Rough Road Ahead By Joe Kurmaskie Analysis

One of the lasting impacts of the Spanish-American War was the influence of new mass media on the conflict and the rhetoric utilized to rouse support for the war. Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders cavalry regiment serve as a model for how public perception of the war was shaped by Rough Riders that was purported to represent American ideals. Christine Bold argues that popular culture and appeals to national identity allowed the Rough Rider ideal to serve as a justification for the conflict, while Gail Bederman asserts that this topic is more usefully interpreted through the understanding of Theodore Roosevelt’s ideal man as ideology of masculinity. Specifically, Bederman claims that the historical significance of the popularity of the ideal of the Western man is that it represents a Darwinist belief in racial superiority, while Bold argues that the Rough Riders ideal served to justify the Spanish-American War.

The ability to paint beautiful ideas on a canvas of dark events and imagery is an essential skill in the arsenal of an accomplished writer. In his novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy demonstrates his understanding of this skill. A reviewer from the San Francisco Chronicle described The Road saying, “[McCarthy’s] tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy’s stature as a living master. It’s gripping, frightening, and, ultimately, beautiful.” These descriptions of the tale are true throughout the novel, but particularly at the ending of the story. In the final pages of the book, McCarthy continues to engage the reader with gripping and frightening moments, to emphasize the theme of survival, and to reveal beauty and “the miracle of goodness.”

Both The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Empties by Jess Row are apocalyptic stories that describe the state of human civilization after the annihilation of civil society. Whereas in The Road civil society is destroyed and remains defunct after the apocalypse, The Empties tells of a people who are able to bounce back and reestablish their society. Many people today live their lives aimlessly, squandering their time day by day, partaking in life’s pleasures, and living for their own selfish reasons. McCarthy and Row bring attention to the selfishness and self-absorption that plagues today’s teens by showing two different possible scenarios following an apocalyptic event, resulting from a fundamental difference

A man who seems to be a schizophrenic hitchhikes with three different drivers before he gets in an accident with his final driver. The narrator, also the main character, is given drugs from his previous drivers. This influences the way the narrator's views towards his surroundings and actions. Later on he gets in a sudden car accident with his final driver along with the driver’s wife, daughter, and baby boy. In Denis Johnson’s “Car Crash While Hitchhiking,” he illustrates his story in a explicit and forthright way to describe the narrator’s character and the narrator's reactions before, during and after the accident.

“Thanks for the Ride” by Alice Munro, portrays the conflicts in life and the ways we suppress our feelings towards these challenges. This story is told from Dick’s point of view and we get to read how he feels about the situations he goes through. This story takes place in an old, small town called Mission Creek, “It is a town of unpaved, wide, sandy streets and bare yards. Only the hardy things like red and yellow nasturtiums, or lilac bush with brown with brown curved leaves, grew out of the cracked earth.” The setting is a of the lack of life and potential in this town. The way we deal with complex situations depends on how we were brought up, the way we deal with oncoming challenges, the atmosphere we are, the people we are around and

After the race, Dave is convinced to enter the cycling race against the college students by his friends. Yet, his friend Mike is hesitant about the competition commenting that maybe the university students are better. However, this comment is made because Mike became timid after he had challenged the college student to a race swimming in the quarry and lost because he had hit his head on a rock. During the race at the university, Dave becomes hurt. This scene shows how Dave and his friends try to overcome the stereotypes about

In Robert Pirsig’s autobiographical novel “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, Pirsig shares a real-life experience about a motorcycle journey from Minneapolis to Montana with his son, Chris, and two friends, John and Sylvia. On this trip, they don’t have a precise schedule, but instead they let the uncrowded roads that cars avoid, show them the way. As the bare roads are being traveled upon, the narrator begins to reveal mysterious things about himself, his companions, and his past. The narrator’s actions and memories triggers him to tell lessons and lectures that are more significant than motorcycle maintenance. In part one, the relationships the narrator has with each character, especially his son, plays a huge role in the suspense

Understanding oneself is one of the most important factors in living a free life, and living on the road can be a big part of this process. In the novel, Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer writes about a boy who ventures into the wilderness and inevitably learns more about himself on a journey right before he dies. In order to avoid his problematic family, Chris McCandless journeys into danger where he meets people who help him learn more about the world. Although he does eventually meet his end in Alaska, he leaves the world without worries or regrets. By living on the road and in nature, Mccandless is able to live the life that he wants and be free from the clutches of society. While living on the road can prove fatal, it allows a person to find themselves and avoid the problems of society; therefore, people should look to nature in order to better understand themselves.

