class 22

1. ELIT 48C CLASS 22
Loath
Versus
Loathe

2. Loathe is a verb meaning to dislike
greatly; to abhor; to feel disgust for.
For example, if you have a mean
instructor, you might say that you loathe
her.
Loath is an adjective meaning unwilling
or reluctant.
For example, you might say that you are
loath to to spend time with your mean
instructor outside of work.
Loathe versus Loath

3. “Poets are the
unacknowledged
legislators of the
world.”
Percy Bysshe
Shelley
CHAIR POET?

4. Last Chair Poet
Discussion:
The Road
The Quarter in
Review
Introduce
Final Exam
AGENDA

5. 1.Discuss the
novel as a
postmodern work
2.Use a critical
lens to start a
discussion
3.Discuss the
American Dream
as it manifests in
The Road
4.QHQ

6. DISCUSS THE NOVEL
AS A POSTMODERN
WORK

7. POSTMODERN ASPECTS
The Road uses unconventional narrative in numerous
forms. The two main characters have no names; they
are referred to simply as “the man” and the “the boy”.
The novel immediately puts the reader into a state of
confusion and distortion (two key aspects of
postmodernism) and continues in that state for the
entirety of its contents. This is due to the narrative
acting as if the reader already knows what has
occurred and is presently occurring in this world.

8. POSTMODERN ASPECTS
Postmodernism rejects the idea that there is any
universal or “grand-narratives”, and instead favors the
concept of “mini-narratives”, “stories that explain small
practices, local events, rather than large-scale
universal or global concepts” (Klages). In McCarthy’s
novel, “The Road”, no great narrative of the end of the
world is given. It is not a story of the destruction of the
entire earth or civilization, but the survival of the
individual.

9. POSTMODERN ASPECTS
Postmodernists accept that today’s world is broken and
irrevocably fragmented. For them, there is no sense in
trying to draw any absolute truths from individual
experiences. Individual experiences vary too heavily within
a world that is dictated by an unpredictable and
unsympathetic entropy that will never follow any purported
truth. The world of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
acknowledges this uncaring, chaotic world through its grey,
apocalyptic setting where the future is as unsure as
morality. […] Ely tells both the man and the boy that “there
is no God and we are his prophets” (170). In true
postmodernist fashion, it is through Ely that the reader
learns that there are only prophets, or interpreters of truth
and order, and that no real truth or order exists.

10. USE A CRITICAL LENS
TO START A
DISCUSSION

11. CRITICAL LENS
In The Road the boy […] is constantly telling [the man] to abide by morals, and
asking if they are “the good guys.” [T]he man cannot entirely please the boy
because he is constantly “thinking under stress” because his “decisions tend to be
based on impulse and an experienced need to self protect” (Bloom 5). This is
evident when the [father tells] the man who stole their belongs […] to “Take [his]
clothes off,” so that he and the boy can have them. Another way that trauma
theory can be applied to the man is through the illness […] that eventually leads to
his death. Obviously the man grows ill from the poor conditions […], but it is also
possible that the poor conditions, combined with the trauma that he experienced,
is what lead to his death: “Stress impacts negatively on the body in a number of
ways, producing short-term and long-term physical consequences” (11). The boy
suffers from trauma, as well, when he is “remembering under stress.” This can be
seen through the nightmares […] that he is hesitant to share with his father:
“When we are overwhelmed with fear, we lose the capacity for speech, we lose the
capacity to put words to our experience […] but the powerful images, feelings, and
memories do not just go away” (5). The boy cannot initially share the dreams with
his father because of the trauma that he has suffered, yet he is still haunted by
the memories that the experiences have left him with.

12. DISCUSS THE
AMERICAN DREAM AS
IT MANIFESTS IN THE
ROAD

13.  There are instances where staying on the road could
mean death and opportunities where the road can be
used to understand their surroundings better or scout
potential enemies. Thus, when it is understood as a
metaphor for the American Dream, the characteristics of
the road paint a much less flattering picture of the
Dream than many would like to embrace. The most
notable is the fact that the road, though theoretically
accessible to all, can only be used to its full advantage
by two types of people: individuals that travel with a
tremendous, intimidating pose and individuals who are
extremely vigilant and resourceful.
THE AMERICAN DREAM

