Three Little Pigs.

Three brothers left their home to walk along a road. The woman was not happy.

You're leaving?

We're leaving.

Okay? Okay.

A man was selling a basket of straw, enough to build a house.

The first and the second carried on walking. The last bought them and built himself a house of straw.

Further down the road another man was selling some sticks. The second bought them and built a house.

The last bought some bricks along way down the road and made his own house.

A wolf came to the house of straw.

Let me in.

No.

No? I'll blow it down.

And he did. The wolf ate the pig where he stood. But the wolf was still hungry.

He came to a house of sticks. The second pig closed the door.

Open the door.

I won't.

You won't? I will blow it down.

He did.

Don't eat me. Please.

I can't I'm sorry. I'm hungry.

The wolf still felt empty. He was hungry. He kept going down the road. He saw a house made out of bricks. He knocked on the door.

Let me in.

I won't.

I'll blow it down.

You will?

I will.

But he couldn't. The house wouldn't move. He was so hungry. The wolf climbed onto the roof of the brick house.

The pig put a pot of water on the fire. And he turned the heat up. The fire was large and hot.

The wolf was up on the roof. And then he found the chimney.

I'm coming through here.

Are you?

I am. Okay?

Okay.

The wolf jumped down the chimney and into pot. The pig watched him boil. He gathered up the canned vegetables and added them to the water. He would eat well tonight.

Episode Six 270 - 277

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

You are first aware that something is wrong when the man repeats “oh Christ”. The man rarely uses any words that display any kind of emotion except in moments of great danger or shock (for example in episode three when they discover the bodies in the cellar). So this change immediately alerts you that something is wrong, or there is danger.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

I’m not sure what will happen next, but the man is becoming more cold and cruel to everyone except the boy. You don’t know anything about his character or what he’ll do next. He could easily kill the boy, as he is emotionally distant from everything. All of his hope is gone.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

When you find out the items have been stolen it makes the scene immediately more tense, the way he lists what is missing in short sentences speeds it up and helps make it even more tense. 

How does this develop character and their relationships?

You see a cruel side to the man, before when he has killed it has been out of necessity. You can still justify him as a good guy. But now, he is cruel, he didn’t need to take the clothes off that man it would have been fine just taking back what he took from them. The man told him to take off his clothes knowing full well he would most likely die in a matter of hours. It is getting harder to class him as a good guy.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is the same as the rest of the novel, except from when the other man speaks. He doesn’t speak simplistically like they do, he uses slang.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

You learn that this man is “an outcast from one of the communes” this is the first you hear of other places where humans live. This poses the question, why is the man separated from them? If he knows that there are other people like them out there why is he trying so hard to keep away from them? Is through choice or is he an outcast just like the man who stole their belongings.

Episode Five 227 - 230

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

It is slow and drawn out, long, monotonous sentences drag out time in the narrative but at the same time chronologically the time passes quickly. It just skips ahead days at a time after a long description. The use of the simplistic connective “and” shows how weary they are, they are just listing everything they’ve done. The world and the journey is draining everything away, it just becomes endless. One thing leading in to another, but never changing.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

I am unsure as to what will happen next, the whole of the book the man has been talking about how he’s heading for the coast. Now they’ve arrived it’s a disappointment and the little hope the man has will so fade. I don’t know whether they’ll move on or just stay by the coast.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

This particular episode isn’t very tense is all quite dull, it shows the endlessness of the world and how the only things left to do is just carry on with their menial tasks.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

Time passes very quickly and lot of days pass and you see how the man and the boy are with each other. The man looks out for the boy first and foremost, and the boy tries to help wherever he can.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

There is a part where he described the coast as “Cold. Desolate. Birdless.” This is very similar to the way that he describes the world at the very beginning of the book; he describes it as “Barren, silent, godless.” This shows that despite this is the place they’ve been heading towards for the whole of the book, it is just like the rest of the world. There is no hope here, no more than there is anywhere else. Death has reached here too.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

This shows how much the desolation is growing in their lives and how much hope is dying. This journey was the one thing giving them hope in the man’s case. It was the one place he wanted to reach. It emphasise the hopelessness in the world, no light can shine and everything is going to die and end. Even the little hope they had has withered and died, draining them in the process. It is evident they are without hope now as the man said he could “see the disappointment in his face” they’ve come all this way for nothing.

