Quicklets: Learn More. Read Less. The Road was written by Cormac McCarthy, a prolific writer with several acclaimed novels to his credit. McCarthy was born in Rhode Island on July 20, 1933. His given name was Charles McCarthy, his fathers name, but he changed it to Cormac, meaning son of Charles, so as not to be confused with his father. He attended University of Tennessee but left after one year to serve in the military. He returned to college but left again to pursue a writing career. McCarthy published his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, in 1965, and received the William Faulkner Award. In 1979, he published his novel Suttree after struggling with it for 20 years. Its argued that this was his best novel and hes never surpassed it. However, with the publishing of Blood Meridian in 1985, McCarthy gained mainstream attention, and this novel was called one of the best novels of the 20th century by renowned critic Harold Bloom. McCarthy went on to publish his popular Border Trilogy. His novel No Country for Old Men (2005) was adapted to film by the Coen brothers and received several Academy Awards in 2007. McCarthy published The Road in 2006. The novel was adapted to film and released in 2009 to mixed reviews. BOOK EXCERPT FROM THE CORMAC MCCARTHY QUICKLET: THE ROAD On the road, the man and his son get to the top of a hill where they can see out over what used to be a city. It starts to rain. They leave the cart in a gully, covering it with the tarp, they huddle together under a rock overhang until the rain stops. They retrieve the cart and go back to where they were, making their camp in the dry dirt. The city disappears into the night and the man lights their little lamp. Since its too wet to make a fire, they eat their meal cold. As the boy tries to fall asleep, he asks his father if theyre going to die. His father says sometime but not now. He tells the boy theyre going south to be warm and to go to sleep, turning off the lamp. The father listens in the dark to what the world has become, wishing he didnt feel anything. He wakes before dawn and watches as the gray day breaks. He walks out through the trees covering their camp and crouches, coughing for a long time. He asks God if hell finally see him. Once theyre awake, they walk through the city as the day progresses. The man keeps a pistol on top of the tarp folded in the cart. The city is mostly burned, showing no signs of life. They see a corpse, and the man tells the boy to be careful what he puts in his head as memories because they stay forever. ...to be continued! Quicklets: Learn More. Read Less.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

• Introduction
  • Background Information
  • Plot Overview
  • Character List
  • Key Terms & Definitions
  • ...and much more
• Chapter-by-Chapter Summaries
  • Summary of Sections 1-5
  • Summary of Sections 6-11
  • Summary of Sections 12-20
  • Summary of Sections 21-31
  • ...and much more
• Additional Reading
  • Major Reviews & Related Articles
  • Did You Know...?
• Quicklet - The Road