The Road 1/26/2011

In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a father and his son journey to survive in a post-apocalyptic society. I have noticed that many contexts of this book show hopelessness, darkness, with little humanity portrayed. In the opening passage I have found the descriptions of the days, nights, and surroundings to be very close to how I would envision  a post-apocalyptic society would look and feel to the people living in this distraught world. It states in the beginning, nights were dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before (3). The darkness and grays portray a common loss of hope and that the world can be violent and full of death. Although there are times where there are signs of humanity between the father and his beloved son, I cannot get over what the world has come to at this point. How could a person survive conditions like this, and how could anyone raise a child? It is a possibility with religious beliefs behind a person. I have found on the first page a couple of sentences that portray a scene in the Bible. It states, their light playing over the wet flowstone walls. Like pilgrims in a fable swallowed up and lost among the inward parts of a gigantic beast. This seems to portray the story of Jonah. Also, on page 31 it talks about reciting a litany. A litany is a tedious ritual or prayer that is common for someone of the catholic faith to take part. Although the father has not mentioned God or any particular religious deity to his son, he has told old stories of courage and justice. This could be from a religious text that the father had remembered. The text that I have read so far imply that the father is a religious man and it seems to be helping both the father and the son as they struggle to survive in this dark and gray society.

A Little Bit About Myself

             Some of you may be wondering, "What kind of people are in my class?" or, "What are the people in my class like?"

             Well here are a few things about myself to give you some background information, a perspective on what I am like, and what activities I enjoy.

             My name is Joshua Ray Alfrey and I am a sophomore in BCMB (Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology) with a Concentration in Pre-Pharmacy. I am originally from Maynardville, TN (as made famous by Brad Pitt in Inglorious Bastards). I attended Union County High School, where I graduated Valedictorian in Spring '09. I am a Volunteer Firefighter with Paulette Fire/Rescue in Maynardville, TN. I have been firefighting since 14 as an explorer (Jr. Firefighter), and I am now a registered firefighter in my county. I am working on state-wide registry so that if I wanted to become a full-time or part-time firefighter with a paid department. I got into firefighting because my Dad is a fireman and I saw it as a way to spend more time with him, and I just fell in love with nearly everything about it. I find it hard to enjoy working a scene where there has been a vehicle accident that caused fatalities. However, the feeling I get from helping others is unlike anything other that I have experienced before, which is why I keep coming back despite the unfortunate horrors that come with the job.

           On a lighter note, I am also a musician. Drums are my specialty and have taught myself many different styles of playing, anything from Jazz to Thrash Metal. However, I play guitar as well. The styles that I play most are Acoustic or Hard Rock on a rhythm guitar level. I live in Gibbs Hall and I am the residing Vice President. I have lived in Gibbs Hall since the start of my Freshman year in Fall '09. I am a former member of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band; I played cymbals on the drum line in Fall '09. Unfortunately, my major gave me more than one schedule conflict and I was unable to march with The Pride this past season. 

          I am the kind of person that is not judgmental and I am very relaxed and laid-back. Listening and playing music are some of my favorite past-times and I always am up for going to concerts and just lounging around with some good music playing. I am normally up for anything because I just enjoy being around people, It really doesn't matter the activity. Like I said, I love meeting new people and making new friends, so if any of you (my classmates/instructors/TA's/whatever) want to get to know me please send me a message or an email or look me up on facebook (whatever you like best), and get to know me. I'm looking for new friends and some good study partners, like any good college student would. (By the way if you want to add me on facebook look me up by my full name Joshua Ray Alfrey, and my email is jalfrey1@utk.edu just like my blog address)

         That's about all I can think of about myself currently, but if any of you that read this want to know more about me feel free to ask.

         Good Luck this Semester in English 102 (and in all of your other classes) and Happy Studying

~Josh