The Road study guide sections 1-5

What frightens the boy about the house?

Empty houses remind the boy that the world is empty and dying.

What does the father do with the phone in the abandoned gas station? Why?

He phones his dad in hope that he'll pick up. He is reminiscing the past.

What are the manʼs main concerns, other than avoiding other people? Why?

He wants to survive one day at a time and to protect his son.

What happened to the man with the knife, after the father and son got away?

He was eaten by the other men

Why does the man allow his son to hope and have fantasies about life in the south?

Hope gives them both hope. The slim idea of hope is the only thing that separated mother's decision to kill herself from father's decision to move on.

"He pulled away his mask in the night..." What kind of mask is he referring to? Suggest reasons why they may travel with these masks.

breathing masks to help them breathe in contaminated air.

How long had it been since the father had spoken with another human being.

since he spoke to his wife right before she killed herself.

Why doesn't the father go back to search for the other boy?

that the boy is not alone, that there is another group of questionable size hiding.

Does the boy believe that they will live? How do you know?

the boy feels the impending doom of death, but he asks his father point blank, and his father tells him they will not die.

When they stop by the orchard, what does the man see that he has seen before? Why is it significant?

"a frieze of human heads, all faced alike, dried and caved with their taut grins and shrunken eyes" there are cannibals near by and there is great danger nearby.

Where are the man and the boy going? Why?

South to survive the winter.

Why is it important for the father that his son keep talking? What is wrong with not talking? Explain what it means about the boyʼs character

Talking kept the boy aware, awake, distracted, and engaged. They needed to keep moving, and bitter cold is known to put one to sleep when exposed too long.

What do they do at the waterfall? Do you think this is a wise or foolish act? Why?

The boy and the man take off their clothes and go for a swim. This wasn't foolish because they weren't putting their lives in danger. They were trying to have fun.

Describe the fatherʼs strategy after he believes they might be followed. Why is this important?

The father kicked snow over the fire and left a maze of tracks to cover their steps. Then they headed in the opposite direction (north) without getting back on the road. They didn't leave tracks for people to follow them.

Describe the argument that the man had had with his wife

The man argued with his wife saying that there must be a salvation or refuge; women said there isn't there is nothing.

Why do they go to the father's childhood home?

The man wants to relive his past and remember his father.

Identify the 'treat' the boy has in the ruins of the market, and why it is significant.

The treat is soda, and it's significant because the boy has never tried soda.

Why do you think the night is so completely dark in the environment of the book?

There are no city lights anymore making the "Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more grey..." The moon and stars seem to be gone or elude them, like God had decided to leave. What we are left with is utter blackness, "a blackness to hurt your ears with listening."

Why do they agree not to kill the dog?

There were very few dogs left, and the dog must've been a pet.

How is the sense of constant danger communicated to the reader?

There's a sense of darkness, dust, and evil following the characters.

What do the boy and the man decide to do when they first see the other man?

They decide to leave him alone; father decides to leave him; the boy wants to help.

How old do you think the boy is? How do you know? Provide examples from the text to suggest his age.

the boy is about 9 or 10 because he is a young child who likes listening to storytelling but he is also old enough to understand the context of the world.

Why is the memory of the boyʼs birth as important to the man as his wifeʼs suicide?

the boy's birth was a resurrection for the man. His wife's suicide killed part of the man inside but his boy's birth is the man's only sense of redemption.

Explain the significance of the wallet, and what the man does with it.

the father empties his wallet, throws it away, then lays his wife's picture on the road and leaves.

Why does the man say that he doesn't trust good dreams?

the good dreams are a "call of languor and death"

What do we learn about the man's past in this section?

the man is connected to nature because he lived in the mountains

How long do you think they survived together after the disaster? Or, how long did the manʼs wife survive before making her final decision? What are the clues in the text?

the mother might have tried to exist for a few months or even a year after the apocalypse for the sake of her child. We can see glimpses of weather patterns through the book

Why didn't the woman say good-bye to her son?

the woman wouldn't have the strength to end her life if she saw her son.

If the bad guys are on the move, why is it not a good sign for the man and the boy?

they are looking for people to eat.

What is the significance of dreams in the novel?

this gives the man stories to tell which give him a form of power and authenticity.

How has the meaning of time changed for the boy and the man?

time is useless now because there is no reason to keep track of time; only night and day.