Pick out two key scenes that can be used for both cultural context and the theme. Explain what each theme contributes to each criterion.
There are often clear overlaps between the criterion of “cultural context” and “humanity”. This text is set in a setting where almost all traces of humanity have been wiped from existence. It is a culture of inhumane humans, who work towards their own survival only.
Scene 1
The first key scene explains the absence of the child’s mother in the adventures of the father and son. We see that despite the man’s pleading and reasoning he was unable to stop what we assume was his wife from killing herself. After an argument over whether or not she is doing the right thing, she walks out into the night and is never seen or heard from again.
Cultural Context
This scene paints an image of a cruel, heartless world. The world has become so harsh and unbearable that the man’s wife feels that she has no choice other than to kill herself. After much consideration, she comes to the conclusion that it would be better to walk away, leaving her child behind and not even stopping to say goodbye, and kill herself than to attempt to live on in this world. There is evidence throughout the book that suicide is also considered as an option by the man on the numerous occasions that he leaves his son with a gun, ready to kill himself if he should get caught. The man is constantly undecided: If he is dying, should he also kill the boy, or should he let the boy live and leave him to fend for himself, no doubt a much crueller fate.
This scene also shows us that the world is a very dangerous one. The mother of the child does not need a bullet, blade or rope to kill herself. She simply has to walk out into the night unprotected, and she is dead to the world. We do not know what exactly happened to the man’s wife, but it is safe to assume that she met her end either on account of the harsh conditions - cold nights and no supplies - or at the hands of one of the travelling mobs who no doubt would have butchered her body and eaten her flesh. The harsh world has hardened the mind of the man: he is not upset when he thinks of the death of the child’s mother, nor did he show signs of being in any way distressed directly after her death. He dreams about her occasionally, but thinks of the death as completely normal. This is a world without hope, a world of suicide.
Theme
Unable to cope with the harshness of the world, the woman’s mind finally weakened and she made the decision to kill herself. Although leaving her husband and child to cope with her death with no help could be considered an inhumane action, her fear and inability to cope with the disgusting, murderous world that surrounded her was very much human. Many humans look for a means of escape when conditions get too tough for them to handle - a flight instinct, as opposed to fight. Sick of fighting, it is no surprise that the child’s mother took the only way out of an impossible situation.
Knowing that the man would not want to die and leave the boy alone or to let the boy die and live alone himself, the woman walks into the dark world rather than using one of the last two bullets in the pistol. This displays a basic characteristic on the woman’s part of any humane human: compassion. Unwilling to force the man to make any more impossible decisions that is absolutely necessary, she leaves behind the pistol (a swift and easy way out) and chooses what is most likely a much more painful and cruel death. She had no way of knowing what the people on the road would do to her if they found her - torture her, beat her, rape her or simply kill and eat her - but she chose this option in order to make things a little easier for her son and his father.
Scene 2
In the second key scene, the man and the boy come across a house. The house is full of supplies of clothes and has mattresses laid down around the fireplace: It has clearly been inhabited recently by a group of people. When the father and son explore the house, they find a trapdoor. The man decides that they need to look under the trapdoor and see if there is anything they can take to live longer - food or other supplies. However, when he gets the trapdoor open, he discovers a group of naked people trapped and scared and waiting to be eaten.
Cultural context
This is a world where all of the values that previously underpinned society have disappeared. The people who live in the house have so few supplies at their disposal that they have resorted to cannibalism. This shows how far into decline the world has gone, when even if living in a large, strong group, people are unable to find enough food to go around without eating other human beings.
All sense of law and order has been destroyed: a group of people have taken to squatting in somebody’s house, using it as a trap to capture unsuspecting travellers to kill and eat.
Theme
This scene crystallises the fact that the theme of humanity has become completely depraved, as the father and son come upon a house where people lie in wait to trap unsuspecting travellers on the road to use them as food. It is disgusting that humanity has been reduced to praying on each other in this way. In a desperate bid to survive the harsh conditions of the new world, this group of people have abandoned all senses of right and wrong, focusing only on what will benefit themselves and the group as a whole. They have put such thought into the trap that they have even set up a security system.
Unlike the previous key scene showing compassion, this scene highlights the distinct lack of compassion displayed by the vast majority of humanity in the world occupied by the man and his son.
