What is the Benefit of Standardized Testing?

     Seniors at Science Leadership Academy, Hannah Nicoletti and Zoe Schwingel-Sauer are pressing the issue of standardized testing. They are stressing the frustrations of students that take standardized tests every year and don’t end up with results that accurately reflect their work ethic. As students currently going through the testing and application process Zoe and Hannah feel they are the perfect people to represent the rest of the class of 2016 as well as future generations.

SLA TESTS

The Hipster In The World-A Radio Story.

The_Hipster_In_The_World
This radio work was done with having one goal in mind. That goal was to get people to think differently about hipsters and what they bring to the table. It's focused on how people define the term "Hipster" And offered a different perspective on the topic. I talked to various people in the SLA community, and gave an interesting idea on the whole idea. In the end, I'm proud to debut my piece.

McCarthy Unabridged

Scene

The scene below is what I imagined could have gone into page 174 of The Road by Cormac McCarthy.


The boy looked back at the old man. Slouched down on the ground. Like theyd found him. He was not looking at the boy.

Why did he call himself Eli if thats not his name?

His real name is all he has left. Its why no one else weve met has told us their

name.

I like the way it sounds.

The way what sounds.

Eli.

Eli.

Yes.

Okay.

Does it mean anything?

The name?

Yes. Eli. Or is it just a nice sound?

A long time ago there was someone named Eli. He was pure and good in every

way, but in the end he got in trouble.

He was a good guy?

Yes. He was a good guy.

Then why did he get in trouble?

He didnt discipline his sons enough.

What does that mean?

He didnt punish them enough when they did the wrong thing.

Do you think youre like Eli?

What? How.

Because when I get into trouble or do the wrong thing you dont punish me.

No. I dont think Im like Eli. Im not as pure and good as he was.

But what about me?

What about you.

You dont. . .discipline. . .me.

The boy tested the word, worried to use it incorrectly.

No. I guess not. But the guy who got mad at Eli isnt around anymore.

Who was it?

It doesn’t matter.

The boy couldnt see the old man anymore. The man remembered a time when he might have been stricter with the boy. In his past life. Maybe he should be a stronger parent. The boys curiosity and compassion would kill him when the man was gone. But he couldnt bear it. The boy was the only good in the world and disciplining him would taint that. The boy was the last remainder of the one who got mad at Eli.


Google Doc

McCarthy's Unbridged: Page 27

The passage below is a continuation of what happens on and after page 27 of Cormac McCarthy’s, The Road.


(The Road 27) “We should go, Papa. Can we go?

Yes. We can go.


I’m scared.


I know. I’m sorry.


I’m really scared.


It’s all right. We shouldn’t have come.”


One night later, they trudged along the dark Eastern Mountain, hoping to find somewhere to sleep that covered themselves from the wet cacophony that had suddenly come.


How about here, Papa?


Okay. We will stay here. You hungry?


No.


After the boy had shown no interest in eating, the man devoured half of what they had to eat. As the man ate, the boy made himself a place to lay and began to drift off.


Good night Papa, stay close.


Stayclose?


Yes. StayClose.


Okay, good night.


The boy had fallen into a heavy sleep, though his sleep seemed to be a restless one. The man wondered if the boy was still on edge about visiting his old home.


Trying to sleep, the boy thought of his home, living with both parents. He remembered them bickering and never being content. Every time they would fight, the mother threatened to leave them. The man would beg her to not, but in the end, she did.


Mom don't leave, said the boy in his sleep.


What?


Mom.....mom...


Just then, after hearing his son say the word "Mom", he knew why the boy was acting the way he was. The boy didn't want to lose anyone else. He didn't want the man to leave him like his mother did. The boy told him to stay close before he went into his slumber, he was terrified of the house, and wanted to leave. The boy is always paranoid. The man now understood.



Rationale:


Throughout the whole novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, they boy seemed to be very scared, on edge, and paranoid wherever he and his father went. In the very beginning of the novel, one specific scene stood out to me. This was on page 27, when the boy and the man took a visit to the man’s childhood home. I wanted to make the plot a continuation of the boy’s and the man’s conversation and an explanation of the boy’s feelings.  

For this, I wanted to develop the boy’s character, and why he was always so scared, and attached to the man. I decided on making up the reason the boy feel so terrified at the man’s old house, because of his past experiences at his home when he lived with both his mother and his father. So I added that the boy just didn’t want to loose any one else, and obviously until the end of the novel, the man is all the boy had.

I added another short conversation, and more dialogue to page 27’s writing. I placed my writing here because the man and the boy were just having a conversation about leaving, and they did. So this was the perfect place to expand on the boy’s feelings at the house, and just throughout the novel. Creating a motif was very hard for me. I decided on “I’m scared”, which is what the boy would always say, everywhere they went.

I focused on two themes for my “made up” part of the book, and  I chose the short and to the point conversations the boy and the man always had, and the boy’s paranoid feelings. With these themes, i answered the questions of “Why is the boy always so anxious and very...aware?”, and “Why were all the conversations between the boy and the man so short?”. Basically, I wanted to have the answers to both be, again, the boy is always like this because of the way he was previously living with both the man and his mother before she left. The boy doesn’t want to lose his father like he lost his mom...so he is very cautious and on edge about everything. The conversations between him and his father are keep so short because they both don’t want to “mess things up” I guess you could say. What i’m trying to say here is they just don’t want to say the wrong thing that makes each other mad, or have bad feelings towards each other because they never knew the next time they would see each other. That’s why they were so close.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road; page 172

This piece is something that I envisioned would have been incorporated within McCarthy’s The Road, if it were not excised before the Final edition’s release.


Creative Piece:


The boy approached the old man. The old man looked in rather excited confusion.

Eh? What is it kid?

Nothing, I just realized how poor off you are.

Whatcha mean?

You can’t see, it must stink, it must really stink.

Well, I see what god wants me to see, and hear what I wanna hear.

That’s the wanion mister because you miss seeing all the beautiful things of this world.

Not anymore.

I wish I could help you, but I can only do what the lord’s given me.

And what’s that?

The ability to sympathize, wist care and love.

My god. You are an angel, better yet, I don’t see your wings, so you’re a prophet! Sent from god, divine appointment, to save our desolate world.

The boy felt empowered.  You’re right about the angel part, cause if I were an angel, I’d already heal your blindness.  

I didn’t really believe you’re father when he said you were a god, but in my head, I knew you were some god-like concoction here to save us all.

I believe so, I wanna help as many people as possible. I don’t think it’s fair for people to be hurt. God loves them and so do I.

Kid, you’re the kindest I ever seen, never had anyone feed me or care for my blindness.

The boy rushed his palm on the man’s eye, with feeble-fingered delicacy. Can you see now?

Suppose I can kid, suppose I can. Thank you for your care.



Rationale:


My creative piece will be placed on page 172 of McCarthy’s The Road, and I am choosing this specific part of the book because this is where there is a heavy amount of discussion on the existence of a god, or something of a god. The boy has a habitual tendency to help other individuals, which is a large part of his persona. This is an explicit trait that the boy holds, especially when he is trying to give the man the ability to see in the scene. The boy is desperate and says his reason for wanting to help people is because he loves them and God loves them. As we see in page 163, after the boy and man encounter the Old man, the boy wants nothing but to aid this helpless and needy man. He is a consummate stranger to him, but the boy disregards this, despite warnings from his father to leave him alone. It is as if it's his divine duty to help the man. His bountiful generosity, so much to extend the man’s trust and advocate for him against his father says he has a divine-like love for his fellow man. His father completely dissents against interacting with the man at first, which is a normal human reaction, but the boy doesn’t really have a reaction to the old man that’s normal. It’s much more compassionate, and less hostile, more on the level of being preternatural.

