The Road by Cormac McCarthy

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Antoinette's story begins when she is a young girl in early nineteenth- century Jamaica. The white daughter of ex-slave owners. Five years have passed since her father, Mr. Cosway, reportedly drunk himself to death. As a young girl, Antoinette lives at Coulibri Estate with her widowed mother, Annette, her sickly younger brother, Pierre.Antoinette spends her days in isolation Discontent, however, is rising among the freed blacks, who protest one night outside the house. Bearing torches, they accidentally set the house on fire, and Pierre is badly hurt. The events of the night leave Antoinette dangerously ill for six weeks. She wakes to find herself in Aunt Cora's care. Pierre has died. When Antoinette is seventeen, Mr. Mason announces on his visit that friends from England will be coming the following winter. He means to present Antoinette into society as a cultivated woman, fit for marriage. Richard Mason offered him £30,000 if he proposed. Desperate for money, he agreed to the marriage. After the marriage everything seemed to be fine but then after a while Antoinettes husband started drifting away from her. This drove her crazy and made her question her marriage. The story ended with Antoinette locked up in England in Rochesters house. Human beings, even when they are trapped or imprisoned, tend to assert their individuality or personal freedom. For decades now, the true meaning of freedom has been a very controversial topic. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary the word freedom means. The Condition of being free of constraints. Freedom can be felt, not physically but mentally through emotions. When human beings are trapped or imprisoned, most would have to achieve their own personal freedom in order to survi... ... middle of paper ... ...a fresh positive mind which helps them to survive. The boy is young and it’s hard for any child his age to understand the reality of life in certain situations that is why the man consistently attempts to help the boy understand what they are going through and what it is going to take to survive. Although the man in The Road is the one in the story who is mainly making the effort and is in charge of his and the boys survival, ends up passing away. His health degrades as they travel, and by the time they reach the ocean, he is close to death. He repeatedly coughs up blood, and the two are required to move at ever slowing rates each day. By being free and having good individual qualities is quite hard when there is another figure in another’s life by holding them down. The goal in a relationship is to be close and still maintain an identity as a separate person.

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