Alina


 * 1) Do you think that McCarthy is successful in his character development in the book so far?
 * 2) What do you think was the hook in this book? At which point did you get hooked?
 * 3) In your opinion do you think that McCarthy had an effective beginning to this novel?
 * 4) Do you think that on page 12 McCarthy made them walk through the city to show the sheer and utter destruction of something that is so symbolic within America? If not then what do you think is the symbolism for showing a destructed city?
 * 5) On page 20 do why do you think McCarthy compares them to farm animals?

Literary Luminary: Find 2-3 quotes that you want to bring up during your group's discussion. You can ask your group questions about the quote or point out why the quote was significant to you.

1. "The small wad of burning paper drew down to a wisp of flame and then dried out leaving a faint pattern for just a moment in the incandescent like the shape of the flower, a molten rose. Then all was dark again."(47) This shows the connections that this man can make to the world that he once knew. He also has the ability to see beauty in the most horrible things. I believe that this comes from living through so many horrible things. What do you think? When I hear this quote I think about the things that we make today that are meant to symbolize something beautiful and yet is crafted out of something that is the opposite.

2. "who is anybody?" (49) I took this quote to mean that they couldn't trust anyone because they no longer trust people and you don't know what they are capable of. What do you think this quote is trying to portray?

3. "We're the walking dead in horror films."(55) I think that this is used to portray how hopeless they really were and how bad it was at the beginning and how it has just gotten worse. This reminds me of when people are really tired and say they are like the walking dead because they are just so exhausted.

5. "Sooner or later they will catch us and they will kill us. They will rape me. They'll rape him. They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you won't face it. You'd rather wait for it to happen." (56) I chose this because I think that it just shows the severity of the situation and what will happen at this time. It reminds me of when someone is freaking out and thinking about all the bad things that could happen and they eventually just work themselves into a frenzy.

Connection Master: Pick two or three places where you can connect it to the real world. 1. on Page 88 where they say "So little promise in that country" it reminds me of the song radioactive. How it seems so hopeless and yet there is some life left. []

2. When the boy repeatedly says that he is scared it makes me think about what parents do to hide the truth from their kids. I make that connection of the desperation of parents to keep their children protected from the things that go on in the world. Also makes me think of this song []

3. On page 93 when he they have the discussion on why the boy has started to stop talking. This makes me think of the current ways in which people deal with things and how that that hasn't really changed. When some people are faced with tough situations or have lived through something tragic they can simply become mute or could become withdrawn as a way to both cope and to try to keep that from happening again.

Discussion Director: 1. Do agree with the fathers statement on page 137? When he says "This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They don't give up"(137). At what point does the not giving up and doing whatever you can to survive go too far?

2. Why do you think that the boy almost always says that he is okay?

3. How did you feel/react when they found the bunker?

4. Do you think that they should have stayed at the bunker longer?

5. What do you think of the boys insistence of thanking the people who left the food in the bunker? What do you think that reveals about the boy and his character?

6. What do you think of the fathers dream that he has where he is visited by creatures of another species? What do you think he was being visited by or what do you imagine they look like? What do you think about the comparison of the boy to some alien species?

7. Do you think that they did the right thing by inviting the old man to eat with them? and what do you think of the old man overall and his moral character. Do you think he is one of the good guys?

8. What do you think the beach will be like? Do you think it will be even remotely like they imagined?

9. What do you think of the boys nightmare? p. 183 is it foreshadowing something?

10. Do you think that there are other good guys?

Vocabulary Miser: 1. p. 188: Bolus- a small rounded mass of a substance, esp. of chewed food at the moment of swallowing. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Watching while they opened up the rocky hillside ground with pick and mattock and brought to light a great bolus of serpents perhaps a hundred in number"(188). 2. p. 190: Jackstraw- <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 1.5;">a thin strip of wood used in playing the game of jackstraws "A blackened jackstraw land"(190). 3. p. 213: disinterred- <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 1.5;">dug up (something that has been buried, esp. a corpse). "Like those disinterred dead from his childhood that had been relocated to accommodate a highway"(213).

Literary Luminary 1. "He wished he could hide it from the boy but the boy was right. What was there to hide?"(236) Do you think that the father has given up on sheltering the boy from all of the bad things are happening? Or do you think that he realizes that no matter what the boy is going to see all of these things no matter what? Could the father be realizing that the boy isn't as innocent as he previously thought?

2. "He thought about his life but there was no life to think about and after a while he walked back"(237). What do you think this quote means now that you have read the end of the book?

3. "How many people do you think are alive?"(242). What does this show you about the boy? Do you think there are a lot of people alive? If so why do you think that they have not banded together to try to create something better?

4. "I will not send you off into the darkness alone"(248). What do you think of this quote? Since it is his promise to kill himself once his son dies why do you think he doesn't want his son to kill himself once he dies?

5. "I'll kill you where you stand"(256). Do you think that the fathers actions are warranted?

6. "I'm Scared, he said. Do you understand? I'm scared"(259) This is the first time that the father admitted to his son that he is scared of what is out there.

7. "But we did kill him"(260). What do you think of the boys guilt? Is it warranted considering the fact that the father would have caused the mans death?

8. "Just take me with you. Please"(279). What do you think of the boys plea for the father to take him with him, which would involve the father killing him or the boy killing himself?

9. "Yeah, he said. I'm one of the good guys"(282). Are you glad that the boy was able to find another man that stuck to the values of the old world and who would accept him as his own within reason?