key events

coming across the man who has been struck by lightening (pp. 50-53)
this pste n the book s the firstmeetinof another human other than themselves and we are shown the way in which they are forced to be extremely cautious of a man who is seemingly incapable of walking without eventually sitting in the road. this caution they take is a demonstration of how the world has become a place where trust is in very short supply and people must be sceptical in order to survive. i think this episode does show though how a certain amount of humanity has survived in the way in which they whisper when they discuss what has happened to the man. this shows how they still see a rudeness in speaking of someone in front of them.
tension does begin to build when we are first aware of the mans presence and we realise that this is a significant point in the story. McCarthy does this by using question marks when the boy asks 'Who is it?' this sudden arising of this type of punctuation seen little in previous parts of the story shows the curiosity of the boy as this question has an answer he is intently intrested in. the response the boy receives of 'who is anybody?is used as a rhetorical question for the reader to question what is identity and what makes you who you are define yourself as someone. also it asks the question as to whether people have lost their identity in this desolate world. i think this questioning of identity is important as it explains the reasoning why the father leaves his wallet behind in the dirt on a road; the last identification of him in the old world, and the leaving of the photo shows how his wife died along with his identity.
the difference in attitude of father and son to the man puts a strain on their relationship. the boy repeatedly asks 'cant we help him papa?' showing his caring nature and the repetition despite the question being answered with a no shows how the boy may be questioning if his father is lying or at least telling a half truth to him, as he does at other points in the novel to protect his son. it also shows how the father has to make tough decisions as there may have been a way to help this man but it would have cost them food and other resources they cannot afford to spare. the repetition of say 'no we cant help him' is not only convincing the boy but also himself as we know he has some medical expertise that could help when he meets the road rat and explains a detailed understanding of the parts of the brain.

- shooting the 'roadrat' (pp. 62-69)
the episode in which the road rat is shot is a powerful part of the story where it is revealed that the father is prepared to kill in order to protect his son. the scence is one of the only hurried and rushed part of the book in which we feel events moving fast and uncontrolable. this is because it is sprung upon then at a point too late to avoid the confrontation. the roadrat is an example of one of the 'bad guys' often refered to during the novel and presents an example of how many people in the world now act, violence, aggression, manipulation and stealing are some of many acts that are considered the norm. the tension that is built through out this conflict is one of the most significant in the book, and it also has a dramatic climax in the finality of the shooting. the long sentence describing the flurry of movement and confusion momentarily before he is shot is used to make the reader that bit tenser as we hurry to know the outcome of the events. The next sentence contrasts remarkably to this one. it simply states 'the man fell back instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead.' the simplicity of this description showing nothing about his emotions is an insight into the practical manner in which he carries out the things that must be done. i think it is surprising how his reaction to killing the road-rat shows no emotion whereas finding the people in the cellar provokes a response of a great magnitude despite the fact there is no death.

- finding the cellar of naked and mutilated people (pp. 112-121)
this is one the two most disturbing and truly disgusting parts of the novel. the horror that the scene brings to the audience is terrifying and i think that McCarthy uses this episode so that it is remembered. this is because it identifies many issues about morality and the nature of evil  in people. we question how we would cope in this world and are we capable of committing such heinous acts; whether it is already a part of who we are that we could be driven to such atrocities and that it is only a lack of circumstance that we haven't been forced into an evil act; and finally whether people are innately good or bad. McCarthy provokes this response not by showing the repulsive nature of cannibalism but by letting the reader see those marked to be eaten and how they are kept like livestock, their humanity stripped away.
when we realise that this is a place of a dire nature the reader is gripped with a sudden fear for the father and son as they go from feeling relatively secure in a seemingly abandoned house, to being in one of the worst possible places they could be, and this is an interesting insight in how perception can change in an instant from feeling safe to a sense of complete panic from danger. this section brings the father and son closer as they see the devastation of the world and unite together for comfort and a reliance on one another more than ever.the repetition by the man of 'i wont leave you' 'i cant leave you' 'i wont ever leave you' shows that he has realised he cannot die or be separated from his son for he wouldn't survive in the world and the harsh cruelties that would be brought upon him would be too great to suffer.       
- the baby on the spit (pp. 210-215)
this is by far the most brutally horrific scene in the novel. the fact that the audience is provided with some small measure of hope when the woman is described as walking with a 'waddling gait' and it is revealed that she is pregnant, makes the episode even more distressing. the initial reaction when the woman is first described is that through all the hardships and all the pain and all the suffering of this tortured world the miracle gift of life remains and the most innocent being is about to enter the world providing a goodness. there is no sanctity of life any more. the hope, the only hope that the novel has provided up to this point is not just taken but we see how people have turned even the most precious gift of life and used it for a meal. the description of 'a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit' is one designed to show the total discontinuation of reality as we know it, in this future. the scene in one so profoundly upsetting that i think it stops empathy with the characters as it becomes impossible to comprehend existence in a world that has been warped and change to a point where it no longer resembles what we know. i think this is a reason that it is used towards then end of the novel as it is the last act which signifies that all once good is now lost because as the story has progressed, it has moved further from what we know until we cannot identify at all with this reality.
- getting to the shore (pp. 227 - 230)
i feel that this episode is somewhat of an anticlimax as that endeavour that has driven then, through the novel, along the road, has no real significance. there is no salvation in the sea, it is condemned to have life exterminated just as the land. i think that McCarthy does this in order to show how aims and goals are needed in order to survive even in they have no logical reasoning behind them, the people are driven by them and it makes the endless wandering bearable as they do not think they are going without purpose. also there will be sense of achievement when they arrive that would not be common in the rest of their lives.
since it has been the main focus of the book so far we question what is next in the plot, where will they go? the characters themselves are brought closer at this point when the boy becomes ill as it shows the fathers devotion to the boy as he cares for him where as it isn't likely anyone else would be helped in the world and more likely that they would be eaten. also i think we begin to see just how close to the end the father is as he struggles to remain awake to care for the boy and his coughing is that bit more prominent. despite the lack of a grand event once they reach the coast i still think that it is a key episode in the novel as there pursuit is finally complete and they can then move on to another aim, showing their cyclical lives.
- the theft of the man and boy's belongings (pp. 270-278)
the theft of their belongings is key as it shows a loss of the man's morality when he leaves the man with nothing. it seems to be an act of hatred of the world, and now that he is nearly gone he wishes to make an impact against it. the sense of hypocrisy when the thief begs for his clothes and ultimately his life provides the reader with a sense of karma and justice and this is important  to show even in this world some justice will occur and you will still suffer for your sins. i think this is a key aspect of humanity and if it didn't exist I think the world would be so much harder to relate to .                
     
Remember to write about 


How the episode impacted on you?
What was the writer doing to evoke this response?
Plot progression (what will happen next?)
Your experience (change of mood? A ligher moment? Increase or release of tension?)
How does this develop character and their relationship?
The techniques employed by McCarthy. Is the language in keeping with the rest of the novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?
Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters or chapter titles?