Key Episode 2 - The Shooting of the Roadrat

Key Episode 2- The Shooting of the Roadrat

This particular episode is significant as it introduces the key theme of the threat of others to the man and the boy.  Until now, the role of the father has been displayed as being one of responsibility however the man becomes a symbolisation as how vulnerable the boy is as he is the source of his protection.  The roadrat makes the fatal error of touching the boy and holding a knife to his throat in a threatening position, whether his intentions are to kill or kidnap the boy it isn't made certain.

 When this section begins, McCarthy immediately changes the tone, “something woke them” which reinforces that they are never safe and the boy must constantly be protected by the man.  We can connect this to the fact that the man as the “pistol in hand” which is their only form of comfort to hide themselves from the outside world. I think that there is a contrast between the small pistol that that the man holds and the “clubs” that the other people hold which connote that they are primitive and appear more threatening.  The violence between the roadrat and the man provides us with an insight into why the man is s protective over his son and why he is constantly aware of their surroundings.  When there is the interaction between the roadrat and the man, we see an alternative side to the man of being threatening “I told you not to look back there” and when the roadrat steps “between him and the child” perhaps hungry to kill, he has put the man in an ultimate position of fear and threat.  The military style of how the man reacts to the roadrat grabbing his son, “he had already dropped to the ground and he swung with him and leveled the pistol and fired from  a two-handed position balanced on both knees at a distance of six-feet” links to his knowledge when describing the impact the bullet will have, “ you will need a frontal lobe and thing with names like colliculus...” and bring together an image of a man who is willing to do anything to protect this child and lead him away from the destruction.  It may also be interpreted that the man’s actions, through past experience,=are part of an instinct.  

I feel that the relationship between the boy and the man due to this incident becomes even closer as the both discover the extent of their vulnerability within this dangerous world.  The father is revealed to have more of a depth to his character as through his desperation to survive he commits a horrific crime which contradicts how one of his main motives is to maintain his son’s innocence.  Some may question whether the boy actually is a warrant for all of the man’s actions and whether he is one of the “good guys” as he is killing and destroying life. The lack of identity from both the roadrat and the father is similar, “I mean I don’t know” and “I am not anything” displaying the idea that they both have no idea where they are going and the detachment that they hold from the world.  However, the panic that McCarthy portrays within the father’s range of emotions makes it evident that he does everything within his power to escape with the boy as they are “gasping for breath” and suffocating within this air.   Although previously the father took a direct and distant approach, when he repeats “it's all right” and “held the boy close” a more fatherly figure is revealed. There is only one bullet left in the gun, which  i feel personally, creates the impression that the man will not leave the boy alone. He could choose to end his life and end the suffering but the boy is his life and this supports that he is a morally good person.  

Before any tension begins to build, there is a moment of foreshadowing when the boy is playing with his truck ,” he made truck noises” which echoes the moment the father hears the vehicles, “ they could hear the diesel engine”.   To build a foundation of tension, McCarthy describes in detail the “road-rat” and dangerous cannibals which dramatically contrast to the man and the boy.  These, through the boy’s perspective, are the “bad guys” which is displayed through their appearance, “stained and filthy. Slouching along with their clubs in their hands, lengths of pipe. Coughing” The use of full stops could allow the audience to reflect on the vivid imagery of filth and disease.  If further linking this to identify the name “road-rat”, rats are often associated with something plagued, they swarm and cause destruction which could be displayed here within this violent grey world. The use of the word “and” creates a pace and by listing how things are done in a sequence, there is no escape.  The roadrat who attacks the boy represents the decay of humanity, “cups of grime and deeply sunk. Like an animal inside a skull looking out the eyeholes”. As he has no human features, the man describes and treats him as though he has morphed into an animal.  The plot progression from this, would naturally be a paradox to the major incident and would slow down, allowing the reader and the character to reflect on the vulnerability, threat and consequences of the man’s actions.