Discussion Questions on The Road

1. Cora travels generally northward in The Underground Railroad. Why do the man and his son in The Road travel in the opposite direction?

2. How does the protagonist's wife respond to their apocalyptic predicament? Why does she respond in this manner?

3. "Can you do it? When the time comes? Can you?" (29). What is it? Why must the protagonist contemplate this course of action?

4. Why does the boy dream about "wind-up penguins" (36-37)? How does his dream correspond with his reality?

5. Why does the protagonist empty out the contents of his billfold and leave them on the road (51)?

6. What does the man they encounter on pages 62-66 look like, and what does his appearance tell readers about his motivations?

7. What does the term commune refer to on page 79? Where are the communes at this point in the novel?

8. What determines the gruesome hierarchy of "the marchers" on pages 91-92?

9. Why does McCarthy include the detail that the house they enter on page 106 once employed "chattel slaves"?

10. Why does McCarthy describe billboards as palimpsests on pages 127-128? How might a palimpsest be especially appropriate for the subject matter of this novel?