This relates to the theme of faith, which is a primary allusion when discussing the possibility of the boy being a prophet. I chose this specific theme because on page 172, the man believes the boy to be a god, and the old man believes the boy to be an angel. If they didn’t have faith, if they didn’t believe that because the boy is a child in the midst of all this disparity, there would not be any real faith that the boy may be a prophet sent by god to help others. It brings up the essential question of how is a child living, and thriving so adequately in the world of The Road? The answer to that is simply the boy being there is no normal occurrence, he was sent there to help others, as he does with the Old man.


I decided to use two archaic words such as “wist”, and “wanion”. Wist means to know, and wanion means misfortune. I used wist to talk about how the boy has the given ability to sympathize, and know care and love. Wanion was used to say that the old man was missing out on not being able to see.

McCarthy Unabridged

This is a segment McCarthy may have written for his novel The Road, before final editing. This is a segment to be inserted after the alteraction between the man and the boy on page 211.


Creative Piece


Playing baseball or maybe fishing. The man would wheel him to friend’s houses and school events. The man would help the boy with his school work. In the time before the man knew math but now he only knows how to add and subtract cans from the ever lightening load of the cart.

The boy wouldn’t ever have to eat his food out of a can again. The man would cook fresh meals every night and he and the boy would discuss their day over their dinner.

Maybe the boy wouldn’t want to talk. He trusted the man fully now but maybe the boy would be resentful as some children often were. The world lacked normalcy yet the boy was showing signs of the mindset common in children who’ve begun to grow weary of their guardians. The boy would have grown up eventually, the man knew, but growing up isn’t something people did anymore. People were just grown.

The man was tired but if he became too tired, the boy would realize and his independence would grow. The man could not decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Regardless of what awaited upstairs, the man had to go up and take a look. Regardless of the what the boy said, he expected it. And the man needed it.


Rational

A scene like this, a scene where the man reflects on what could have been, never occurs in McCarthy’s The Road. The man seems very in the moment, almost like he’s done all of his thinking in the years before this story takes place. This post apocalyptic world, as we know by the assumed age of the boy, has been around for a good amount of years. It’s very possible the man considered these types of things earlier on. However, I believe that if McCarthy had written a scene like this one, a whole different dimension could have been added onto the man’s character. The man would become an even more complex character, who was struggling with the guilt of the life he was forced to provide for his son opposed to the one he was planning on providing. The man’s character would struggle with his feelings on the boy’s inevitable independence and whether it made him feel worried that the boy no longer needed him or free to succumb to death and the ultimate freedom inherent with it.

The interaction preceding this inserted scene is simple enough, something common in today’s parent and child interactions. The man tells the boy they are doing something and the boy disagrees, protesting that the father never listens to him. To a modern parent, this is normal and probably unnoteworthy. To the man, this interaction meant the boy was passing into a realm the man was unfamiliar with. The boy had never questioned his father before and, if he did, he’d always concede to the father’s correctness. In this situation, the boy is unhappy with the decisions the man is making and calls him out for not taking his own opinions into consideration. The boy is showing signs of wanting to run his own life.

The motifs I used in my creative piece, the mention of cans and the phrase “Take a look”, are there to help the passage flow naturally with the story. I think it’s important to include the frequently occurring motifs in order for the passage to sound like it belongs. The motifs also add to the mood of the passage, creating the same dark and somber feeling present throughout the rest of the novel. The mention of the grey and hollow cans reiterates the coldness of the world the man and boy live in. The phrase “Take a look” adds to the complete uncertainty of the situation.

Overall, I think an inner monologue such as this one would have enhanced the story to some extent. It would add more humanity to the man’s character but it would also take away from the man’s sole purpose of caring for his boy in this world. If the man was reminenscing about the time before and what he could have had, then he’s more likely to lose hope in the situation he’s currently in. In the end, I can understand why something like this would be cut from the story, if McCarthy ever wrote it.

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 207


The following passage is a scene from one of McCarthy's earlier manuscripts of The Road that was originally titled The Path. *SVU Sound effect*


Are you hungry?

I dont know.

I think that you do know.

Papa can I ask something?

Yeah.

Can we sit down and eat?

Sit down?

Yeah sit down?


The man gave the boy a wide-eyed stare. His eyes were piercing into the boys soul. He began to daydream about the old world. He envisioned people laughing, and drinking wine intimately at a table. Suddenly, the room began to shake, the lights blew, and the people once laughing and drinking wine begin to look terrified.


Papa! Papa! Papa!


The man heard the boys call and was mortified. He instantaneously rushed over to the boy and hugged him squeezing him harder than he ever had before. There was a cold draft blowing through the room. The boy looked up at his father and they began to grin at one another. The man picked the boy up and put him on his shoulders. The man scanned the room in hope of finding table settings. Eventually, he spotted a candle surrounding pyroclastic residue. With his eyes locked on the candle the man took the boy off of his shoulders and placed him onto the ground.

I think we may be able to work something out.



The following is an explanation of the choices I made for my creative piece.


When reading Cormac Mccarthy’s ‘The Road’ there was a recurring motif of darkness that was essential to the reader’s vision of the setting, characters, and suchlike. However, that darkness stops in one scene in particular; on page 207 the man and the boy are in a house that they end up having a candlelit dinner in. In this novel, eating and having fire/heat are separate luxuries, but to have the intertwined creates an ultimate one. I found it incredibly ironic that they were on the road, living in obscurity at one moment, and then having a candlelit dinner the next. We associate dinners, (esp. Candlelit one’s) with normality and practical luxury; McCarthy never explains as to how this idea comes about in this text and this left me with a myriad of questions. The goal of my creative piece was to answer those questions.

For this specific scene, I wanted to focus on the theme of humanity. Throughout the text, we see various aspects of humanity. These aspects include Ely, who has lost his faith in humanity, the cannibals who have the smallest sense of humanity imaginable, and the boy who is incredibly humane and moral in all of his thought processes and decision making.

When reading ‘The Road’ you cannot help but constantly reevaluate the circumstances and question where they stem from. A major question that came to mind was “Do extenuating circumstances diminish fragments of our humanity.” We see that the circumstances for some characters have in fact diminished fragments of their humanity but the boy has faith in such humanity, and as a result the father does as well.. While they may be living in the same society they do not have identical circumstances. The boy has never experienced something that is so normal and humane. A candlelit dinner is a faction of humanity he had never known before. His circumstances hindered him from experiencing a fragment of humanity and normality.

I decided to go with the motif of luxuries because they recur rather frequently in the novel. Whether it be fire, food, or candlelit dinners the boy and the man always end up having the luxury of being well nourished, warm, and safe. While this may appear to be practical for us, it is something that most characters have no access to.

For the plot, I wanted a scene with significance that could provide reasoning for having such a dinner occur as well as to provide a gradual shift into the next scene. There is such a stark juxtaposition between the previous scene when they are on the road and the scene of the calm, luxurious candlelit dinner. The man having that daydream is a logical explanation for such, which is why I chose to go with it, (esp. since dreams recur in the novel as well)


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 251

​This is a section of the Road that gives the boy a memory. The parts in bold are that parts I added the parts with out bolding are MacCarthy's writing so that you know exactly how it fits.

