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What is port cochere?
“Can you do it? When the time comes?” This is repetition of an earlier phrase. Is he any more apt to do it now? Is there any difference between the earlier situation and this one?
How do they discern between good houses and bad houses?
The man explains why they didn’t help the people in the cellar. Is it a solid explanation? Do you think the boy will settle for it?
Is cannibalism acceptable given the setting? Is it understandable?
Considering the state of the country, why does he put flower seeds in his pocket? They’re not edible…
On p. 134, the boy doesn’t want the man to open the door they found in the grass. Why is he so against it?
Why is it important to the boy that the people who built the bunker were the good guys?
The man thought he was going to die. Now he finds himself in a food paradise. It says he has to think about that. What does he have to think about?
41 comments:
A porte-cochere is a French term for an opening in a building. This opening is like a porch but bigger. It's big enough to let a vehicle pass through it. Most of these are in older buildings. They were originally built to let horse carriages pass through them.
Cannibalism is just wrong. I don't think that in any circumstance it is ok. However, this is nothing new. People do something similar in other countries that are poor. An example is day of the dead (it's different depending on where you may be visiting), some Native American tribes at their enemies after they killed them. Another country in Africa drinks the blood of their enemies because they believe it will give them their strength. However, even for survival cannibalism seems barbaric.
Although cannibalism should never be considered acceptable, it is understandable given the setting. These people are trying to save themselves from the inevitable death that awaits them. I also think, however, that they could have went about the cannabalism in a more human way. And they definitely should not be eating people in front of the other people that they plan on consuming..
Maybe the man puts flower seeds in his pocket because he thinks they will be settling down soon and he thinks it would look nice. Maybe he took it just to take something, to not leave it behind for others. He might have taken the seeds to plant anywhere. There really doesn't seem to be a lot of vegetation (mushrooms are the only I remember mentioned) and the trees are dead and falling so maybe he thinks if he would plant something, anything, it might live while everything else dies.
Also, I think the boy knew there were people locked up behind the door, awaiting slaughter... he almost starts crying and said he wasn't hungry. Maybe this is why he doesn't want his father to open the door in the grass, maybe he figured there were more people waiting to die. He is clever.
I do not think cannibalism is ever acceptable or understandable. I understand that given there circumstances the people are in desperate need of food. On the other hand, rather than turn against each other I think that the people should work together to find food. If cannibalism keeps going on, the more the population declines and the less food there is. Eventually, the whole human race would be erased.
cannibalism, even in terms of survival, may seem barbaric, but i'd much rather be a barbarian than dead. but i don't think i'd do it in this case. maybe if they already died, but i wouldn't kill someone who was alive. but it's certainly understandable given the setting, pretty much any behavior could be considered acceptable.
he puts the flower seeds in his pocket because it reminds him of the past. it reminds of him of a time when you could even stay in one place long enough to see plants grow, much less have the resources to grow them. and he also just takes them because they're there, because they're not in bad condition and nobody's taken them yet.
it's important that the bunker was built by good people because the boy doesn't want to be associated with any bad people, he might even rather die than live off of the bad people.
The boy is afraid and doesn't want the father to open the hatch because he remembers the last time the father opened a hatch in the ground and found the people being stored up for food. Throughout the story, the boy is afraid for his dad and doesn't want him trekking around in dark places alone. This incident is a good example of the boy's compassion for his father, and it shows that the boy would rather be hungry than put his father in harms way.
I think the man puts the flower seeds in his pocket in an act of hope. He wants to believe that someday he will be able to plant the seeds and watch flowers grow again. He may also be nostalgic. He may hold the seeds with him in memory of what the Earth once was. He misses the life he once knew.
The boy is filled with fear at the idea of opening the bunker because of the people discovered in the last one. He is truly terrified to see more people dying, and he knows he won't be able to help them.
Even in their situation, cannibalism is not accepted. It is inhumane and wrong. I understand that there is a shortage of food and people are dying, but they should not be eating other people. They should instead be trying to find food together before the entire population of humans is wiped out.
The ‘Bad Houses’ are still nice, have windows, aren’t as dilapidated as the others around it, and most likely would have a fire. It's like the blood cults lair, where the trap their food and live. The cannibals have turned into animals in a way. The ‘Good Houses’ are the ones that are completely run down, have no windows, and are usually picked through.
