The End of The Road

I believe that the conclusion of The Road was a very satisfying one considering that the boy was described as being very sickly and thin throughout the novel.  The father could die in good conscience, because his sacrifices were not for nothing.  After his death, the boy encountered other travelers that appeared to have good moral fortitude.  They seemed eager to adopt the boy and now it seemed that he would not be surviving for absolutely no purpose at all contrary to the old man’s belief.  There were now children his age, which meant that hopefully one day they could reproduce and help to save the human race.  It also offers some hope of renewing civilization somewhere down the line.  When it was just he and his father, it seemed like the whole time they were not really living- just surviving.  Here, with other children and a girl his age, it gives more happiness and meaning in the boy’s existence.  If what the old man had thought were true: that there were no children left, then in all honesty all the hardships of the boy and his father would have been for nothing.

Open Letter to Parents

I think that the most important thing for any parent is communication in any form.  It is evident that at the end of the novel when we discover that Beth still held on to Conrad’s possessions, it showed that she did in fact love her son.  The problem, however, is that she did not know or could not bring herself to show him that affection.  If parents love their children, but do not show them their feelings, it can make the kids feel unappreciated and uncared for.  They could feel like they don’t even matter, because if their parents don’t love them, they may feel that no one will.  In Conrad’s case, he was dealing with a lot of psychological issues after the death of his brother and his mother did not seem to sympathize with him very much. She thought that he was acting up to target her, which clearly wasn’t the case.  Calvin faults himself as well, because before the suicide attempt he didn’t think he was involved enough in his son’s life to realize that his brother’s death had a huge effect on Conrad.  In good times and especially in hard times, parents need to sit down and talk with their children so they can better deal with their issues.

The Road Part 1: The Mother's Death

The Mother’s Death

            In a post apocalyptic world, I’m sure that it is normal for anyone to think that all hope is lost and that possibly death may be the best option for living in the current situation is too filled with despair.   This emotion clearly overwhelmed the mother to the point that she felt she needed to take her own life.  I would say that if she were alone or even if it were just her and her husband, than it would be okay for her to kill herself.  Her belief that eventually they would die of starvation or that they would be murdered or she would be raped are probably more likely predictions than them finding refuge.  In that case it is easy to think there is nothing to live for.  However, she did have a child to worry about and I have never known a mother that would kill herself to leave her child to fend for him/herself.  It was completely selfish to leave him behind and I think she should have tried to survive for as long as they could until all options were gone.  If it did come to a point where the father would be captured and possibly tortured and she and her son would be raped, I am sure that the father would then be prepared to use his gun to kill himself and his family to avoid the horrors that they feared most.

The Road Part Two: Cannibalism

Cannibalism

            One of the most disturbing parts of this novel is when the father and son discover the house in which people are being eaten by other human beings.  In normal circumstances this would be seen by many as unquestionably unjustifiable.  However, the situations in the world being that they are in this book, can one make the argument that it is ethical to perform acts of cannibalism in order to survive? 

            In my opinion the manner in which the men in these rounded up and captured helpless women and weaker men for future slaughter is a horrific act of injustice that cannot be defended.  Even if all conventional society is gone that should not give people the excuse to do whatever they want.  If an act of rape or murder is committed in a post apocalyptic world then it is still rape or murder.  Granted the act of eating another person may not be as evil as what was previously mentioned, because someone wouldn’t devour someone else just for the sake of doing it.  They may be doing it out of desperation.  But hopefully if I had the choice between starvation or eating another person who still has a strong will to live, I would take my own life.

            I would make an exception to the above argument in the case that in a small group where there are very few resources left and the people are desperate for their next meal, they all agree to randomly select a person to eat so the others can survive.  I believe there have been documented cases of this in history.  It may be horrific, but if everyone unanimously agrees that this is a good course of action than there are arguments for this situation.