He built a fire and propped the boy's wet clothes up and brought him a can of apple juice. Do you remember anything? he said.

About what?

About being sick.

Her voice came in clear as looking through a freshly cleaned window

Is it worth all this struggling? she said

The flaregun was lying on the ground illuminated by the fire that was especially lucent that night, giving the boy a brief sense of hushness. No sooner did the feeling occur to the boy did it vanish like that of an apparition. Arguing once more, He looked up at her. Why not just die now and be in a better place?

Stop it. He said

Why should I?

Because of a certain cognate boy. You’d want to orphan a child in this world?

That doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind. We have but one choice in this world.

And what better place? Is there no better place than with us?

She looked to the flaregun as if it were the answer.

I beg you please don’t.

Ephemeral caliginousness jolted the boy from his thoughts

Moving his hand away from the boy’s eyes the man peered into the boy’s eyes

You feel warm. Why don’t you go to sleep, he said

No.

No.

What’s wrong?

Remember when I wished I was dead.

Yes.

She did too. She was like me.

Don’t say that.


I remember the flaregun

The flaregun

I remember shooting the flaregun.

Do you remember getting the stuff from the boat?

He sat sipping the juice. He looked up. I'm not a retard, he said.

I know.

I had some weird dreams.

What about?

I dont want to tell you.

That's okay. I want you to brush your teeth.

With real toothpaste.

Yes.

Okay.


The placement of this passage on page 251 is because this is the first time in the book that the boy’s body mirrors that of the the father’s. When the boy is sick the reader is informed of the boy’s first dream. The content of that dream is not specified. Keeping it that way is essential to the mystery of the boy, but by giving the boy a memory before the dream he doesn’t want to talk about strips away at some of the mystery for the reader but not for the father.

The characters in this scene bring a new light to the boy. By giving the boy a reason behind the hiding of his dream with this memory of his mother creates a depth to the boy for the reader without taking away the mystery he is to the father.

There is one sentence in the section that plays at the vocabulary that McCarthy has throughout the book. “Ephemeral caliginousness jolted the boy from his thoughts” Caliginousness is used instead of simply darkness and ephemeral is used as a replacement for brief. The more advanced vocabulary here suggests that the reader is no longer in the boy’s head.

The essential question that is prominent here is, how dangerous are memories? Why like the question isn't answered completely it is hinted at that they are very dangerous. Through the ending when the father pulls the boy out of his mind it draws upon the parallel that the boy has been doing for a lot of the book. This also plays at that role reversal that the reader sees shift in the second half of the book.

The memory is very prominent in this section of the story using the motif of dreams in a way that the reader has seen before but only with the father. The carrying of the fire is hinted at with the flaregun being a recurring symbol throughout this section. Themes that were in this section are survival using a clue from another part of the book when the father says that they have had this discussion many times before to the mother. The conversation itself however was never played out in the book therefore this section was created to fulfill that. The overwhelming theme of what is the point comes back into play in this section, as it does whenever the mother is in play.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road Page 286

Creative:

The passage below is what I think was cut from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road while he was writing the book.


The group passed through abandoned cities and towns and looked for things to eat and drink. Everyday the boy would talk to his papa so he didn’t forget about him. He would tell him about the things he was experiencing and the things he was learning. He would tell him about the different animals that he learned. He would tell him that he is still carrying the fire and that they would find the good guys.


After traveling for a while the group reached a submontane. They decided to climb for a while before making camp. The mountain was burned like a fire had happened. The man looked around to find anything they could use. There used to be many animals that would live in these mountains he said. The little girl was startled by something in a dried up stream.


Whats over there?


Its the remains of a deer.


Why is it there?


It must have tried to get away from the fire but got trapped.


The man then went over and searched to see if there was anything there. When he searched it he found that it had rotted down to the bone. He then turned and went back and they continued climbing the mountain.



Rationale:


The piece I have written will be inserted on page 286 right before the part with the trout. I chose this place because it is supposed to lead up to the part with the trout at the end which in the book just happened right after he joined the man with the shotgun. The piece is supposed to show a little of the boy traveling with the man and his family and how he is still talking to his papa. The boy in my piece however doesn’t have much of a conversation with the others that much. However I did have it so that that boy still had his curiosity. I made it like how it was in the beginning of the book where he didn’t talk much unless he was curious about something. The motif was animals since the man was remembering the animals that used to live up in the mountains. Also when the little girl finds the skeleton of a deer that had long been dead and decayed into nothing but bones. The theme I chose was memories. While they are climbing up the mountain I had it so that the part with the trout at the end of the book would be the man remembering what was in the dried up stream. I wanted to keep with the question about what happened to the world. In this book we were guessing what had happened that caused all of this so I wrote this in a sense that you would still be wondering what exactly caused all of this to happen.

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 145

​This passage is what I believe would have been cut from Cormac McCarthy's The Road

Creative Piece

The man wakes up and notices the boy is still asleep. He wakes him up and makes breakfast for him with the food they have just found. While eating, the man wants to see the boy happy and cheerful so the man tells funny stories to the boy and enjoys watching the boy laugh. The man was enjoying this moment knowing what they had been through so far and unsure how much more longer he had to live. It put a smile on his face. But the man heard something. It sounded like a floorboard creaking as if someone was walking up on them. The man quickly turned around and noticed a stranger with a gun pointed at them.


How did you get into the bunker?


Please put the gun down sir.


I ain’t putting nothing down until you explain yourself. Is that your kid over there?


Yes. We were hungry and we happen to stumble upon your bunker.


How much did you take?


Not much.


You're lying. Empty out your bag or I’ll shoot your brains out in front of your kid.


Sir please. We need some to take with us or we will die.


I don’t care! Empty that bag or I’ll shoot your brains out in front of your kid!


Fine. The man began to empty the bag filled with all the food that was taken from the bunker out on to the floor. There was nothing he could do. The pistol was to far away to reach and if he would have reached for it, both him and the boy would be killed. The man told the boy to come close to him.


Now this is what you’re going to do. You and your kid here are going to leave and never come back.


Sir can we please have one or two cans of food? The boy is really…


What the hell did I say! You’re not taking anything with you. And if you come back here and try to take something of mine again, I’ll kill you both.


Rationale

Here is my rationale that explains my decisions on my creative piece


I chose to do this scene when the man and the boy discover the house filled with food and supplies because I thought was kind of too easy in my opinion and there wasn’t a conflict that happened in the scene. I decided to add in a conflict and dialogue between the man and the stranger who owned the house and the food that they were eating. I wanted to make the man sound kind of scared and somewhat obedient to the stranger to show a different side to the man that isn’t shown in the book. In the book, the man is portrayed as a strong person and shows a sign of someone who doesn’t listen to anyone.

Another reason why I chose this scene was because I wanted to change what would happen to the man and the boy on the road when they didn’t have any food and supplies with them. In the book, the man and the boy encounter an old man. After arguing back and forth with the boy, the man decides to give the man some of their food along with inviting him to eat dinner with them. If this scene was in the book, they would probably search the man for food and take any supplies that he had because in the book, you have to take risks to survive. Also, the man and boy get robbed of their stuff by another stranger when the man left in search of supplies on a boat and left the boy in the tent asleep with the things unattended. If my scene was in the book, just like with the old man, the man and boy would search the stranger for things (in the book, he has nothing). They could also bring him along with them as maybe someone to help them search for food and supplies or just to bring along with them.