Reaching a goal faces a lot of obstacles, but overcoming them is what matters the most. “The Swimmer”, by John Cheever gives a prospective on what it’s like having to face certain obstacles and situation on his eight miles home. Neddy masked reality completely the cause of it was his drinking hobbies, but his strengths made him discover his biggest weakness.The desire that he had for swimming motivated him to meet new friends along his journey back home. The uncommon route he took on his journey home gave him the feeling that he was an explorer, and he knew that all along the way he would find his friends. Neddy’s option to swim back home by a different route led him to find out some things that he didn’t expect. “Why, we heard that you sold

The great love of the man’s life was his red mountain bike. He rode it on groomed trails, over rutted terrain, on the highway, uptown, downtown, to the grocery store, and everywhere around the mountain town where he lived. Along the way were numerous stops to chat with a friend or neighbour. He loved people. Because he was accident-prone, some of these visits had a comic twist as unplanned adventures presented themselves. The man’s experiences were classic folklore in his family and in the community. Many times, he returned from an outing rumpled from some sort of rutted road experience, still laughing. He found excitement wherever he went—or better said, excitement found him.

My sister and I decide one day that it was a good idea to bike from our house, to my grandmother’s house, where my mother and grandmother were. We descend down into the basement and activate the hero scene. We mount our bikes and ride through the American flag hanging like a large banner in our basement as a form of good luck. We go up the steep slope from the basement up through the driveway. We prepare for our 3 mile voyage and go through winding roads. The landscape of our region featured tree farms comprised of mostly eucalyptus trees, miles long vineyards on varying hills expanding into the horizon, and the frequent parked tractor where an old couple would be caring for their land. In order to get to the village my grandmother’s house was in, we needed to cross through a road that went down the middle of these vineyards. There are several

Part One of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road opens with the introduction of main characters, Sal Paradise, who had recently separated from his first wife, to Dean Moriarty. Although Sal had long been interested in Dean, it is Dean who comes to Sal, asking him to teach him how to write. Dean’s wife, Marylou returns to Denver, leaving him to bond with Sal over writing, music, and plans to travel west, where Dean is from and Sal has always wanted to go. Although Dean heads west on his own, Sal soon finds the opportunity to follow, when another friend, Remi Boncoeur invites him to San Francisco, where they could then board a ship that would sail around the world.

The word "bicycle" itself appears numerous times, yet never makes a lasting impression on the narrator. When the narrator discusses the creation of a "special bicycle-pump which [Divney] manufactured himself out of a hollow iron bar" (7), bringing spades tied onto "the crossbars of our bicycles" (16), and the riding his bike to Old Mathers' house, he is describing the tools he and John Divney use to murder an old man. The duo's bicycles do not seem important or significant in-and-of-themselves; they are small components in a more important and engaging plot. However, the word keeps finding ways to insert itself into the narrative, and reappears incessantly, yet manages to avoid the narrator notice. The narrator himself only recognizes the inescapable nature of the bicycle as his journey becomes increasingly

After moving for a while, I hit my first hill and fire seems to take ever my legs as I push myself to my limits. As the trail continues to move underneath me, I begin to hear the bike. As I hit a water bar or a drop-off I hat the clinking of my tools in their case on the side of the bike. Then I notice how the chain smacks against the frame on a particularly rough terrain. When I feel confident enough, I will hear the rear wheel skidding across the dirt, as I pull a nice speed slide through a turn. After my body is somewhat numb to what I am sensing, I begin to notice new awareness of other sensations. Now that I have been on the bike for a while, I am rather saturated with perspiration. I can now taste the sweat as it rolls down my face, picking up dirt as it goes, and then mixing with my saliva on my lips, and then into my parched mouth. I reach for my bottle of water to quench my thirst. The water is warm, because of the sun beating down on it. I pour it into my mouth and across my face as I slow down my pace to keep from crashing. The water’s taste is not spectacular, because of its temperature and the mud caked on the spout of the bottle. To the hot and tired rider like me, its flavor is wonderful. Lastly, I start to notice the smells of riding on the trail. As my blood is stripped of its oxygen while pumping through my legs, my lungs gasp for more to air to

In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and All the Pretty Horses, he introduces varying themes, however, both stories emphasize the idea of survival throughout their challenging, extensive journeys. Both John Grady Cole and the boy learn through their journeys on how to adapt and survive in their harsh, unforgiving environments. Thus, their experiences with extreme conditions, such as cannibals in The Road, forces the characters to change and mature through the story. Correspondingly, they must learn to trust only themselves and not others, causing transformations within the relationships with the other individuals that they meet during the story. Furthermore, the idea of death developed throughout the books forces them to grow up and become independent. Though out Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and All the Pretty Horses, the theme of survival that is taught by the characters’ experiences, forces the main character to come to age which influences dynamic changes by the end, and alters the relationships with the others around them during their hectic journey.