14. Throughout his novel, set in a post-apocalyptic landscape
described as “barren, silent, godless,” Cormac McCarthy
illustrates the perseverance of mankind’s ability to hope
despite a world that seems so hopeless. Despite the struggle for
daily survival and the death of his wife, the father finds hope in
his son. And despite his father’s death, the boy finds hope when
he encounters the potentially other “good guys” at the end of
the novel and asks them, “Are you carrying the fire?”
It seems that this same type of hope is what is the
foundation of the American Dream; that, despite the past, what
lies in the future can be better. […] However, I can also see a
more cynical view of the American Dream in The Road. It can be
argued that the cannibalism, the “bad guys,” and all the threats
posing danger to the man and the boy are a critique of the
“every-man-for-himself” mentality of American capitalism.
THE AMERICAN DREAM

15. QHQS
1. Q: Why does the boy continue to mention that he wished “that
little boy was with us”?
2. What can dreams signify in The Road?
3. Q: What would push the boy to not tell his father about his bad
dreams and what could they possibly represent?
4. Q: Why does the Man urge his son to continue living despite his
wife’s suicide and his own yearning for death?
5. Q: How does being hopeful affect the relationship between the
boy and his father?
6. Q: How has the boy grown or not grown from the beginning of
the novel until the end?

16. QHQS
1. What is the significance of the road as the central/fixed point
of the novel and the characters’ lives?
2. Q: “A creation perfectly evolved to meet its end” (McCarthy 59).
What is the significance of this phrase in relation to the text?
3. Q: Throughout his text, McCarthy emphasizes the concept of
“good” and “bad” guys; however, considering the situation that
this society is in, are any of these people actually good or bad?
Are they just victims of their environment?
4. Q: How does the crisis in this novel shape the characters’
morality and conscience?
5. Q: What does “carry the fire” mean and how is fire used a
symbol throughout?

17. POSTING: SELF-ASSESSMENT
The blogging post points (100) require self-
assessment. Consider three aspects of your
responses:
• First, how many of the posts did you make?
• Second, what was the quality of your response?
• Third, how timely were your submissions?
Write a brief argument justifying your grade.
This is due before the final. Please submit it through
Kaizena using the comment feature.

18. END OF DAYS
Class 23: Thursday,
June 25th: 9:15-
11:15
Final Exam
Revision of essay #1
due before class
begins
Essay #2 due before
class begins

19. FINAL EXAM: 200 POINTS
40 objective questions
10 rules of writing
 7 character identification
 7 fill in the blank
 8 who wrote it?
 7 Passage identification
Name the author (first and last
name and the work
1 Comprehensive Essay
Question: 500-1000 words 100
points

20. MODERNISM/POSTMODERNISM
 In a thesis driven essay, discuss the themes, style,
form, experiments, perspectives, or changes that
define the trajectory of modernism and
postmodernism by engaging three or four of the
texts we have read during the quarter. Make sure
to use a range of works that span the 90+ years we
have covered. Ground your argument in textual
examples and adequate explanation and analysis.

21. CRITICAL THEORY
 In a thesis driven essay, discuss three or four texts
from multiple decades through the lens of one
critical theory (Feminist, Marxist, African American
[minority], or Queer). Ground your argument in
textual examples and adequate explanation and
analysis.

22. NAMES AND NAMING
 Discuss names, naming, and the lack of names
in three or four texts that span the era of
modernism and postmodernism. How does
naming reflect the social condition? How is it
important to our understanding of both the
novel and the historical context relevant to the
texts you have chosen? Ground your argument in
textual examples and adequate explanation and
analysis.

23. THE AMERICAN DREAM
 While the Dream has motivated and enabled many
Americans, it has also veiled the many systemic
limitations and restrictions inherent in “The Dream.”
In a thesis driven essay, using three or four texts that
represent the 90 years that we covered in the class,
explain how the American Dream has both inspired
and disillusioned 20th/21st Century Americans.
Consider immigrants and the poor, the spiritual and
ethical corruption of those trying to achieve The
Dream, the Beats, materialism, and the current status
of The Dream. Ground your argument in textual
examples and adequate explanation and analysis.

24. THE QUARTER IN REVIEW
WHAT DID YOU
LIKE BEST?
WHAT WOULD YOU
CHANGE?
QUESTIONS?
COMMENTS?

25. Next Meeting:
Thursday, June 23
9:15-11:15
Prepare for Final
Exam
Finish Essay 2
Finish revision
HOMEWORK