In the book, McCarthey makes it clear that you have to do anything to survive. Everything you do will either have a good outcome or a bad outcome and nothing will come easy in this world that was created in the book.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 116

The passage below is my own addition to improve The Road before McCarthy rejected it. His loss.


Creative piece:


The man and the boy walked amongst the dead forest with nothing but the gray sky lighting their way. Suddenly they saw a stranger in the middle of the path. He wore a dark dusty suit and a goatee around his face and hobbled on a farmer’s pitchfork. The eyes wanted to escape his skull and in certain light had a maroon color. His skin pale and burnt and like craquelure.


Hello friends.


Who are you? The man responded pointing his gun at him. What's your name?


What isn’t my name? The stranger responded, I have so many. You and your boy seem tired, would you like some bread and food? I have some in my home close by.


He could see the stranger’s long nails. No thanks.


You sure you don’t to even see where I am, kill me and take my food for yourself?


The man was taken aback. Why do you even suggest that?


Because you don’t seem like the man who’d do it, too good, yet anyway. His teeth looked like fangs when they smiled.


C'mon let's go. The man said to the boy as he took him away, keeping the gun on the stranger until he disappeared from sight.


The man and boy got lost in the forest for awhile and needed to retrace their steps. When they returned to the place they met the stranger he was nowhere to be seen, not even a trail of where he would have gone.


My rationale:


That rationale for this project is partially aimed to demonstrate its references the bible. In the Bible there is a passage of when the Devil tempts Jesus in the forest, and this passage is meant to reflect that. “The stranger” is meant to be the Devil and included various elements to what most people think of him as (goatee, pitchfork, suit, burns(to represent hellfire) and reddish eyes) and the boy and man simultaneously represent Jesus (in reference to how later the old man will wonder if the boy is god). Craquelure is a French word used to describe the crack on an oil painting as it ridges with age. Even if people don’t know the immediate definition (like other words Mccarthy uses, fitting into his narrative) it still creates a potential image in the reader's head that will stick with them. Since they have just come from the basement they are still a little shell-shocked from the events that transpired, so are acting out-of-character a bit by not exploring this potential route, especially as the stranger seemed particularly unsettling to them.


One of the larger themes presented in here is what does it mean to be good , and what does it mean to be evil where there is no law or large society to judge? In here it begins to raise that question with the stranger goading the man into a possible action that, while helpful to the man and boy, could be considered evil. And if the stranger gives the suggestion to kill him, does this take place in a part of the story where the man and the boy would be particularly desperate- after they see the basement of the cannibal’s. They would be starving but also pretty little mortally wounded after seeing their fellow man stoop to such low means to survive. They also had to wait to make sure no cannibal’s were chasing after them, so they would be especially tired and hungry from that. With the moral low and their stomach’s empty, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have the stranger try take advantage of them. I don’t think the stranger has any real preference on whether he lives or dies, I think he’s more than a little mentally unhinged and might be trying to play what he would consider a “game” with people and in how they think.

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Pages 58 to 59

The following passage is what I have imagined would be included in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: Collector’s Edition.


The boy resembles her vastly. But his eyes were the man’s. Dark and sullen. When he asks him questions the man is often reminded of her. He gives the same inquisitive expression that could only come from her. The night she left he fell asleep rather quickly, and to the man’s surprise he did not cry. It was the first time the man felt that the boy was starting to outgrow their relationship. He couldn’t help but think about where she went as the boy slept. He knew he would never see her again but could not help but wonder if she was trekking the same bleak road as they were. Walking and surviving. He’d taught her that much at least.

.     .     .

In his dreams he felt her. He was alone and walking toward a stark gray house with its door slung open. The beads of sweat rolled down his temples as he approached. Cautiously. As he stepped past the porch, he knew something was bizarre. Everything in the house was completely untouched. As if everything that happened hit everywhere on Earth except here. Opening the door to the basement he heard her. The wooden steps creaking with every shift as he came closer. She called to him. When he reached the bottom, he turned around anxiously, searching for her. But waiting for him was the boy.



The following is my in depth rationale explaining the reason for any literary choices I may have made for this project.


In my project, I chose to address the mother a bit more and explore some of the effects of her absence. I split my passage into two different scenes. The first being the man’s thoughts about his son after his wife left and the second being a dream he had. I chose to place this between pages 58 and 59 right after the man explains the mystery and silence of the way she left.

My overarching theme centered around personal growth. The essential question I found for this novel was “How has tragedy altered the development of the characters’ strength?” It seems as though every time something bad happens to the father and son, the son matures more and the father weakens. Though some might think the father persevered throughout the story, I think McCarthy shed light on his weakening spirit during the whole story while the son however became gradually less fearful.

On page 58, the mother has just left the father and son and the only thing the boy chose to ask was, “She’s gone isn’t she?” and nothing further. This stood out to me a lot because the boy is often very inquisitive of his father, and for something so monumental and sad in both of their lives, he only posed one question. So I chose to talk about that through the father’s perspective in my passage. I included that the boy did not cry the night she left, another sign of growth in his character. This wasn’t something he feared.

Along the passage, I used small familiar description words or phrases used along the book to best match McCarthy’s style of writing. Some of these include “Dark and sullen”, “the same bleak road”, “He’d taught her that much at least”. I also tried to avoid saying “the man” and “the boy” too often and instead used “he”; McCarthy often purposely uses “he” even though there are two male characters because he assumes readers will know who he is referring to in the story. For my McCarthy-esque vocabulary word, I chose “trekking”. He is a fan of using words that describe something long, vast, or dragging. I felt like the word “trekking” captured that because it describes going on a long arduous journey which is the basis of the entire novel.

The second part of my passage is a dream the man has about his wife the night after she left. He thinks he’s found her and when he reaches his destination there is only his son waiting. This is the reality he now faces, and he is coming to terms with it here. I also made the dream parallel to the scene later where they find the bodies calling for help because this could be something that happened to her when she left.


Identity and Belonging: Advanced Essay #3

A young dark skinned black girl logs into her daily fix of social media. Endless tweets of pictures of brown beauties smother her laptop screen; pictures of black women embracing their radiant melanin, kinky fros, broad noses and thick lips. Their eyes glow with delight as they espouse their confidence of inner and outer beauty. The young girl smiles to herself and finds her insides warm up with happiness with the sights of uplifting comments and compliments towards these women. Comments like “YASSSSSSSS!” and “Black girl magic” and in simpler terms, “Beautiful”; comments that’ll make any girl feel good about herself.


But the young dark-skinned black girl continues to scroll down her screen and the compliments slowly drown into a deep pit of hate and disgust:


“Dark-skinned bitches will never be attractive lol.”

“She’s pretty for a dark skinned girl”

“She’d be better if her skin was  one shade lighter and had a smaller nose.”

“Yeah she’s nice looking, but I’ll never marry a dark girl. She gotta be light so my kids will be pretty”


And the young black girl as well slowly drowns into a deep pit of hate and disgust, but with herself.

A young black girl who momentarily began to break free from the cage of detestation but got the chance to soar, was abruptly struck by the bullet of indignity, killing her self confidence and security.