I was soo soooo soooooooo happy when they found the bunker filled with supplies and food!! I thought that they might not make it, and might starve to death. But then they discovered the bunker! I also loved the way that they boy formally thanked the people who the bunker belonged too, it was so sincere. It was important to the boy that the people who built the bunker were good guys because they were on the same side. If it would have been built by the bad guys, then it would be like accepting something from the enemy.
Also, I think that cannibalism is wrong in every situation. No matter how desperate they may be, taking another life is never an option.
I believe, like Lauren, that the flower seeds in the man's pocket are an act of hope. The only colors in the novel are black and gray; seeds are not very pretty, but when they bloom, they bloom beautiful colors. It seems to be a symbol for a hope of a brighter future for the man and his son. They do not know what they will find in the south, but if it is safe and is a better time the man can plant the seeds in memory of the journey they made.
When the man realizes that he's not going to die after all, he has to think about it because now he needs a new plan. He used to think that he was going to die soon so there wasn't much he could do and everything would be over. Now he has to think about how he is going to stay alive and continue on his journey. He also has to think about how to handle all of the food and supplies. It wouldn't be very smart to stay there too long, but there's no way to take everything with them. The boy is also concerned with it being a "good guy" house because he doesn't want any connection with the bad guys. He feels that if he stays in a house and eats the food of bad guys that he himself is a bad guy.
The boy doesn’t want the man to open the door they found in the grass because he is afraid of them finding people alive or dead when they look inside. When they had stopped at a house a little while back they had found people locked up in a basement cellar being held prisoners and the boy didn’t want to see that again,he didn't want to see human beings like that alive or dead.
Throughout the book, the boy is always seems to get a little hesitant when his father leaves him to search for food alone. But when the man wants to open the door in the grass, he is more so than normal. The boy is remembering the last time they opened a door and were faced with the people in the cellar and he doesn't want to be faced with something so terrifying again. Since this time, they may not be so lucky, and could also end up in the cellar.
The boy always seems to ask his father if the guys are either good or bad. I think this is because of his desire to be good and he doesn't want to do anything that may be connecting with the bad guys, even if it is to survive.
The man could have put the flower seeds in his pocket for a hundred different reasons. My thoughts on it originally were that he could maybe plant them if they settled down. It’d be a sign of victory in a way for him and his son. However, the more I think about it, the more I think it may have just been something selfish for him to do. He probably will never see the beauty of the flowers again, and something jealous inside him is saying ‘if I can’t have it, nobody else will.’ The man doesn’t exactly show any signs of caring about solely himself in the book, but how can you go through all of that without getting a bit nostalgic and a bit hurt? He knows he won’t realistically prevent anybody else from seeing flowers ever again, but it’s something that makes him feel just a tad better.
In my eyes cannibalism is not acceptable. But given the circumstances it doesn't surprise me.
He puts the seeds in his pocket with the intention of planting and growing them. Maybe the flowers are hope for a better future.
The bad houses are the ones that look to good to be true. Everything still looks nice. There was even blankets and clothes sitting in piles and on top of mattresses. The man said he was seeing but not really seeing. He was distracted by is hunger for food. He wasn't really paying attention to the obvious sign that the house was a trap.
I think that the boy doesn't want the man to open the door they found in the grass because of the last time they opened a door in the ground. The incident I'm referring to is when the man and the boy found a locked door in the floor of an old house. Since the man knew that they were in desperate need of food, he decided to pry open the door, thinking that a supply of food might have been hidden on the other side. He did this in spite of the danger in doing it; it seemed likely that the house was being occupied. After busting open the door, the man and the boy stepped down into a dark, dank chamber in which a population of naked people huddled terrified against the back wall. One man had his legs cut off, making the room smell of rotting flesh. Upon realizing that the man and the boy were not their captors, the people began to cry out to them and come towards them, begging for help. The man and the boy narrowly escaped not only the prisoners, but the inhabitants of the house as well. I believe it was this memory that made the boy so against opening the door in the grass.
I feel like the boy doesn't want his father to open the hatch because he is afraid of what is down there. The last time his father opened one and found people being held. I don't blame the boy for not wanting to be exposed to more people he can do nothing to help.
I believe that cannibalism is not acceptable in any situation. It was very disturbing to read about and I didn't like it at all. Given the set of circumstances in the story I see why people did it, however, it would be a line that i would never cross.