Scene 1
The first key scene explains the absence of the child’s mother in the adventures of the father and son. We see that despite the man’s pleading and reasoning he was unable to stop what we assume was his wife from killing herself. After an argument over whether or not she is doing the right thing, she walks out into the night and is never seen or heard from again.
Cultural Context
This scene paints an image of a cruel, heartless world. The world has become so harsh and unbearable that the man’s wife feels that she has no choice other than to kill herself. After much consideration, she comes to the conclusion that it would be better to walk away, leaving her child behind and not even stopping to say goodbye, and kill herself than to attempt to live on in this world. There is evidence throughout the book that suicide is also considered as an option by the man on the numerous occasions that he leaves his son with a gun, ready to kill himself if he should get caught. The man is constantly undecided: If he is dying, should he also kill the boy, or should he let the boy live and leave him to fend for himself, no doubt a much crueller fate.
This scene also shows us that the world is a very dangerous one. The mother of the child does not need a bullet, blade or rope to kill herself. She simply has to walk out into the night unprotected, and she is dead to the world. We do not know what exactly happened to the man’s wife, but it is safe to assume that she met her end either on account of the harsh conditions - cold nights and no supplies - or at the hands of one of the travelling mobs who no doubt would have butchered her body and eaten her flesh. The harsh world has hardened the mind of the man: he is not upset when he thinks of the death of the child’s mother, nor did he show signs of being in any way distressed directly after her death. He dreams about her occasionally, but thinks of the death as completely normal. This is a world without hope, a world of suicide.
Theme
Unable to cope with the harshness of the world, the woman’s mind finally weakened and she made the decision to kill herself. Although leaving her husband and child to cope with her death with no help could be considered an inhumane action, her fear and inability to cope with the disgusting, murderous world that surrounded her was very much human. Many humans look for a means of escape when conditions get too tough for them to handle - a flight instinct, as opposed to fight. Sick of fighting, it is no surprise that the child’s mother took the only way out of an impossible situation.
Knowing that the man would not want to die and leave the boy alone or to let the boy die and live alone himself, the woman walks into the dark world rather than using one of the last two bullets in the pistol. This displays a basic characteristic on the woman’s part of any humane human: compassion. Unwilling to force the man to make any more impossible decisions that is absolutely necessary, she leaves behind the pistol (a swift and easy way out) and chooses what is most likely a much more painful and cruel death. She had no way of knowing what the people on the road would do to her if they found her - torture her, beat her, rape her or simply kill and eat her - but she chose this option in order to make things a little easier for her son and his father.
Scene 2
In the second key scene, the man and the boy come across a house. The house is full of supplies of clothes and has mattresses laid down around the fireplace: It has clearly been inhabited recently by a group of people. When the father and son explore the house, they find a trapdoor. The man decides that they need to look under the trapdoor and see if there is anything they can take to live longer - food or other supplies. However, when he gets the trapdoor open, he discovers a group of naked people trapped and scared and waiting to be eaten.
Cultural context
This is a world where all of the values that previously underpinned society have disappeared. The people who live in the house have so few supplies at their disposal that they have resorted to cannibalism. This shows how far into decline the world has gone, when even if living in a large, strong group, people are unable to find enough food to go around without eating other human beings.
All sense of law and order has been destroyed: a group of people have taken to squatting in somebody’s house, using it as a trap to capture unsuspecting travellers to kill and eat.
Theme
This scene crystallises the fact that the theme of humanity has become completely depraved, as the father and son come upon a house where people lie in wait to trap unsuspecting travellers on the road to use them as food. It is disgusting that humanity has been reduced to praying on each other in this way. In a desperate bid to survive the harsh conditions of the new world, this group of people have abandoned all senses of right and wrong, focusing only on what will benefit themselves and the group as a whole. They have put such thought into the trap that they have even set up a security system.
Unlike the previous key scene showing compassion, this scene highlights the distinct lack of compassion displayed by the vast majority of humanity in the world occupied by the man and his son.
pick_out_two_key_scenes_that_can_be_used_for_both_cultural_context_and_the_theme.doc | |
File Size: | 31 kb |
File Type: | doc |