Unnerved, the dark-skinned black girl slams her laptop screen, while sparkling tears cascade down the curves of her cheeks, dripping onto the sheets of her bed. Tears that hold sorrow, rejecting the love for herself.


That young-dark skinned black girl could be you. That young-dark skinned girl was once me…

Once a dark skinned girl who wasn’t in love with myself. A girl who couldn’t see the beauty in my features. A girl who was constantly reminded by society that she wasn’t attractive nor wanted by the world, yet her entire physique is copied by everyone. A girl who was constantly reminded by her own men that she was no longer needed for love and instead, lusted over her light and white counterparts. A girl who was constantly reminded that her complexion will never go away and that she could do nothing but accept the foundation of her being that she didn’t appreciate.


Growing up, there was always a sense of paranoia attributed with my skin. Countless days worrying if a guy will find me pretty, only to find out that he was only interested in my light skinned friends. This was something that I got used to, as I thought that this was a routine that I would have to accept for the rest of my life, however, I did not want to accept this fate. There were constant thoughts of the perceptions people would have of me because of my complexion. Would they think I’m ghetto? Ugly? Loud? Dumb? Not capable of achieving a higher level in life?


If you look up the word black, more specifically darkness, you find words like, misery, disaster, evil and wicked, anger and etcetera; all words that can be attributed with pessimism, and that is what I felt like. I was a vessel that contained nothing but despair, angst, and negativity but also a void that longed for firm trust in myself and confidence. And I wasn’t the only one.


One day, I had came across a statement by rapper, Andre 3000


                               “Across cultures, darker people suffer the most. Why?”

I took it upon myself to evaluate this quote and apply it to myself. In this case, I fell victim to this declaration. I was the dark person who was suffering in this white washed culture, but why? When I was born, I certainly did not automatically hate myself. But I was conditioned to do so. Subtly, through the media, I was told that my appearance was not wanted. I was told this with the lack of representation of dark black woman in media, and if there was representation, it was minor and/or often did not shine the best light upon us. I was told this through Covergirl and Maybelline commercials, where peach flesh toned models graced the television screen but not one looked like me, hinting that darker woman could not be beautiful.


This world tries its best to make sure we, as dark skinned black people, hate ourselves. When we arrived in this country, from the minute we stepped off that slave ship, whites made sure with there own obligation, that we hated ourselves. We were stripped of our names, language, culture and religion, and forced to adapt to theirs. They told us we were ugly, savage beasts that deserved no life. They plotted dark-skinned and light-skinned slaves against each other so that there could be no unity. We had lost everything we knew about ourselves and with that, we also lost who we were as a people and thus lost our connection and pride. Why did they do this?


Because they know that when we, as a people are one, we unite! We gain too much power in our knowledge of self and beauty. So they did that, to make us weak to this world. And when I finally recognized this corroboration, I made it my duty to diminish any thoughts of hate, and replace them with admiration.


It wasn’t easy. I had to learn to love and at many times, I felt like giving up. But I remembered that one day, I was to bear dark-skinned children into this world, and that possibly, they would face the same problems that I, at the moment had with myself. That was not what I wanted; I want my future children to grow with love for their complexion, but how could I expect them to love themselves, if I couldn’t? So I pushed myself to love myself.


I went on social media and looked at beautiful black woman that resembled me; that adored themselves. Looked through hashtags like “#blackoutday” and”#melaninmondays”, with refreshing pictures of dark woman. I read articles of woman like me, who too, faced similar problems like me. I looked and examined myself in vain, until I appreciated myself in full.


And now I do.

Self love is a long journey; it does not happen overnight. It takes deep thinking to realize where the problem with yourself sprouted from and when you recognize that problem, the rest is just a matter of striving to end what you no longer want.


I love my prominent features of my face; how pronounced they are. I love how my naturals kinks and zig zags of hair defy gravity, winding up towards the sun, as if they are reaching for its light. I love how my melanin absorbs the sun’s rays, mimicking the glow of honey and brown sugar.

I am magic. I am light. I am a goddess, a queen.

I am Jaiye and I am now that dark skinned black girl who loves herself. And you can too.

Identity and Belonging Podcast- Juliana Concepcion

From the moment we were assigned this project I knew that I wanted my Podcast to tell a good story. I wanted it to be engaging, interesting, and maybe even a little humorous to make it even more enjoyable. Instead of having a very structured interview, I had planned for more of a conversation to take place, for my interviewee to tell their stories and experiences with identity and belonging. This was something that I wanted to be proud of, and be able to look back on years from now and still say it wasn’t that bad of a podcast. I was determined to work very hard to achieve these goals, and so my ideas started flowing right away.

The first step I took with the project was finding someone to interview. I wanted someone who I knew would have a lot to say about identity and belonging. It just so happened that my friend and I were talking about how her professor at the time told many interesting stories in her social work practice class, and so I realized that he would be a great person to interview for my podcast on identity and belonging! Once the idea was brought up to the table, it didn’t take long at all for her to set up an interview for me, and so I’m really lucky for that part to have gone well for me. I’m also lucky that the interview went very smoothly, and he gave me a lot of material to work with. The hardest part was editing, as I figured it would be. I had multiple hours worth of footage, though the interview didn’t actually seem that long. GarageBand gave me many problems, but in the end it all worked out and I was able to create a podcast that I can say I am proud of.

Identity and Belonging Podcast


My goal for this podcast was to to try to make something that I was proud of and something that would keep people  interested. I also trying to make something that could show my idea in well enough that even though when there would be times when you listen and seem like the topics did not relate they actually do.


I think what went well during the recording process was trying to get a story out of the person. I thought that the things that the person was telling me was really good as well it was interesting to hear and ask questions about. The stories that my interview as telling me went well with my thesis .and I think I did well connecting moments when It did not seem relevant together because it actually fits together.
Aldo Podcast

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 161

The dialogue piece below is what I came up with and I believe that if Cormac McCarthy was to have an unedited version of The Road that this would be apart of it...


CREATIVE PIECE

They both settle in for the night.

Lay down with me Papa.

You know I’m not always going to be around.

Don’t say that.

It’s the truth.

Okay.

Life isn’t always what it seems to be. Not everyone is who them seem to be.

Okay.

I understand you want to see the good in everyone but you can’t.

But aren’t we good too?

Yes.

So why can’t we believe others are good too.

Because it doesn’t work that way.

Why not?

That’s just life. Things don’t always work the way you want it to.

Are we still good?

Yes, do you not think so?

Sometimes.

Why?

I don’t know.

Okay, I just want you to understand that not everyone is like us.

I know.

You don’t.

I do, but I don’t think people like us should suffer.

Someone’s intentions are not something you can see. You can’t know if someone is good or bad by looks. Say you see someone in danger... do you help them or keep walking?

Help them.

Wrong.

How?

Do you know them?

No.

Okay so how do you know if this person has good intentions.

You just know.

It doesn’t work like that.

Why doesn’t it.

Because that’s not how life works. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

So you would just keep walking?

Yes.

That’s terrible.

That’s life.

Neither of them say another word to each other. They slowly begin to fall asleep.



RATIONALE


Here is my rationale on what I wanted to express through my creative writing piece was that the boy was still clueless and innocent as to what was good and bad in the book. I decided that I was going to add a dialogue piece that would come before the father and son’s encounter with the old man. The old man in this book is someone the father and son had a dispute about. The son’s innocence was shown through this section because of his intentions on wanting to keep someone. He wanted to take someone in without even knowing who they were or what they were capable.

