside connections you can apply to help everyone understand and empathize a bit more. Connect to your previous life experiences, other things you've read, movies or TV shows you've seen.  Make connections to help us understand the situation more vividly.

2. Is it wrong that the man doesn't want to help the child or the old man, or is he being mindful of their own needs and knows they wont be able to help them? Is this selfish or wise?

3. The man tells his son not to look at the horrible, dead and disfigured bodies they encounter because you cannot "un-see" something and as the man says, "you remember what you want to forget and you forget what you want to remember." The boy says once that its ok and that he can look at the bodies, even when the father tries to make him stop to protect him. what does this say about the boy? -Is he still a child, or has he matured quickly in these sorts of ways that makes him more like an adult. -Is the boy part of a new generation of humans that will live on this new, destroyed planet since he is able to watch things like this...

4. When they come upon the slaves in the cellar at the big house, why do they run away and not even attempt to save them? is this another act of self-preservation? Or is the man truly afraid these all sorta go hand in hand....

5.The boy knows that cannibalism is bad, even if you are starving and have no other option. He says that the good guys dont do that. Do you think, even if they opportunity is there and they are on the verge of death, would the man make the boy eat a dead human because his urge to save him was so strong?

Quotes: pg 102-154

"Maybe you should always be on the lookout. If trouble comes when you least expect it then maybe the ting to do is to always expect it." (page 151)

"Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it." (page 130)

"Maybe he understood for the first time that to the boy he was himself an alien. A being from a planet that no longer existed...He could not construct for the child's pleasure the world he'd lost without constructing the loss as well and he thought perhaps the child had known this better than he." (page 154) <-- like he is a different "specie" of human that only knows this new, destructive world, while he is from an endangered species dying out that holds any connection to the world of before.

Vocab Pg 155-something 1. Balustrade (pg 159): any of various symmetrical supports, as furniture legs or spindles, tending to swell toward the bottom or top. 2. Middens (pg 177): A dunghill or refuse heap. 3. Piedmont (page 183): A district lying along or near the foot of a mountain range.

Connection Master The boy is growing up, and there are definite examples of his increasing maturity. He is embarrassed, thinking for himself more and even arguing with his father about what is fair and not fair, like when the man forces the thief to take off his clothes because he stole their things. The man says he didnt kill the thief, but the boy says he really did and is actually angry with his father. these sorts of behaviors show the reader how the boy is growing up, slowly but surely.  When the man told his son to get him the first aid kit after he was shot by an arrow and the boy just sat there, the man yelled at him. This unnecessary action hurt the boy and the man ended up feeling guilty. I'm sure we can all relate to moments like this...maybe yelling at siblings over small things or being the one getting punished in a moment of haste.  Stuff to possibly add for the test: -Did the man/boy make the world a better place? did they carry the fire and light the places where there was no light before? -the point is not to survive, but to live to the fullest you possibly can. the wife did not resign herself to death, she decided that she had done her part to make the world a better place, then gave up basically when she saw she was done in her opinion. -Are you judged for the things you do? Does compassion really matter? Is heaven real? -the "fire" is in everyone, like god is in the boy, god is in everyone? Carry the fire, god, goodness, and you are a good guy <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">