Malcolm X Chapters 1-12

                After reading the first few chapters of the book in many ways I feel ashamed to be white.  The active bigotry that Malcolm and his family experienced when his father was killed was terrible, but what bothered me even more was the fact that even “the well meaning whites” had racial prejudices.  It really shocked me that Malcom’s teacher had such a negative perception on the intellect of blacks that he believed it was impossible for Malcolm, the brightest student in his class, to become a lawyer.  I can understand why in the later chapters, Malcolm speaks out against blacks straightening their hair and being obsessed with white women, because it affirms white superiority.  In my view, it is worse when blacks believe this than when whites do, because they essentially then allow whites to treat them any way they want.

                This passive racism that Malcolm experiences in his youth is still very present today.  It still seems to me that many whites subconsciously feel that they are the dominant race.  They may feel this way, because they may grow up in more privileged communities than minority students, which effectively makes them feel entitled to their thrown.  I think that many people would disagree with me, because it is so subtle and often hard to see.  I think at times white people, including myself can be discriminatory without even knowing it.  For example, my mailman happens to be black and there are no black residents that live in my neighborhood. One day when a mailman was walking through my block I said “Hello Charles.”  It just so happened that this was not Charles, just another mailman.   I must have felt that since for so much time Charles was the only black man I had seen on my block that that had to be him, but that simple assumption was very offensive.  Luckily the other man was very kind and laughed off the mistake.  My point is that some things we do might not seem like much, but can actually be very demeaning and presumptuous just like the white characters Malcolm encounters.

Is Poverty A Choice?

I would say that poverty is definitely not a choice.  No one can choose who they are born into.  If one is born into a lower socioeconomic family it is very difficult to raise him/herself out of poverty.  This is especially true when public education is poor.  Often times in our society today, those with the most wealth can afford the best private schools for their children.  It is true that there are magnet schools in our city, but the many violent inadequate neighborhood schools greatly out number of magnet schools in Chicago, which makes it almost impossible for people of low income communities to build a better life for themselves.

            I do not agree with the belief that most people are poor, because they refuse to work hard, and rich people have earned all of their wealth.  In my view, it is quite the contrary.  The richest people in America are often times born into their wealth and are not required to work a day in their lives.  Someone who lives paycheck to paycheck to provide for their families can even have two jobs and still struggle to pay the bills.  There are many professions that require a lot of diligence and knowledge as well, but may not pay very well.  Teaching is certainly one of those occupations.  Many teachers I have known slave for hours preparing lesson plans or grading papers.  All in all you cannot assume that someone on welfare is lazy, because it is simply not fair.

Civic Duty

This may seem like a trivial thing to some, but for me it is very important.  I have utter disdain for arrogant people.  For many people when they deem someone arrogant it is only in an extreme case when he/she acts like a pompous jerk, but for me arrogance is demonstrated in more subtle ways.  Others would agree with me that when someone from a rich background openly displays their wealth with every piece of flashy clothing or the finest diamond jewels can really grind my gears.  Also they can be verbally demeaning to people of “lower” classes without even knowing it.  One example is of someone I knew who went to Latin.  Because she was Hispanic the other students immediately asked her in a rather friendly tone: How much scholarship money are you getting? 

            Even more subtle than was previously mentioned is when a person displays his/her egocentricity by just talking too much about his/herself.  It may not be bothersome for some to hear about every academic honor a person has achieved and every prestigious college he/she has been accepted too every day in class, but it certainly irks me.  However, it is not because the subject matter is annoying, it is that the person who speaks does not realize how self-centered she comes across to everyone else.  I know self- confidence is important, but there is too much self-confidence.  When one has the audacity to enter any random conversation in a group of people that they barely know that is a perfect example.  People who overstay their welcome at a gathering can be very bothersome as well.  (You can only tell that joke so many times.  Trust me you’re not that interesting. 

            Why is a bit more humility important in our society?  Well if we come to terms and realize that we are not the impeccable creatures that we think we are, we can create a more positive perception of ourselves and we can learn to treat everyone as our equals.  In my opinion simple arrogance is the root of all racism and I think we all can agree that racism is bad.  Hopefully if we limit egotism, we can ameliorate tensions of different races and social classes.  It obviously won’t be easy, but it starts with a little self-reflection.