Reflective Post: The Road (2)

The father and son finally make it to the coast, and there is nothing there. My mind new this would happen, but my heart hoped for some secret society down in the south or that the south would be functioning wonderfully and the father and son would have a happily ever after. I guess I have watched one too many Disney movies. Not every book has a happily ever after, because not every real story does. Anyways, once they reach the coast and the boy swims in the ocean (a moment that any Floridian or anyone who has ever been to the beach with a child can relate to) and he cried. I think he was crying in excitement and disappointment. I wouldn’t want to swim in those conditions, but after all he has gone through it was probably exciting. When they returned to their campsite to see everything gone, my heart sank. I was so incredibly angry. How dare someone steal from them! Do they not know what this father/son duo has gone through? Only later when the son pointed out that the thief was just hungry, did I realize that he did know what they had gone through because he was going through it himself. He just didn’t have anyone to keep him on the straight and narrow path. After that I was a little upset with how the father left the thief but I understand. When the father died, I cried. I cried for the little boy. I can not imagine loosing both of my parents and being so young as well as living in such an evil and vile world. His father told him he had to keep carrying the fire and that it was inside of him. I think that is something everyone who reads this book can learn from. It may be incredibly hard and painful things will happen, but the fire (as Christians) is inside of us and we must continue carrying it even when we don’t feel that its there. It is there and others can see it, just as the father saw it in his son.

Literary Analysis: Apple in The Road

The apple has many symbolic meanings; one of the biggest is that of temptation and original sin. In the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted by the serpent and ate the fruit (which over time has been deemed to be an apple). In the Road, the father finds an apple in an old orchard and immediately eats it. He does this without bringing it to his son, and the act could be considered selfish. Only after he eats it does he find more apples which he brings to the child. So, he shows his humanity by being selfish and sinning with an apple. In baroque art, there are paintings of skeletons with apples; which means that the temptation will lead to death.
This brings me to my next point. The father ends up dying, and he was also the first to eat an apple. Is that a coincidence? He has been coughing up blood throughout the book and blood is red; an apple is traditionally thought of as red (although there are green and yellow).
The apple has American meanings to it as well, such as “The Big Apple”, apple pie, and Johnny Appleseed. By the father finding an apple, it’s almost as if the author is trying to say that they are in America. It could, however, be the author showing what America has become. The father describes the apple as dry and tasteless. The apple is barely even an apple at this point, so what could that be saying about America? America is nothing like what it was, but it is still around, just in a very poor state.
An apple can be a symbol of luxury. Apple/Macintosh is a computer and software company that is very successful, so an apple can be and is representative of that.
Apples are also a symbol of a woman’s breasts. This is because in the Middle Ages, a woman wanted to have breasts like apples. It was what was considered beautiful at that time. Even Sigmund Freud viewed apples (and other fruits) as a symbol of woman’s breasts. In the Road, the father keeps thinking back to his wife and missing her, could the dried up apple be a symbol of her dried up body? The reader knows she is dead so she is no longer like she once was, and neither is the apple, but it is an apple nonetheless.
The apple is also a symbol of fertility since it has seeds inside of it which can spring forth new life under the right conditions. This symbol mainly comes from the Greek myth where Gaea, goddess of the earth, gives Hera an apple as a symbol of fertility when she becomes engaged to Zeus. Also in Greek mythology, Eris threw a golden apple to earth telling Paris to give it to the most beautiful. He ended up giving it to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and she gave him Helen of Troy, which in turn, started the Trojan War.
An apple tends to give the situation an appearance of hope, which is a false hope, and then the entire situation comes crumbling down later on. This is seen in the Garden of Eden, the Trojan War story, and the Road. For a moment, the son and the father have food and nourishment to keep them going, but the father will never finish the journey.


Source: http://www.scootermydaisyheads.com/fine_art/symbol_dictionary/apple.html

Reflective Post: The Road

The world that the father and son are living in scares me; it makes me question whether or not society will eventually come to this. I can not imagine what it would be like walking miles and miles every day, not sure where I am going, with barely anything. As an American, it is very difficult for me to relate to having only what is in a shopping cart and a small knapsack but it makes me feel bad for them. In our society there is a big emphasis on the things you have and people are always striving to get what they don’t have, but in this world finding things like shoes, blankets, tin cans of food, and plastic tarps are matters of life and death. At school alone I have 11 pairs of shoes, at home its much, much more, so to imagine that this father and son are walking around in ripped up, destroyed, and tattered shoes while searching desperately for a new pair to keep their feet covered. I don’t think I own a tarp at all. I can not recall one being at my house at all, so I can not imagine having to rely on one to stay alive. In the book, the father realizes if they get wet from the rain, then they will freeze to death; so the tarp keeps them safe from the rain. Can you imagine a sheet of plastic being the only thing keeping you from death? I can’t. The father is so selfless when it comes to his little boy. They sit in the freezing cold, and the father holds his son’s ice cold feet against his stomach to keep the child warm. When they find the can of Coca Cola, he gives it to his son; and when they are in the woods he gives his son the last of the hot chocolate, but his son insists on sharing it with him. Clearly the son is learning the right things from his father, even if they are living in a dead and decrepit world.

Reflective Post: Peace Like a River

When Jeremiah Land was shot, I was so confused. I thought for sure it was going to be Davy who died. Then I remembered that Jeremiah is the Christ figure in this book, which is clear through the miracles he does. When he and the kids are staying at Roxanna’s and he is wrestling with God, it reminded me of Jesus in Gethsemane. He wrestled with God over what was coming but in the end he submitted because that is what a Son does for his Father. Jeremiah also submitted to the Father. Jeremiah was practically perfect-if not totally perfect. Jesus was the perfect human. Neither of them deserved to die if you really think about it. Jesus was killed due to false claims and bribery. It was God’s will for him to die but he did not deserve to. Jeremiah did not deserve to die especially not at the hands of Jape Waltzer. This would be like the devil himself killing Jesus instead of the Jews/Romans. When Reuben has his “dream” and he and his father are both about to go to heaven, Jeremiah keeps Reuben from going. He loves his son so much that he is willing to give up everything for him. I mean, he just found the love of his life and they have been married for 3 months but he still dies so that is child can live. It makes me really think about the sacrifice Jesus made. He loves us so much that he died for us and we really do not deserve it. In the end it helps me to understand God’s love for us and the gravity of having his Son die to save us, in a new light. This is definitely something I want to keep in mind as the Easter season quickly approaches. It makes me sad to think that His major sacrifice, His GREATEST act of love for His people, is reduced to the Easter bunny and candy. As Christians, we should be deeply grieved by this and not encouraging it. The father died so his son could have life, and the Father sent the Son to die so that we could have everlasting life. What candy or bunny could do something so selfless or loving?