The section of the book I worked on comes right before that scene with the boy offering the old man a can of food. It was also right after the father announces that “it’s getting dark.” This part of the book was perfect because it was night and at night sometimes people have short talks about what’s going on and life. The moment suited well with this conversation I had the father and son undertake. Their conversation basically was the father trying to get the boy to understand that not everyone can be trusted. That he won’t always be around to help him differentiate good from bad.

Something that really sparked my attention while I was reading the book “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy was how the boy struggles to understand that not everyone can be trusted. That things are not always what they appear, especially people. The boy’s true character in the section of the book I chose to focus on perceives him as someone who still has their innocence. The boy believes that there is good in everyone without even second guessing whether or not this person could be a threat.

So in my section for my creative piece I chose to write a creative piece and I feel as though the dialogue discusses the dilemma of the boy not being to identify and differentiate good from bad. The conversation also brings to the boys attention that the father won’t always be around and that he will have to face risks alone one day. All in all I believe that the content flows with the rest of the part of the book.It addresses and brings to the reader's attention the character’s true growth overtime without pushing it too much or over exaggerating it.



McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 86

This passage is the father breaking down what happens when they run out of love.


I’m sorry but there is no way we can take the boy with us you have to believe me.

What makes him any different than me?

Nothing.

You were able to take me

You’re different

How?

Because

You love me

I need you

They walk in silence pacing their steps.

Are you out of love?

No why?

That boy is alone.

We can’t take him. He could kill us.

And I’ll be alone

The man talks to the boy about the possibilities of what will happen if the other little boy goes with them. He quickly explains to the boy what a setup is and how the other boy could be the reason they die.

What if he’s like me?

What if he isn’t?

We don’t know.

Why am I not enough for you?

What’s the other possibility?

We don’t die.

He comes with us.

Then he dies.

Then we die.

The man walks away ashamed of his next thought. Knowing it will cripplekill the boy.

I die

No no I didn’t say that. I wouldn’t let you die.

And you keep going?

Exactly.

I’m not enough for you.

They share a silence and mumble their words as they finally understand each other.

I’m all you’ve got.


This is my rationale explaining what exactly is happening in my creative piece.


For my creative piece I added a forgotten/cut-out text to page 86 right after the boy finishes talking to the man about bring the other boy with them. The man in the book turns down this idea very quickly without explanation. In my creative piece I decided to finally have the man explain his decision to the boy in depth.

My essential question for this was; Is there a certain amount of love each character can give out at once? In my passage I display both of the main character's position on this by inserting things like “Are you out of love?”, to indicate that there is only but so much love you can have. Other things like the man asking the boy “Why am I not enough for you?”. Implying that the boy has so much love for everything it drives the man crazy. I do this so readers can get a better understanding of how much love the man lost when his wife left him, leaving him with only enough love for the boy.

A symbol I chose to use for this passage was, love affects our choices. The man and the boy’s choices differ when it comes to helping people out. The man believes that they should only focus on themselves because he doesn’t have time to love anyone else. The boy never experienced a tragic lost like the man did with his wife so when he sees someone in need he wants to help them. In my creative piece I proved this by writing things like when the man says, “there is no way we can take the boy with us”. I changed the way the boy responds though by having him question the man’s decision while simply asking him “What makes him any different than me?”. The boy realizes that him and the other boy are both alone in a sense. The other boy was physically alone and the boy is emotionally alone. He travels with the man who keeps him company but does not fulfill his emotional needs.

To end my creative piece I talk about the man explaining to the boy what could happen if they bring the other boy with them. If they take him and the man spits up his love for them, he will not stop if the boy dies. He will keep going because he has to take care of the other boy. The boy takes on the man's feelings about being unwanted. Now the boy and the man both have grasped the fact that they only have each other.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 287


The passage below is what I think could be added to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road before the final edition.


So where are we going?

You’ll see.

What is there?

Let’s just say we’re going to the good guys.

The good guys?

Yes, the good guys.

And are they carrying the fire?

Yes, they’re carrying the fire.


They walked through the sand and calculated the sky. The days seemed longer, it was getting warmer and the grey clouds slowly disappeared. They have been walking for a couple of days already, approaching their destination.


The man stepped passed the bank and towards the woods. There in the middle of the woods was an open confined community, surrounded squarely by a 20 foot concrete wall. The boy still wrapped up in the blanket, followed the man to the gate.


Here we are. Welcome to Margin.

What is this place?

This is the home of the survivors.

So no one here eats people?

Nope, we don’t eat people. I told you, we’re the good guys. Everyone here is just like you and me.

Come on follow me, let’s get you settled in.


Infamiliar faces observed the boy as he tailed the man. The pistol was still with him, just like Papa said. He didn’t let anyone take his Pistol. It was the only physical part of Papa, that the boy had. The man brought the boy into a tent.


There’s someone I want you to meet.


There stood a woman with blonde hair. As she made eye contact with the boy she started to cry.


Jonathan?

Mama?

Jonathan ran towards her in tears hugging her in disbelief.



For my creative piece I have decided to add my part to the ending of the book which is on page 287. The boy and the man 2.0 start to build somewhat of a relationship. The man 2.0 is leading and replacing Papa as he continues the journey that the boy Papa started down south. As you see in the dialogue between the boy and the man 2.0. The boy is still very curious and he is continues to asks questions about the “good guys” and “carrying the fire”. The boy wants to have this trust in the man 2.0.

The man 2.0 is taking the boy to a confined community where it is safe. The man 2.0 and the women are sent from this community to find any survivors, also known as the “good guys”. In which they bring them back to this place, so that they can start a new civilization that is against cannibalism.

One major theme in this book is survival, trust and love. The whole point of this book is survival. The man 2.0 and this woman are helping these children. The boy trusted the man as a good guy, he didn’t know what was going to happen to him or what was in store for him. However, he did have hope and he continues to follow the man 2.0 and goes south like Papa had said.

In the book the pistol is mentioned a lot.The boy and Papa run into the “bad guys”. The pistol is the last thing that Papa gave to the boy before he died. Also, that Papa said to never give it to anyone so he will always have it on him. I think that since Papa can no longer protect him, the pistol will.

The boy reunites with his mother in the end. In the book it never mentions what exactly happens to the mom. Most of us assume that she died. I chose to have her alive in this confined community because before she disappeared she did tell Papa to keep going south because that’s where it’s warmer. This is where she ended up being as well. At the end the mother also, calls the boy Jonathan. She reveals that the boy’s name is Jonathan. The Christian meaning behind the name Jonathan means given of god. The boy represents numerous amounts of god like features and traits. When the mother realizes that the boy is her son, she cries because she feels guilty for leaving him and Papa. She is also in shock because she didn’t think she’d see either of them.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, page 60

CREATIVE PIECE

The scene below is what was deleted before the book was published


He traveled through the skies. He had moved forth the dark leaves that scattered on the ground. There was a dog. It came gallop trotting towards with its nostrils fully He had on a mask that covered his identity. The man was in sight, but could not hear his screams. He went through a cave where it was dark and filled with groans from those that were not strong enough to see what God had planned for them.

The boy heard gunshots that skimmed past his ear. He had ended up in a yard, that had crumbled excreta on the grounds. The boy called for his papa and only to see his ashen, thick breathe passed through the air.  

The boy woke up in a daze. The man was laying next to him with the quits pulled around his head. The sky had moved along the with only the pink shades showing.

