The Road - final evaluation

I finished The Road in two days when I was in Spain with my family this winter vacation. I always read a lot when I am on holidays with my family, and I love that because reading good books is always a pleasure. This book really was a pleasure reading.

I wrote about the book when I had only read a few pages so if you want to know something about the author or the prizes the book has won – just take a look earlier in my blog.

The theme of the novel is the loving relationship between a father and a son. But at the same time I would say that the theme could be about how far people are willing to go to survive. McCarthy often shows the surviving men from their most cruel side. But simultaneously as McCarthy shows people from their very worst side, he also shows them from their very best. The boy and the father are the “good guys” as they call themselves. The “bad guys” are the killers. The theme could be the balance and struggle between good and bad.

The style the book is written in is very poetic. McCarthy uses metaphors and comparisons that force you to stop and think for a minute. What does he really mean by this? This is what separates the novel from all the other books I have read before. He explains things in this graceful and flowing way and makes it impossible for the reader to put the book down. It really is beautifully written. He has also used quite a few difficult words (at least I thought so), but I did not mind because I love a challenge.

What does the book try to tell us? Does it have an agenda other than what I have already mentioned? The question is hard to answer. Ultimately I think that the book is a criticism to people as well as it is a tribute to them.

This picture is from the film – the father and the son are wandering in the god-forsaken country.

After I got home from warm and relaxing Spain I had to see the screen version of the novel. It is the first time that I have seen a film that could even compare itself to the book. The director had incorporated almost every little detail from the book into the film. Magnificent! The only thing that got lost was the poetic descriptions of different things and also the wonderful conversations between the boy and the father. And I had kind of expected that anyway.

My earlier blog post amongst other things said this: My first impression of the book is good and I think I am going to like it. It is strangely written though. There are a few difficult words in this novel but I look them up if I can find a computer. I can conclude that my first impression did not change much as I continued to read. I did like it and I still thought the words were quite difficult.

As mentioned about a hundred times already I thought the book was excellent. I actually thought it was so good that I convinced my father to read it after me. He liked it as well. Definitely a book I would recommend – and the film of course.

Watch the trailer to the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLgszfXTAY

Assignment 1

B. Day Paper at Question Time

At Question Time the 24th of February many important topics created a heated debate in the House of Commons. Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask government ministers questions. The Prime Minister answers questions in the Commons every Wednesday and last Wednesday Day Paper was there to witness the debate.

The discussion started off by the Prime Minister paying a tribute to the British troops in Afghanistan. A total of seven soldiers had lost their lives since the House last met. Gordon Brown was clearly touched by the loss of the brave soldiers and sent profound condolences to the soldiers’ families and loved ones.

Later on David Cameron spoke about the Stafford hospital where hundreds of people ended up dying because of the way they were mistreated. Cameron asked the Prime Minister if he understood that the victims would never be content with an inquiry that was conducted in private, but that they would claim a public inquiry. Brown responded with a very well-articulated answer and told Cameron that each case was being investigated individually.

The debate grew more intense and Cameron accused Brown of having brought Britain to its knees and that he had wrecked the pension system and ruined the tax system. He presented the data to back his statement up but Brown smoothly proved the data as incorrect.

Richard Benyon from the Conservative Party asked Brown if he shared his thoughts about the importance to inform people of the value of the work the British troops are doing in Afghanistan. Gordon Browns response was in agreement with Benyon and he presented a plan to make people understand that they have a purpose for their missions. He also explained very well, for those who might be critical to the troops in Afghanistan, why it is important to have them there.

Gordon Brown appeared to be calm and concise during the debate and responded to the questions with well-articulated answers that showed reflection. He remained calm and stayed on-topic during the more heated debates whilst Cameron easily got off-topic and made unnecessary remarks on Browns behalf. Therefore – based on this Question Time I would say that the sitting Prime Minister has a better chance of winning the peoples' votes and the forthcoming election.

Gordon Brown speaking at Question Time 24th of February.