To some degree, yes it is a solid explanation. If they would have stayed to help those people in the cellar, it is very likely that they all would have been killed and probably eaten. If he had not had his son with him, his mind probably would have processed things differently, but I think his first instinct was to protect his soon. Therefore, I believe he was not acting out of pure selfishness. It may not have been the “right” decision, but it was the least wrong in his mind. While he may not show it, I believe it still bothers him that he left those people behind to die. The boy on the other hand does not quite understand the complexity of the situation and shows how much more it bothers him. For example, when they come across the second door in the grass he begs his father not to open it. It looks similar to the other and he fears there may be people in there. It is simply easier for him not to know, rather than know that there are more people in there he cannot help.
I don’t think cannibalism is understandable. I understand that the people are starving, but I do not think that they should ever turn and go after one another. I agree with Allison and that they should work together to find the food.
I think the boy is against opening the door they found in the grass, because he is scared to find out what is behind it. The last time they opened a locked door there were people in filthy conditions inside. The boy was probably afraid that there would be more people (dead or alive) behind the door.
The man is worried about staying in the bunker, now that the bunker is open, people passing will want in as well. The two of them can live comfortably for the moment, but the man realizes that they will need to leave soon. Than what? run out of food that they stocked up on from the bunker. Later when they are far away and run out of food, the man will wish they stayed in the bunker. The thought behind the food paradise is overwhelming, and could drive him crazy. In this world, nothing can be as good as it seams, the man does not want to get used to the paradise, especially because he knows they will leave.
Cannibalism is acceptbale with the given situation. It is also understandable. With the "fight or flight" theory we have, included in this theory is that of surviving. When our bodies need nourishment our brain tells us to eat whatever we can that will help us stay alive. Generally, the fear of an unnatural death scares many people into doing what we would not normally do. Surviving in circumstances that are far from the normal that todays society is used to calls for desperate measures, including cannibalism.
The boy wanting the people who left the food to be the good guys shows how much the boy doesn’t trust people. While a good guy is a general statement, and the boy really hasn’t met a “good guy”, the name verifies that he can feel safe in the paradise that they found. Also I think that if the food wasn’t from the good guys the boy would want nothing to do with it. He may think it is a trap, or he may not want to associate himself with them, even if it means starving. The man says that they are like the two of them; this statement makes the boy feel safer and also makes him feel less guilty. The boy’s selflessness feeds his need to know that he is not stealing from someone, and that it is ok to eat the food. By knowing that it is from a person like him, and that he would want another person to do the same, this makes him feel better about what he does.
I am completely against cannibalism, but I understand it in this situation. When the situation comes down to life and death, you have to do what you have to do. It was their only chance for survival and I believe they made the right choice. Their life depended on it. When you are faced with situations like these, your emotions get put on a back burner and the animal instinct for survival gets put into play.
As bad as the times are in this book, I don't think cannibalism is ever acceptable. I could never even stomach the thought of eating another human being, though I do understand why some people would. I see it as that they need food to survive, and though I would never take part in it despite any circumstances, I can see where people would resort to it in desperation.
It is mentioned that cannibalism is practiced by the other travelers, the "bad guys" as the man calls them. As gross as the thought of cannibalism is, in this particular setting, I think it is understandable. Would I ever be able to eat another human? Probably not, but then again, I've never been in a situation that would make me seriously consider eating another human.
I think that it's important to the boy that the people that built the bunker were good guys because he and the man are good guys. If the good guys built it then the boy and the man are allowed to use it. If the bad guys built it, then it is off limits to the man and the boy. That's what I imagine is going through the boy's head when he questions the builders of the bunker status.
This is just a shot in the dark, but maybe the man puts the flower seeds in his pocket because he remembers the beauty of flowers and he wants to hold on to anything that he can that reminds him of beauty. He's living in horrible conditions and he has to worry about keeping himself and the boy safe. Beauty is just something that can take your mind off of stress. Clearly the man needs that, his life isn't the most stress free situation. Yeah, like I said total shot in the dark.
Is eating fellow human beings acceptable? I do not think so, but, is it understandable? Yes, I do believe cannibalism is understandable given the circumstances. If the only way to survive after the earth was destructed was to eat others, I would consider it understandable. However, the man and his son are doing okay by scavenging for food, so those who are turning to cannibalism are either lazy, or not as smart as the man and his son.