Papa?

He didn't answer at first.

The man looked up at the boy`s waxen face.

What is it? What` s wrong.

I dreamt something bad about us.

What did you dream. It is not real

The boy faced the road. You were using your pistol, I heard the gun go off. I was scared, the boy said.

It was just a dream, we will be okay, okay?

Okay

He cupped the boy`s forehead in his hand. There was a light silence that echoed off the stiffened trees in the cold. The man looked intensely for any sign of danger on the road, no one was there but the awaken dust that relocated every second.




Rationale

This is an analysis of why I made the decisions for my project


I chose to analyze the motif on dreams, because this was a way to introduce or get the reader prepared for the upcoming scenes. McCarthy shows the reader how dreams could be the gateway to what is going to happen. It takes place where the reader is in the man`s or boy`s dream and has a front seat of what they are about to see or what they already saw.

I wanted to draw attention to this scene because I feel that the dream was a good way to build up to the scene.. I also think that dreams shows how the boy captures lots of  the images and in returns them has dreams that show that. Dreams is a non-direct way to send the reader pointers about what will happen next in the book. You can see inside the character's head, which also build character development. It gives you in this case, how the boy takes what is happening around him and dreams about it.

The scene where the man from the truck comes and finds them, I think needed to be more developed. It wasn't foreshadowed at all. There was no indication that the boy would have been in that type of danger. When adding the scene prior to that happening, I feel the reader is now inclined because they want to read more because of the dream. The dream was basically a startup to what was going to happen in “reality”.

There was a lot of questions to be asked, should as Why are dreams so important? This is what I wanted to make clear and analyze on. Dreams were constantly brought up in the book because it showed how the man and the boy differed in accepting what was happening. When the man dreamt, it usually was involved with people in his past or people that he once loved. This was because the man knew a world before this. When it came to the boy, his dreams were based upon fears that he had or foreshadows that would happen later in the book.

The word that I used that was McCarthy-like was “water-logged” which just meant moist or wet surroundings. This was not used in the book and I think adds a feel to where the character was and basically the whole mood of the dream.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 130

​I believe the passage below was cut because the passage would take away the reader's ability to create their own ideas about the book.  

Passage (Put in the middle of Page 130)

The boy woke up beside his dad, dazed and confused.  

Papa wake up!

Papa!

The boy crawled on the ominous ground.  He slowly got on to his feet.  Walking felt unnatural.  The boy continued in his attempt to walk.  The ground was bumpy.  The higher he got the more control he gained.  The boy looked back at his Papa laying in the ground motionless.  He soon realized that he and his papa did not fall asleep there.  His location was unknown and he started to cry.  As he pressed his face into his hands, he saw the flicker of a light.  Behind him was a stick holding fire.  The boy was fascinated and felt at ease.  The floating fire started to drift away.  

Papa look!

The boy turned around to his papa sleeping or dead.  The fire had gained more distance.  The boy started chasing after it.  He chased after the fire for about a mile before he realized that he had no way to get back.  The fire stopped moving.  There was nothing for miles.  The boy walked very slowly.  When he felt the time was right, he lunged for it hoping to hold the fire.  As his hand got a hold of the stick, his foot got caught by a piece of metal.  The boy ends up passing out, holding the fire.  

Son lets get ready to go.  The dad says to his the boy while he was dreaming.  

Papa look I am holding the fire.


Rationale - 

This passage should be put in the middle of page 130.  On page 130 the boy was asleep and the dad is trying to fall asleep.  Then it would jump into the dream.  The dream slowly builds up into a dream.  The boy lacks control in the dream.  The dream is so vivid it seems real.  My intention for putting this quote on page 130 is actually connected with finding the bunker.  I found it so unrealistic to stop, like they do constantly, because of the boys gut feeling.  So I went back to the most recent time the boy was asleep and created a dream that made it seem as if he was something of a higher power.  My essential questions were “Is the boy Jesus?” and “How did the boy know that was the right place to stop?.  In the dream once he gained control of his emotions he was distracted by a stick with fire.  The boy wants to believe he is holding the fire and therefore I gave him the opportunity to do so.  He followed the fire till he came across the bunker.  The bunker reference is very subtle because when they get there the boy does not know what is actually there.  His mind will remember falling in this very lonely place which will cause him to remember bits and pieces of the dream.  The dream being very vivid and making him follow the fire are all references that he has someone helping him.  I wanted to leave the impression that he was special.  I ended it with the boy tripping and waking up.  Before anyone really wakes up from a dream they still believe they are in it.  In conclusion he ended the dream holding the fire and having a place to go to in order to survive for longer.  As I said in the opening sentence, I believe if this passage was put in the book, there would be no question he was of a higher power and that he knew where the bunker was.  Given those two very big points, they had to remove the passage in order to make this story worth all the rewards it has received.  

Indee Phillpotts-English Podcast

My goals for this project was to interview someone who's ideas and experiences I wanted to hear about, along the lines of identity and belonging. I also wanted to see if I could incorporate music that actually went with the piece in some way, instead of just putting some random music on in the background. In general I wanted everything to tie together well, in a somewhat story like fashion or at least chronologically. Finally, I just wanted to make a project that I was proud of and that I thought sent a good message. Hopefully I achieved that but I am proud of my interview and what I put together, even though I know there are places that need improvements. I wanted to make sure I didn’t procrastinate on this project either because creating a decent podcast is a lot of work.

I found that the easiest part of this project was doing the interview. I thought that it was fun and interesting. The interview felt like an easy conversation so it flowed very well. It was really hard to edit down the 40 minutes to only 8-10. I felt like who I interviewed said a lot of good things and to choose between them was very difficult. I also found it hard to make it sound more like a story rather than an interview. I wanted to make it flow very well too, so that the different topics weren’t choppy, they each connected. I could've done better with time management while doing this project and I know that if I had given more time to it, it could be improved. I’m still proud of my work however, and enjoyed doing the interview for my podcast.


Coco Podcast

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 183

The passage below is what I think could be added to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road before the final edition on page 183 right after a dialogue.


In a murky weather, the man went looking for something to start a fire. All the branches soaked through. Nothing to use. Everything was futile. The man walked through dismaldingy ground that used to be a grassland. He kept searching for a while, but could not find anything. They did not have a lot of time until the sunrise. The man figured they will be fine by the morning. He came back to the shed where the boy was shivering and waiting for him.


Papa. What if you dont wake up?

Just like in your dream?

Yes.

I wont. I will always be here with you.

But what if you dont?

It is my responsibility to take care of you.

Will I find the good guys if you dont wake up someday?

Yes but you will need to be careful.

Why? Because there are bad guys?

Yes.

Who can I trust then?

You will know the good guys when you see them.

Okay. What are we doing here if we dont know if we will survive?

Faith.

Faith?

Yes. God will show us the way of the South.

Im scared.

Why?

I want to go with you wherever you go.

You need to believe me we will be okay.

Okay.

Okay.

I’m still cold. Can we go to sleep Papa?

Yes. Of course.

Okay.

Okay.


Here is the rationale to explain my decisions for the creative scene.

I decided that creative writing of this project will be added right after the dialogue between the boy and the father on page 183. Their dialogue ended when the boy was talking about his dream, where his father did not wake up. I wanted to continue their dialogue where the boy asks him what is the point of going down the road and what will happen to him if the man dies.

