The Colour of It

35 pages in and I'm hooked. Not much has happened... and the characters don't really speak... but I love the way this is written. Today in class Mr. Tangen mentioned something called Stream of Consciousness... maybe this is what he was talking about. The way the thoughts flow unhindered by chapters, or even quotation marks. Its interesting, I've never read anything like this but I find it compelling and easy to follow.

In these first few pages the thing that has struck me the most is the relationship between the father and the son. My pages are littered with sticky notes pointing out places where the man has shown his care for his son, and vice versa. They care for each other... as McCarthy describes (and as the back of the book quotes), they are "each the other's world entire." (6) Even the way this sentence is written draws the reader in. By saying "world entire" as opposed to "entire world", McCarthy calls attention to the unique relationship... for most people would have said "entire world". This is fine and makes perfect sense, but it is very cliche. "World entire" comes across as much more true. And something tells me McCarthy isn't a cliche kind of guy...

The first display of this father-son relationship is a mere three pages into the story, when as soon as the little boy opens his eyes he knows his father is right next to him. Similarly, as the two climb up the hill and the man "looked at the boy", the boy responded "I'm all right" to the question that was never spoken out loud. (8) This type of communication and mutual understanding shows a relationship that is not always seen between father and son. Additionally, when the man fixes the cart like a bobsled down the hills, just to make his son happy, and "it was the first that he'd seen the boy smile in a long time." (19) The Coca-Cola which the two found in the super market is yet another example of the man and the boy caring for each other. The boy takes a sip from the can, and then makes his father have a sip too. The boy is aware of every sacrifice that his father makes for him, and tries to give back whatever he can.

I think the most significant sign of this incredibly deep relationship (at least in the first 35 pages) is the conversation the man and his son have about death:

"Can I ask you something? [the boy] said.

Yes. Of Course.

Are we going to die?

Sometime. Not now.

And we're still going south.

Yes.

So we'll be warm.

Yes.

Okay.

Okay what?

Nothing. Just okay.

Go to sleep.

Okay. 

I'm going to blow out the lamp. Is that okay?

Yes. That's okay.

And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something?

Yes. Of course you can.

What would you do if I died?

If you died I would want to die too.

So you could be with me?

Yes. So I could be with you.

Okay" (10)

This conversation is just so raw and blunt, like the reality they live in. The way each character is so true, it shows again the reality of their relationship. I think this will come back again in the novel, as a long conversation like this is rare - so it must be important.