Considering the state of the country, the man puts the flower seeds into his pocket to possibly grow what ever flowers/ plant they are. The earth is destroyed and there are no flowers at this point in time. Although I watched a TV show on the History channel about how they have a giant vault of all of the seeds in the world hidden underground in Antarctica,these seeds could be the only ones and can be re-grown if the earth was ever restored.
Is cannibalism acceptable? That is a tricky question for people to answer who are not in extreme situations. It could go either way. Killing another human being to save yourself, in my opinion, is not acceptable, and a little bit selfish. It is not one human beings place to kill another human being to live. If a body is already dead, it could be a resource to help another human being stay alive I think it is okay.
The boy doesn't want the man to open the door in the grass because of what they found last time they opened a locked door. He fears finding more people being tortured and killed. He also knows that he cant help them and he doesn't want to be put in that situation.
He wants to make sure that the people who built the bunker are the good guys because he wants nothing to do with the bad guys. He doesn't want to follow in the bad guys footsteps or have any association with them.
I think cannibalism is understandable if that was the only way to keep yourself alive, but I certainly don’t think it’s acceptable. Personally, I would rather die than eat another human being. It just goes against everything that is morally right and good. I don’t understand why a person would have to resort to cannibalism in this setting when the man and boy are finding tin cans of food just fine. Yes, they did have a time when they didn’t eat much, if anything, but doing that, and living off of real food is much better then eating dead humans.
I think the mans explanation of why he couldnt help the people in the cellar is solid. They would not have made it if they had tried to help them, and the people in the cellars fate would have been the same. i think the boy may not understand it, but he trusts his father to make the right decision, so he may accept it.
I think that cannibalism is understandable in this setting, the people who eat others are simply trying to survive. They have lost their morals trying to keep alive.
Cannibalism is never acceptable, but during certain situation it is understandable. If it means the difference between life and death, it is illogical to do anything but what is necessary for survival. In a way, it is a way for someone who has already fallen to help the living continue moving forward. It is never right to eat another person, but in desperate situations, morals are less important than survival.
In any situation cannibalism is very hard for the human mind to wrap around and completely understand. However, I do believe that cannibalism is understandable if it was the ONLY possible way to survive. However, I feel it was not a need to turn to cannibalism in the book because the man and the son were looking and finding food. But for those people that did not do that and turned to cannibalism, I do not and will not completely understand why or how they could have done that.
The importance of the bunker being built by goods guys is simple. Bunkers are meant to keep certain people or items away from others. Usually they have one entrance or exit that keeps them in. If bad guys control it then the man and son could get trapped and used for food or keep as bartering item to trade with others.
The boy is afraid and doesn't want the father to open the hatch because he remembers the last time the father opened a hatch in the ground and found the people being stored up for food. The boy continues to be scared whenever they approach something unfamiliar or something that seems odd. He wants to keep harm away from himself and his father mainly because they cares about him. Maybe the man took the flower seeds just because he wanted to take them.... he doesn't need a specific reason just maybe he wanted something from that specific place he had been.
Cannibalism is never acceptable, not even given the setting in this novel. Although cannibalism is simply defined as the act of consuming another creature of your own species, what the act represents is far more depraved. Although it often takes dire situation to force a human to prey upon a human, cannibalism doesn't just represent the desperate measures of starving people in this novel. Cannibalism represents the downward decay of humanity and an astute loss of morals. When people turn to prey upon one another, particularly in this novel, it represents the lack of importance that other people have in their eyes. The value of life is completely depreciated in the act of cannibalism.
I think the man has always been ready to do it. He has second thoughts but continuously thinks about it and wanting to do it, and that shows something.
I do think the explanation is solid that the man gives the boy. He explains that cannibalism is for "bad guys" and they're the good guys so they would never do that. I do think the boy understands this because he cant bring himself to think he would eat someone or his father would either.
He probably puts the flower seeds in his pocket because it seems like anything he comes by he thinks he can find a use for.
The boy is so against the man opening the door because he knows what they have found before when the man opens the door. They have found dead people or just came to be disappointed because there is never any food. He's afraid they will run into more people like they did before and have to be scared and hide.
The boy doesnt want the father to open the door because he is afraid that there will be dead people like last time.
It's either convert to cannibalism or starve to death. Given their situation, cannibalism is understandable but definitely not acceptable. It is never acceptable to eat another human being. I'd rather much die than have to eat a fellow brother or sister.
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