Episode One 50 - 53

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

I thought this episode was interesting in terms of how the father handled it, the description of the man was graphic and obviously seeing it first-hand would have been very disturbing for the boy. In his innocence all he wants to do is help, try and ease this poor, unknown man’s suffering. He doesn’t even seem that bothered by how he looks; all he wants to do is help. The man denies him this, at first he allows them to follow them, which is strange in itself. Usually the man steers clear of any kind of life, but here he is content to follow him until the boy wants to talk to him. why is it he wants to follow him if not to help him?

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

I think the boy will be upset after this for a while, as the image of the man will stay with him for a long time, as well as the guilt of not being able to help him. Apart from this, I think they will continue as usual.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

The repetition and use of short sentences help to increase the tension when they are following the man, it is tense because you don’t know what’s wrong with him, and you are unsure as to whether or not he is a danger.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

This episode shows that the boy is still compassionate and caring, and he wants to help people that are in trouble. Whereas with the man it shows him as cold and distant, his only thought, and the only person he worries about is the boy. He is the man’s priority. The man wants to distance himself from the rest of world; he tries to shield the boy as much as he can. The way the boy “hung on to his father’s coat” makes him seem younger than he is.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is the same as it is throughout the rest of the blog; it establishes the monotony of their life and of the world. The repetition also shows this. The description of the burnt man gets drawn out and described in detail making it a strong visual image, and it expands the time as this is all seen from a glance. The rest of the time they are walking time is compacted as he says they “followed him a good ways”.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

The fact that someone got struck by lightning shows how destructive this world is, and death surrounds it. You can see how even the world is dying; the weather has turned and is destroying and killing everything in its path. It gives us an insight into the dynamics between the man and the boy, and where their priorities are.

Episode Four 210 - 215

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

This part was disturbing, as it really makes it clear what the people in this world will do for food now. The impersonal, clinical way McCarthy describes the baby makes it all the more disturbing, the only person that has an emotional response to the baby is the boy – who is also the only character that has hope and innocence left. The man is hardened and used to seeing these kind of things, he doesn’t even think the baby deserves a decent burial, he just leaves it there for someone to scavenge.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

It is hard to say what will happen next in the novel, I think we will see the boy becoming more and more aware of what’s happening around him as the man fails to shield him from everything. The boy may seem less innocent because of this, and the hope will become to fade.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

This section brings a new sense of tension because these people seem even more dangerous, and this danger is all around. This is achieved by speeding up the pace and then slowing it down again.

How does this develop character and their relationships?

The boy is seeing more and more of the horrible sights in the world, which the man is unable protect him from. It shows how it is maturing him when the man asks if he wants to “ride in the cart” which is something you’d do with a small child, and even though he asks twice the boy refuses him and wants to walk on his own. He isn’t a small child and doesn’t want to be treated as though he is.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is simplistic in keeping with the rest of the novel; there aren’t any changes to the way they speak. He describes the scene with the baby quite graphically, leaving a lasting image in your mind.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

This part highlights the desperation that has overcome humans, that they are willing to kill and then eat an innocent baby just so they won’t go hungry. It also shows how separated and different the man and the boy are from the rest of humanity, they won’t become cannibals no matter what, they are clinging on to what makes them humans. They won’t become savages like the rest. Death is all around them and it doesn’t even spare the young, no one is safe.