I wanted to focus on the boy and how he always asks questions when he is not sure and is scared. He asks a lot of questions about what will happen to him when his father does not wake up and if the good guys will take care of him. Since the scene happens at night, cold weather lets me use the motifs of what the boy says throughout the book for example, “I’m cold” “I’m scared”.  

The themes I picked were: faith, who can you trust?, God and safety vs. risk. Faith and God are important parts of the book that the man values. The man talked to God, which is why I thought it would be good to include God, when he tells the boy that God will show them the way. The theme about ‘who can you trust?’ and ‘safety vs. risk’ had to do with good and bad guys. This is why I had the boy ask his father if he will deal with the bad guys just in case the father will not wake up. Good and bad guys come up in the book all the time and they are also the people who they meet on the road.

The main motifs I included in the dialogue were “I’m scared” and “Okay”. These two motifs are repeated in the book most of the time when the boy and the father talk. “Okay” is usually what the boy says to his father’s answers. One of the essential questions was “What is the point of going down the road?”. The reason why I picked this question was to show what can happen at the end of the book. When the father answered that God will show them the way, the boy knows that place will be a better place comparing to where they were on page 183. I came up with ‘dismaldingy’ vocabulary word to describe where the man was walking to find something to start the fire. I used adjectives that both mean dark and gloomy, just like the road in the book.


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 292

The passage below is what I have imagined was cut from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road before the final edition was released.


Creative Piece:


The boy and his brand new friend went into the yard to play. There was so much dust. Not a typical playground. They got so caught up in having fun that they didn’t even notice how dirty their faces were getting. The boy’s friend hit him and ran away. The boy started to chase him and followed him into the woods. He started to be surrounded by the rancid smell of death but didn’t let that bother him. All he could think about was finding his friend. For a brief moment he even forgot all about the man.




Hello? Where are you?




The boy kept wandering about through the woods. While running he stumbled upon something and ultimately fell on it. He felt the thing. It was a person.




I found you!




The boy didn’t hear an answer. When he took a closer look he realized that the body was a dead body of a stranger. He quickly pushed himself off the body. He started running away from the woods and back towards the house, but he remembered something. His friend was still alone in the woods. He wondered. Is he okay? I can’t just leave him. I have to help him. He could be in trouble. The boy stopped. He thought for a little while. He then turned around and walked back through the woods. He wanted to find his friend.


Written Rationale :



Throughout the book, the boy’s character has been praised very often. Every time a decision had to be made, the boy always seemed to help the man make the right choice or at least present the man with the right choice. They boy seemed to be the smarter, more loving, and most importantly more integre person in the book. He never wanted to hurt anyone nor allow anyone to suffer before his eyes. He would always ask the man to either bring someone with them or feed someone. He would also often ask his dad if they’re the good people. He had to make sure he was doing the right thing at all times. He was like the representation of God on earth, the man’s only reason for living. My creative piece is an addition to the book. It is what I think would happen if the author didn’t end the book the way that he did. It would be inserted on page 292. The boy has always wanted to have a friend his age. When he saw the other little boy, he was so excited that he was willing to run after him. He just wanted to talk to him and have fun like a regular boy. It was pretty clear that he never had an experience like that before and he was dying for that to happen.

 My piece would not be inserted right after the book ended because the boy would need time to become close to his friend and the rest of the group in order for my scene to happen. The adults would need to trust the boy for them to be able to play in the yards unattended in a dangerous world like that. That particular day, the other boy decided wrongly to run into the woods. The boy, as smart as he is, also made the wrong decision and followed his into the woods. He knows better but he wasn’t thinking straight as he is after all just a boy and when boys are playing games they aren’t thinking straight. The boy did not want to leave his friend even after he fell on a dead body. There are several reason one being because he wasn’t as spooked about dead bodies anymore and two being that he was very integre and he wanted the good of everyone around him.

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 78

In a world where I wrote The Road instead of Cormac McCarthy, the following scene would have been included:


The boy played in the creek as the man got the fire started. The red ash joined the grey, making the ashfall denser. This was safe ash, warmth. The boy stumbled out of the water, shivering. The man dried him off with a blanket and put it besides the fire as the boy crawled over.

Papa.

What is it?

It’s time for me to sleep?

Yes, it’s time for you to sleep.

Can you tell me a story first?

I’ll tell you a story first.

Thank you Papa.

What kind of story do you want to hear.

One with colors.

The man sat for a minute and thought. Color wasn’t a concern, not something to think about. The light from the flames dusted a can of peas.

Have I ever told you the story of the green giant?

No.

Alright. The green giant lived in a bright field of yellow corn. The sun glowed orange from the clear, blue sky. One day, as the giant was sleeping, he heard a cry from a tree. Up in the tree, sat a pink cat. “Are you alright?” the giant asked. “No, I’m stuck. Will you help me down?” The giant lifted the cat out of the tree. “There you are friend.” The cat flashed the giant a white smile. The two lived their days out together.

Papa?

Yes.

If we saw someone stuck, would we help them?

I told you a story. Now sleep.

Would we?

No, the man thought.

Goodnight.


Below you will find the thoughts and rationale behind the decisions and concepts that went into the scene.

While reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I was struck by the discussion the man and boy have about stories. The man makes a comment about how he has run out of happy stories. I decided to have my piece depict a scene where the man tells the boy a story. A story, and a happy one at that, is a way for the man to show that he is more than his steely exterior. The boy allows him to show this inner warmth. I focused on showing this in the man’s characterization. This falls in line with a recurrent theme throughout the book, a focus on the bond between this man and his son, how warmth is created in a world of complete emotional coldness. I structured this scene around McCarthy’s use of cold, clear dialogue. This motif of his creates an almost unnerving contrast between the story and the scene itself. I also featured dialogue to show that this is where the boy gets his information, where he learns about the world.

However warm and caring these elements of the scene are, this is still The Road. And the road is a very dark place, where survival is the only true necessity. I used this scene to foreshadow the many moments when the man would be put into a situation that involved fleeing from people in need. The man is, in some ways, a hypocrite. He instills these survival methods and mindsets into the boy through this concept of good vs evil. The story I have the man tell represents the good that he wants the boy to see in the world, but I make sure to show that the man is not actually planning to focus on that. This is supported by my placement of the scene. It occurs shortly before the boy encounters the other little boy in the city, and, even more importantly, the bunker of human meat. These are two events that defy the values that the man is trying to instill in the boy. The Road has us ponder what truly makes someone good.

The scene works on three levels. The innermost level is that of the boy and the story, where the boy is both warmed by the fire and the affection that his father gives him. The middle level has to do with the man’s questionable morality. And the outermost level is that of the McCarthy-en atmosphere. It is dark, a fire is the only source of light, and the pair are surrounded by a constant “ashfall”, an oppressive, warped version of the rain we take for granted. These levels are what, when combined, form The Road.

Identity and Belonging Podcast

English Podcast - 1_29_16, 12.42 AM
My goal for this podcast was to make an engaging and interesting podcast.  I also wanted to make something I would be proud to show off to the world.  Since I had about 35 minutes of raw audio it took a while to edit.  I think all together it took about 2 to 2 and a half hours but it was over a 3 days.  

What went well during this process was the recording part.  The hard part was the editing and trying to figure out which parts needed to stay and what could get cut. I think overall this was a good project.   I learned a lot about the person I interviewed and learned a lot about editing a podcast.