The Road Journals #2

Pages 94-118 Questions: Does the man say "the soul is quick"(114) because he wants the boy's soul to go to heaven or because he does not want him to suffer?
Is hissed used in "For the love of God will you come on, he hissed"(111) to show that there is actually no love of God left?
Contrast: The man changes from not caring about himself much: "In a pocket of his knapsack he'd found a last half packet of cocoa and he fixed it for the boy and then poured his own cup with hot water"(34) to listening to the boy to and valuing himself more:"He wrapped one of the coats around the boy and then he sat on the trap in the snow and wrapped his own feet"(100).
Parallel: The man realizes that suicide is a rational solution if they are in danger: "If they find you you are going to have to do it.. you just put it in your mouth and point it up"(113) which is taking the advice of his wife: "I'd take him with me if it weren't for you. You know I would. It's the right thing to do"(56).

Pages 119-135 Questions: Does the man believe he looks like an alien(129) because he cannot understand how he has changed or because he is in a different world which he does not know?
Is McCarthy suggesting on page 131 that we view memories incorrectly because we make them better than they actually were?
Parallel: The man is sacrificing warmth for comfort: "He was wrapped in one of the gray blankets and he would have been hard to see but not impossible'(105) similar to: "He dumped them in a pile at the door of the barn and sat there and wrapped up his numb feet"(121).
Contrast: The boy usually asks questions:"What if there's someone here, Papa"(106), but the man starts asking questions:"Was that true? There could be a cow somewhere being fed and cared for"(120). This illustrated how the man does not have all the answers and does not completely understand the world.

Pages 136-160 Questions: What does the man fear "was gone that could not be put right again"(136) in the boy?
Does the quote:"The man thought he had probably not fully committed himself to any of this"(141) suggest that boy cannot understand a world where he has everything he needs?
Parallel: "With his great staring eyes he'd the look of an alien"(129) is similar to "he understood for the first time that to the boy he was an alien. A being from a planet that no longer existed"(153). This illustrates that the man believes he is an alien to the boy because he is from a world unknown to him.
Contrast: "What happened to your flute? I threw it away"(159) contrasts when the boy received the flute and was very happy. This highlights how the boy and this new world have no appreciation for music.

Pages 161-184 Questions: Does "Tomorrow wasn't getting ready for them. It didn't even know they were there"(168) suggest that humans cannot change their fate no matter what they do?
Does the boy act in self-interest by giving the man food because he believes that he will be rewarded by God for his generosity?
Parallel: "Nobody here but death and his days will be numbered too"(173) is similar to the woman believing death was her new lover:"He can give me what you cannot"(57). This parallel illustrates how death has replaced god and death will eventually cease to exist because everyone will have died.
Contrast: " The alien sun commencing in its cold transit"(178) contrasts when the man feels like an alien: "With his great staring eyes he'd the look of an alien(129). This contrast highlights how before the man just felt like he was the alien in a different world and how now he feels normal in an alien world.