Episode Three 112-121

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

This episode was really focused on the horror aspects of the book, for me, it was one of the scariest parts. The part where they go down to the cellar is lifted almost exactly to from ‘Dawn of the Dead’. It’s this low culture reference that shows the post modernism of the book. As this is based on a horror movie the use of tension is very important. McCarthy is very good at this. As the punctuation is very sparse and simplistic, you can tell that each use is very particular and serves a purpose. The pace speeds up through the use of short, simplistic sentences and builds so you think something is about to happen. When it slows down again, using long sentences, and then nothing happens; he lulls you into a false sense of security, as all good horror films do. It speeds up again which is when the real shock occurs. In this case it is the discovery of the mutilated bodies.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

Next I think we will see the man and the boy trying to get as far away as they can from these people. Also I think the dynamic of the two will change, as the man is starting to realise he can’t shield the boy from everything out there in the world.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

(see first paragraph)

How does this develop character and their relationships?

This episode adds and strengthens the notion that the man’s sole purpose and drive is to protect the child. It also shows that the boy is now more willing than ever to obey his father, now has more of an idea about what evil is out there.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

The language is very similar to the rest of the book in terms vocabulary and style, but when he is describing the cellar is creates a very real visual image that bring the disturbing scene to life.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

I think this episode is important because it shows us a lot about the book in general. When the man and the boy go down into the cellar, which is devoid of all light and discover the people being held there I think it can also be viewed as a microcosm of their world. They are left on this dark, cold world that has no pure light not even the sun. The only light described is the “fire” the man says the boy “carries”. Much like the lighter they bring into the cellar. They are both separated from the rest of humanity (or what humanity has become) they cling onto what makes them humans, whereas most of the world has reverted into this animalistic state. The people they discover in this cellar are behaving just like wild animals, cowering in the bright light and noises. As they hide their faces, they have no identity, it’s one of the main things they’ve lost and it is a main part of what makes them human.

Episode Two 62 - 69

How the episode impacted on you. What was the writer doing to evoke this response?

This episode really shows us how far the man is willing to go to protect him and the child; it reveals how calm he is about death. It changes our perspective of him. Also in the episode we start to see what one of the main dangers are in this story.

Plot progression (what will happen next?)

This new suggestion in the man’s character, and also allusions to his past, show us that they might have more chance of survival than we originally thought because of his willingness to kill for his son. As well as this there is also the possibility of the two of them being hunted down by this “road rats”.

Your experience (change of mood? A lighter moment? Increase or release of tension?)

There has been a constant worry that if anything were to happen to them, in the end, the man would not be able to protect his son. After this episode we know this not to be true, and it reveals a small amount of tension. However, it does raise the issue – what else is he capable of? Is he really as good as he’s perceived to be up until this point?

How does this develop character and their relationships?

When the child is playing with his truck and making “truck noises” it shows his naivety and how sheltered he has been from life. Any other person growing up in a world like this, one filled with death, would have grown up quickly and not really had a chance to be a child as the boy had.

The man’s character develops but at the same time it raises even more questions. For instance the shot he fired that killed the road rat was very precise, it is not the shot of someone who has only just picked up a gun, he has obvious had previous experience. The use of medical language hints to fact he used to be a doctor but he doesn’t specify that he actually is, when the road rat asks this he says “I’m not anything.” Showing how his old life and characteristics have faded away.

Is the language in keeping with rest of novel? Are there particular symbols or images that are foregrounded?

Up until now the man’s language has always been simplistic – almost childlike – and it is easy to assume that he isn’t very clever, but in this episode he used a lot of medical vocabulary and complex language showing that he is in fact very clever.

Is this in fact a key episode? What makes it important? How does it stand out in a novel without chapters?

This is a key episode because it shows us that line between good and bad isn’t as clear as it first seems. The fact that the man kills this unknown human, whether he was email or not, without remorse shows us that maybe he isn’t as pure as we would have like to have believed. This is a very real representation of life, and good and evil, showing us that things aren't as they seem and good people don't always do good things (and vice versa)