Two things bug me about Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

[Orrex]

1. The kid calls his father "papa." For a 21st century tale set in the US, this is a curious anomaly that is never explained. I have never known anyone over the age of 2 who actually addressed his father in this way. I'm sure that it happens sometimes, but it's unusual enough to be conspicuous, so I wonder why it wasn't explained.

2. With the possible exception of a pogo stick, no form of rough-terrain conveyance in human history is less efficient than a shopping cart. Anyone who has pushed a cart through two inches of snow in a parking lot can confirm this. It simply blows my mind that the man would select this a viable way to carry their shit. It would take more effort to push the damn thing than it would take to carry the gear on their shoulders.

Otherwise, great book. McCarthy's one of my favorite authors & I'm looking forward to The Counselor.


But why did Papa pick a shopping cart?!?

[rrneck]

1. Poetic licence mostly.

"Papa" is archaic, as a remembrance of an earlier time. And a shopping cart in a landscape that is stripped bare is another ironic touch. Of course is such a landscape a shopping cart might be all they can get.

[Orrex]

5. Possibly...

McCarthy's exposition has a very poetic lilt to it, but he rarely employs it in dialogue without good reason. It's especially odd considering how very conscious of dialogue and dialect he is. It's certainly possible that it's poetic license, but it seems to me that something more must be going on.

[Chan790]

2. I must have much better luck with shopping carts than you do.

Because I've never had a problem with shopping carts over rough terrain in snow or otherwise...it's certainly a better choice than the wheelbarrow. Now that's a useless form of conveyance in any weather or terrain.

[Orrex]

4. LIAR! YOU'RE A DIRTY LIAR!!!!!1!

Well, maybe not.

A wheelbarrow would also have been a lousy choice for what they needed. Great for what it's designed to do, but what it's designed to do ain't long-distance overland trekking!

[Xyzse]

3. I don't know

Papa - Is still widely used for quite a few people I know. I used to use it untill the age of 16. Then again, I am considered a minority so you may have something there.

In regards to the shopping cart, I can understand what you're coming from. However, too many hobos can't be wrong. They use shopping carts to bring along all their stuff.

[Orrex]

6. Might also be regional, I suppose

Still, I can't shake the impression that it's either ethnic or anachronistic in a way that isn't borne out. If the kid consistently addressed his father by the father's first name, for instance, this would be unusual enough that the reader would reasonably expect some brief justification. Something similar applies here IMO.

Interesting point about the shopping carts, but I suspect that most of them aren't used for cross-country travel!

[Xyzse]

8. Probably

See, with the way Papa is used, it could be anachronistic and the kid didn't have anything better to call his father with.
I mean, it is a post apocalyptic environment after all. Kid had no way to know of anything else to call his father. Papa is one of the most basic things babies first learn as well.

As for the shopping carts, I am not sure what other modes of transport without any propulsion system they could use. In general, shopping carts are ubiquitous and easy to procure. After a while, it is a pain to have things on yourself and much easier to just push something. Granted, you're right that terrain doesn't always favor a shopping cart. Just not sure what else could be better to carry a large volume of items, rather than carrying it on your person.

[pinboy3niner]

7. He could have gone with the tried and true Brown method...

[RebelOne]

9. I think a better way to carry all their stuff would have been a pack horse or mule. n/t

[Orrex]

10. Makes for a more satisfying meal than does a shopping cart, too!

[MicaelS]

11. You have to remember that McCarthy..

Dedicated the book to his son. My best guess is that "papa" is what his son called him when he was little.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road

During Oprah's interview McCarthy insisted his son, John Francis, was a co-author to the novel, revealing that some of the conversations between the father and son in the novel were based upon actual conversations between McCarthy and his son. The novel was also dedicated to his son; in a way it is a love story for his son, but McCarthy felt embarrassed to admit it on television.

[Orrex]

12. Ah! I suspect that might be the best answer.

[Jenoch]

13. I made the mistake of not reading the book before I watched the film.

I wanted to kill myself after watching it and consequently, have not read the book.

[Orrex]

14. The book is no more cheerful

I've conversed with a number of people who didn't care for it because of its bleakness, which is fine. I enjoy it for the writing and the storytelling. I also enjoy the story, which is indeed bleak, but there are strong themes of love & devotion that can be lost in the desolation of the setting.

[Jenoch]

15. Bleak?

Hell, the Wizard of Oz is bleak compared to this story.

[Spike89]

16. No more cheerful?

A slow tortured death would be more cheerful than the lightest passage in the book! That said, I couldn't put the book down.

[RiffRandell]

18. That's exactly how I felt!

I was like, that was the most fucking depressing movie.....I almost regret watching it and I love Viggo.

A couple weeks ago I woke up at about 6am and the kids were still sleeping and I re-watched The Deer Hunter.

Great way to start my day!

[nomorenomore08]

17. Everything I've read by McCarthy has been fantastic. He really is a national treasure.

[bif]

19. Both my daughters call me papa. And they're in their 20s.

[Orrex]

21. Interesting. Where did your family live as they grew up?

As I mentioned upthread, I've wondered if it's a regional thing, or for that matter maybe ethnic. I truly have known no one who referred to their father this way, but it's not as though I've lived everywhere!

I do know that since I've brought this up to people in real like, a number of them have said "yeay, that bugged me, too."

[bif]

20. I enjoyed the book!

Didn't like the movie. I'm a fan of post-Apocaliptic movies and books. "This Silent Earth" is one of my favorite movies. As is "Waterworld." Yeah, I'm one of the few who like this movie.