C+-+Justin

Pages 1-40 Discussion Questions:

1. What are some ways to describe the relationship so far between the father and his son? Really close bond. 2. How is the beginning of page 11 important to the book? Shows how much they care for each other and how the father cant live without the son. 3. On page 23 the boy first experiences a soda, what does this tell us about his life so far? His life has been isolated from the joys in life. 4. On Page 34 we see a conflict between the father and son, what is it? The conflict is trying to stay equally healthy, because his son wants them both to share the cocoa but the father wanted to give it all to the son and just drink hot water. So its like a conflictive view on how each other should be taken care of. 5. What is one of the most prevalent themes of the book up to this point? Explain. One theme would be compasion- the father and son are so close together, and they both want each other to be happy and are willing to sacrafice everything for each other.

Pages 41-89 Quotes:

1. "Can we help him Papa? No. We can't help him. There's nothing to be done for him." (50) I chose this quote because I think that it shows the difference in compassion between the father and son, because the son still wants to help other people, while the father has to have less compassion in order to look out for their safety. 2. "My heart was ripped out of me the night he was born so don't ask for sorrow now. There is none. Maybe you'll be good at this. I doubt it, but who knows. The one thing I can tell you is that you wont survive for yourself." (57) This was a very important quote for me because it is an excerpt from the boys mother talking to the father, and how she is saying that she didn't want her son to be born into this, and how she would rather kill herself than try to survive as long as possible. 3. "... set off up the old roadway at a dead run, holding the boy's knees, the boy clutching his forehead, covered with gore and mute as a stone." (66) This quote in particular stood out to me because it represents a turning point for the child in terms of him growing up because going through this event with the man and the knife really seems to have traumatized him in the sense that it has shown to him the evil that can be present in people.

Pages 90-135 Vocab:

1. Truncheoned (90) - The club carried by a police officer 2. Beggared (90) - A wretched fellow/Beggar 3. Bedlam (97) - A state of wild uproar 4. Accrue (116) - To happen as a result of growth or addition 5. Palimpsest (127) - Writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased

Pages 136-185 Connections:

When they find the food storage they decide that they can't stay because people will be looking for things like that, which relates to the real world because even though you may want something in the short run you need to really consider what might happen in the long run.

When they helped the old man out with some food it shows that they still have some compassion, which it is similar to today's society because although you may see many people pass a homeless person without giving him anything, you will always see at least one person who is willing to take the time and stop to help them out with some spare change.

When the father regrets not having gotten certain things from the storage area or the supermarket it relates how we today as a people often have regrets, but we have to let them go in order to move forward because the most important time is the present and not the past.

Pages 186-235 Discussion Questions:

1. On page 189 the father is talking about dreams with the boy, what is he trying to tell him 2. Explain the second paragraph on page 196. 3. On page 216 the man and the boy talk about "the fire" and how others may be carrying it too, what do you think about this? 4. The boy has memorized the route that they have been taking, what does this tell us about his state of mind? 5. As the father's sickness is progressing and he has less and less resources, do you think that he is unable to perform his duties to take care of his son?

Pages 236-287 Quotes:

1. "I'll talk to you everyday, he whispered. And I wont forget. No matter what." (286) This was a very influential quote to me because it symbolizes how the boy will remember his father after he dies, and how he will never give up hope. It also sums up the book by giving you a sort of resolution to the father and son relationship. 2. Here they camped and when he lay down he knew that he could go no further and that this was the place that he would die." (277) This was an important quote because it represents an end to the fathers struggles, and although he would go on to protect the boy if he could, this quote symbolizes an end for him where he can finally "relax". 3. "He is coming to steal my eyes. To seal my mouth with dirt." (261) I picked this quote because I did not truly understand it, and therefore I wanted to share it with my group and get their input on it.