Major Works Data Sheet For The Road

Major Works Data Sheet

Your Name: Jialin Jin Title: The Road

Author: Cormac McCarthy How many times on AP test? Once

List four major conflicts (blank vs. blank) in the work and in your own words, provide a brief plot summary of the novel in five sentences or less.

Man and Boy vs. The harsh winter elements in the post-apocalypse US (Man v. Nature)

Man and Boy vs. Other mostly hostile survivors on the road (Man v. Man)

Man’s distrust of humanity vs. Boy’s compassion for humanity (Man v. Man)

Man’s vow to keep Boy alive vs. Man’s desire to spare Boy from suffering (Man v. Self)

Brief Summary: A man and his son struggles to survive in the post-apocalyptic US by scavenging near the roads to battle the cold and hunger while retaining their humanity. As winter approaches, the man and the boy decide to travel down south in hopes of a warmer environment in the East Coast. Although they succeed after enduring through multiple dangers - a hostile gang, cannibals, a thief, disease, starvation, and freezing – they realize the coast was just as barren and wasted as the rest of the country. In the end, the man dies from his worsening cough, while the boy joins another surviving family.

Write three different possible theme statements from the work. Put each in a
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As suggested by the chapter, McCarthy choice was probably deliberate, for his choice of season not only directly propels the protagonists into action through conflict, but also highlights the themes of the story through its associations with “cynicism” and “death.” Indeed, throughout their journey to beat winter, the protagonists faced multiple immoral adversaries that would make one lose faith in humanity. And in the end, the man dies from his worsening cough. Winter in The Road therefore both serves to emphasize the darkness of the post-apocalyptic world and foreshadow the