The Road pages 136-160

Parallel: the son is starting to pick up on new terms and sayings such as "warm at last" (147) and "what are our long term goals" (160). In both so these cases, the father asks the son where he heard the term and the son is never sure. I think this shows how mature and smart the son is without any form of an education. 

Contrats: In all descriptions of the bad guys, they have beards. The father also has a beard until page 152, when he shaves it off. This is just one of the physical apperence differences you see between the good guys and the bad guys.

Questions:

What is the creature the dad talks about on pages 153-154

Why do the son and father abandon the hiden shelter with the food, water and heat lamps and continue their walk in the cold weather? If I were them, I would have stayed in the shelter for as long as possible. 

The Road pages 119-135

Paralell: On pages 129 and 131, they talk about carrying the fire and mending a fire. Both the man and the son talk about the fire. On page 129, the son talks about carrying the fire. I think this relates to both  god and the son. Carrying and keeping in mind god wherever they as well as the life of the son. On page 131, the father talks about mending a fire and then goes into a memory of his wife. Just like keeping god on mind, the father may be mending the memories of his wife. 

Contrast: On page 131, the father is walking through town with his son holding one hand and his revolver in his other hand. I thought that this was an important contrast because you have the thing keeping him alive (son) as well as what could kill him (revolver). In the section before, the fathers thinks about killing his child and now he has the weapon and target in either hand. 

Questions:

How long have they been in a post apocylptoc world if they are still able to smell cows.

Why does the father always leave his son while he searches around? Wouldn't you be nervous that your son can be taken while you are not their? 

The road Pages 94-118

Parallel: On pages 110 and 111, the boy and man have just discovered a basement or crawlspace filled with men and women who were trapped and presumably being eaten by the men and women who live in the house. Starting at the bottom of page 110, when they just discover the people, until the end of the middle paragraph of 111, you see the man reference god six times. 

Contrast: On the top of page 114, you see the man consider killing his son. I thought that this was a very interesting point in the book because his son has talked about dying and being with his mom but the father wouldnt let him and tells him not to think like that. At this point, the father has thoughts rushing through his head asking himself if he should kill his son. He even says "curse god and die" showing that he has given up and seeking gods help for survival.

Questions:

Why is McCarthy always describing the setting? Whenever there is a descriptive setting, it is always the same cold, grey, ash filled desciption as before. 

In the middle paragraph on page 96, it says "He fought back the rage, Usless". What is he fighting back?