“What is all this stuff, Papa?
It's food. Can you read it?
Pears. That says pears.
Yes. Yes it does. Oh yes it does.“
- The Road, page 139
We often go about our lives without thinking much what we have because many of those things are around us all the time. The comfortable clothes we wear, the internet used to converse with people all over the world, the different foods we eat, and more.
Our do now today was to think about what we would like as our “last meal”, or at least the last one that we know of. The class had a variety of responses: from sushi and fast food to nutritious meals. Surprisingly, nobody mentioned home cooked meals, something Ms. Peterson also thought was peculiar. Home cooked meals, although we sometimes admit is bland, represent a part of what we grew up with. The nostalgia of the way it’s cooked, spiced, and prepared brings back memories.
The father and son from The Road faced a similar situation on a daily basis, only that they were already beyond their “last meal” and could no longer pick what they eat. Even being able to find food was difficult, they resorted to rationing whatever they could find.
One day, they came across a bunker on their travel. Upon opening the bunker, they were greeted by a more-than generous supply of food, water, blankets, silverware, clothes, shoes, and much more. The father said, “[he] found everything. Everything” (McCarthy, 139).
While on the road, the father and son struggled with makeshift shoes that hardly kept them comfortable while walking the long distances. They were skinny from eating very little as well. In a sense, that bunker was really “everything” they would’ve needed or even wanted to the father.
And the boy couldn’t grasp that like his father did.
The father lived longer and spent more time living in a world with those luxuries. After the apocalypse, he hadn’t been able to live the same comfortable lifestyle that he formerly had. The class suggested that he was more grateful for the things that he used to have because of it. Unlike the father, the boy likely lived a good amount of his life in the apocalyptic world, so he never experienced such a different place.
Despite the paradise they found in the bunker, the father and son had to leave soon. They couldn’t stay in one place for too long for many reasons: being spotted, found, or someone potentially returning. Despite the lack of enforced rules, it’s a “rule of the apocalypse”- rules commonly agreed on (such as not trusting everyone) because it makes them more likely to live another day. To put it simply, they had to keep moving on to survive.
Reflection:
From it all, their survival is endearing, but also a reminder that we should cherish what we have. The lesson was structured in a unique way that got me thinking about who and what matters to me, comparing our own emotions to the characters from The Road. These activities revealed the humanity in us and within the father, mother, and son from the book. The tangibility of their extreme struggles with survival, did "enchant" me, as the reader. By learning this, I became more understanding of the world around us and the situations I get placed in. For example, through studying the father's gratefulness of something as subtle as pears, I realized that I often shove aside any hints of being grateful when there's plenty to appreciate in the world we live in. I'll use what I learned to better understand many aspects of life, from being grateful to enjoying life itself. On top of that, the experience of writing this blog helped shape my writing style.
All images are from The Road (2009), a movie directed by John Hillcoat.
- Zuting Chen, Period 1
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