The Road Sections 331-340 Quotes
The Road Sections 331-340 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Section.Paragraph)
He loaded the flarepistol and as soon as it was dark they walked out down the beach away from the fire and he asked the boy if he wanted to shoot it.
[The Boy:] You shoot it, Papa. You know how to do it.
[The Man:] Okay.
He cocked the gun and aimed it out over the bay and pulled the trigger. The flare arced up into the murk with a long whoosh and broke somewhere out over the water in a clouded light and hung there. The hot tendrils of magnesium drifted slowly down the dark and the pale foreshore tide started in the glare and slowly faded. He looked down at the boy's upturned face.
[The Boy]: They couldnt see it very far, could they Papa?
[The Man:] Who?
[The Boy:] Anybody.
[The Man:] No. Not far.
[The Boy:] If you wanted to show where you were.
[The Man:] You mean like to the good guys?
[The Boy:] Yes. Or anybody that you wanted them to know where you were.
[The Man:] Like who?
[The Boy:] I dont know.
[The Man:] Like God?
[The Boy:] Yeah. Maybe somebody like that. (336.1-336.15)
The Man doesn't really believe either "the good guys" or God will actually see the flarepistol. But the way McCarthy describes the flare's explosion over the water – "hot tendrils of magnesium drifted slowly down the dark" – suggests that the gesture is somehow beautiful. To put it another way, we have a hard time believing McCarthy would use such pretty language if he wants us to feel despair. Rather, we think McCarthy wants us to see The Man's irrational hope of finding other "good guys" (or God) as both tragic and beautiful.
The boy lifted the [flare]gun from the case and held it. Can you shoot somebody with it? he said.
[The Man:] You could.
[The Boy:] Would it kill them?
[The Man:] No. But it might set them on fire.
[The Boy:] Is that why you got it?
[The Man:] Yes.
[The Boy:] Because there's nobody to signal to. Is there?
[The Man:] No. (333.14-333.21)
McCarthy gives us a good dose of irony here. (Take it, reader! It's good for you!) Instead of using the flare gun to signal other people, The Man figures he'll use it to set them on fire. As if the only form of communication left on the planet is violence. So a tool typically used to signal distress becomes a grisly weapon.