The Road - Plot Question
Throughout their journey, the father and his son would have dreams as they slept through the night. These dreams would either be described by the author so that you could imagine it in your mind, or they would be brought up in a conversation between the father and his son.
"What
is it?
Nothing. I
had a bad dream.
What did
you dream about?
Nothing.
Are you
okay?
No"
(McCarthy 183).
The author used dreams in order to foreshadow, and also to convey different feelings that the characters have. The main way that McCarthy foreshadows is foreshadowing to the dad’s death. McCarthy has the boy have a nightmare: “What is it? Nothing. I had a bad dream. What did you dream about? Nothing. Are you okay? No. He put his arms around him and held him. It’s okay, he said. I was crying. But you didn’t wake up. I’m sorry. I was just so tired. I meant in the dream” (McCarthy 183). The boy’s dream is foreshadowing to his dad dying, and not waking up when the boy prodded him. Coupled with this dream, and many other pieces of foreshadowing, McCarthy strongly hinted that the dad would be dying. McCarthy also shows the feelings that the characters are feeling through their dreams. When the boy and father were in the bunker, the dad has a nightmare: “He’d been visited in a dream by creatures of a kind he’d never seen before. They did not speak. He thought that they’d been crouching by the side of his cot as he slept and then had skulked away on his awakening” (McCarthy 153). This dream is showing how much stress and fear the dad is feeling. McCarthy chooses to hint at his feelings through his dreams instead of outright saying his feelings because he wants the dad to be able to maintain his tough personality, but still show the reader that he is frightened.
ReplyDeleteThe dreams show us the feelings, memories and weaknesses of the man. I believe that the purpose of including these dreams was to give away background information and possible future incidents. For example, “He slept little and he slept poorly. He dreamt of walking in a flowering wood where birds flew before them he and the child and the sky were aching blue but he was learning how to wake himself from just such siren worlds.” (McCarthy 18). This dream foreshadows a worst condition of the man later (perhaps his death) as he is not sleeping well. Also it shows how the man clearly has joyful feelings. He dreams of walking in a flowering wood where birds are before him and the boy. In real life, we only see how the man loves the boy, but shows no signs of other weakness. Whereas in his dreams, we see that behind a rough man, is a man that wants to reach his safe haven. Like I said before, background information is another thing we receive out of some of these dreams. “In his dream she was sick and he cared for her. The dream bore the look of sacrifice but he thought differently. He did not take care of her and she died alone somewhere in the dark and there is no other dream nor other waking world and there is no other tale to tell” (McCarthy 32). These dreams give the man an escape from reality, in the dream, it is shown that she is sick, and he is lovingly caring for her. But once the man shakes himself of falsehood, we discover that the woman actually died alone in the dark.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to Indira and Jason, McCarthy used dreams to convey different feelings that the characters express throughout their journey. “You have stories inside that I don’t know about. You mean like dreams? Like dreams. Or just things that you think about. Yeah, but stories are supposed to be happy” (McCarthy 167). The boy’s dreams reflect the terror they face in reality. This demonstrates the boy’s outlook on the dying world they continue to survive in. Happiness is rare in such a chaotic world, and feelings of depression and hopelessness are reflected in the boy’s dreams. Indira also had a very fascinating insight on how dreams are used as elements of foreshadow. The author was able to use the boy’s nightmare as an indication that the father’s death would occur in the near future. The quote that Indira used can also reflect the boy’s feelings of the world. The son and his father have suffered through the cold and lack of food, which may have impacted the way the boy feels about their survival. Jason also had a very interesting perception; he believes that dreams are the author’s way of giving background information. “No, I’m speaking the truth. Sooner or later they will catch us and they will kill us… I’ve taken a new lover. He can give me what you cannot. Death is not a lover” (McCarthy 57). The father and his son lack the presence of a mother, and dreams explain what happened to her and why she is not with them. The mother believes that death is better than the cruel reality they live in. Dreams are consistent throughout the book, and they serve as perceptions of reality, background, and foreshadow.
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