AP Merit?
This blog post has been the one that I have looked forward to the least. Deciding whether or not a book has AP merit seems difficult, especially for a high school student who has only read a handful of the esteemed books. I don't work for college board, how would I know? Well, after looking back to the past books read from this year, it is clear that you can gauge other books off of known AP books. So, as I dug through the cobwebs to dust off my knowledge of Song of Solomon, Brave New World, and Handmaid's Tale I determined that there was a clear checklist of criteria that is involved in determining a books AP merit.
1) Does the reader have to read in between the lines to figure out important plot points.
In every single novel read this year it is almost impossible to get the full experience of the book by just mindlessly reading the book. If there is no time spent to critically analyse events, dialogue, descriptions, and basically everything in the book you can't read the book for what it really is. So far in The Road there have been many hints drawn about death. Basically death is mentioned in every other section of the book, it's not hard to figure out. However, it is more than just the idea of death and it is more than just McCarthy describing past events in this post apocalyptic world by just saying death. This most recent section of reading has brought death into a new light. The subject has taken a turn and is no longer talking about the past, but now hinting towards the future. There have been many, and I mean many times this chapter where a future death of The Man was hinted at. Although not obvious, after taking some time it is clear that McCarthy is hinting at something. First, The Man started getting sick. Ok, not a big deal, lots of people get sick. However, it continued to get worse to the point where every step he took resulted in a cough. But that's not all, the real kicker that brings it home is the dream he had. The man has a dream of past relatives. The first sign of death being "His dreams brightened. The vanished world returned. Kin long dead washed up and cast fey sidewise looks upon him. None spoke. He thought of his life" (187)." Everybody knows the saying "Don't go towards the light". Well that's kind of what happened with the man when his dreams brightened. Also, he saw his old relatives that have long been dead, and he then thought about his own life. To me, that screams that it is foreshadowing the mans death. Plus the fact that four days later he is still just as sick. On the AP checklist, the first box is checked for The Road. It passes.
2) The main character of the book has a foil.
If there is one question that I will always remember from the AP Literature practice essays it is the one about a character and their foil. If one of College Board's questions is about character foils, then a book with foils is in the running for being of AP merit. The Road is in luck because there are basically only two characters in this book. And guess what? They're foils! The Man and The Boy are clearly foils due to their different characteristics. They are father and son. One comes from a time before the apocalypse and one has only spent his time living in it. The Man's main objective in life is to keep his son safe at all costs. While The Boy's goal is to stay safe, just as The Man's. However, the boy is not as extreme in his actions. The Boy just wants to help people. He is a very generous character as seen through his actions in this most recent section. He so badly wanted to help a man who was struggling to survive where the father did not want to. The Man's first reaction to seeing the old man is to keep moving, while the boy's is to "...give him something to eat" (163). This has been seen before also where the boy wants to help people and be a good person, to find the other "good guys". Yet, the father doesn't want his son to be lured in by someone who seems trustworthy who will just stab them in the back. The Man's see's the boy's generosity as his downfall. Two very different ideologues. So, the second box on the checklist is also filled in. We are on the road to being an AP level book. (See what I did there).
3) The characters go through a journey that changes their ideologies.
So far, this part of the checklist is iffy. We have a journey, no doubt about that. The entire book has been about the journey. However, this book has shown no sign of there being any change in either of the characters. Being near the end the change should be visible, but it isn't. Also, there isn't much information known about the two characters so it is very hard to tell whether or not the change in thoughts will occur. The best example of that starting to happen so far has been The Man letting the two of them help the old man (Ely). This is a change from the beginning of the novel where The Boy wanted to help the burned man and the father wouldn't let him. However, these two scenes seem relatively small in comparison to the book as a whole and it doesn't seem like the father is going through a big change in heart to start helping other people. I assume this based on the last that was spoken of Ely in saying that "...all went on. When he looked back the old man had set out with his cane, tapping his way, dwindling slowly on the road behind them like some storybook peddler from an antique time, dark and bent and spider thin and soon to vanish forever. The boy never looked back at all" (175). It seems that the two really don't care much about the man or what they did for the man because The Boy didn't even look back to see what impact they had on him. They just continued on their way to the south. So, the third point is a little shaky because we have still not reached the end of the book yet to fully determine this. However, it could be a possibility.
4) There is lots of evidence (symbols, themes, motifs, ect.) to prove meaning of work as a whole throughout the novel. This meaning of work as a whole relates to the characters journey in some way.
The last point is also slightly hard to tell. Yes, there are very clearly symbols, motifs, and other literary devices that contribute to the themes of this novel. However, it is hard to tell at this point whether or not the journey adds to the meaning of work as a whole. As partly explained in my last blog post about style, there are lots of motifs in this novel that can relate to the overall theme of the book. There are definitely points that can be related to the journey. For example, the determination of good vs. evil has been a major part of the pairs journey. The Boy is constantly asking about who is good and who is bad and how he can tell the difference between the two. It is brought up many times throughout the novel and I believe that it is a overall theme of the book. Being able to determine who is good and who is bad, not just from being told but from your own thoughts. However, it is hard to relate their journey to that theme. Yes, good vs. evil is brought up many times throughout their journey. However, that is really just it. It's only brought up a couple of times. It isn't a major arc of the characters determining who is evil and who is good. They have only just talked about it for a bit. This point is also hard to determine whether it is checked for The Road because the journey is not yet finished.
Overall, from my checklist The Road definitely hits two of the points and it is possible to hit the other two. So up to this point in the novel is does not have AP merit. However, by the end of the book it could very well be of AP merit. So lets to just, to be determined. A follow up post may be uploaded to once and for all see if the book meets the two failed criteria. At the end of the book it could very well be of AP merit. But for now, it's just a regular old non AP book.
1) Does the reader have to read in between the lines to figure out important plot points.
In every single novel read this year it is almost impossible to get the full experience of the book by just mindlessly reading the book. If there is no time spent to critically analyse events, dialogue, descriptions, and basically everything in the book you can't read the book for what it really is. So far in The Road there have been many hints drawn about death. Basically death is mentioned in every other section of the book, it's not hard to figure out. However, it is more than just the idea of death and it is more than just McCarthy describing past events in this post apocalyptic world by just saying death. This most recent section of reading has brought death into a new light. The subject has taken a turn and is no longer talking about the past, but now hinting towards the future. There have been many, and I mean many times this chapter where a future death of The Man was hinted at. Although not obvious, after taking some time it is clear that McCarthy is hinting at something. First, The Man started getting sick. Ok, not a big deal, lots of people get sick. However, it continued to get worse to the point where every step he took resulted in a cough. But that's not all, the real kicker that brings it home is the dream he had. The man has a dream of past relatives. The first sign of death being "His dreams brightened. The vanished world returned. Kin long dead washed up and cast fey sidewise looks upon him. None spoke. He thought of his life" (187)." Everybody knows the saying "Don't go towards the light". Well that's kind of what happened with the man when his dreams brightened. Also, he saw his old relatives that have long been dead, and he then thought about his own life. To me, that screams that it is foreshadowing the mans death. Plus the fact that four days later he is still just as sick. On the AP checklist, the first box is checked for The Road. It passes.
2) The main character of the book has a foil.
If there is one question that I will always remember from the AP Literature practice essays it is the one about a character and their foil. If one of College Board's questions is about character foils, then a book with foils is in the running for being of AP merit. The Road is in luck because there are basically only two characters in this book. And guess what? They're foils! The Man and The Boy are clearly foils due to their different characteristics. They are father and son. One comes from a time before the apocalypse and one has only spent his time living in it. The Man's main objective in life is to keep his son safe at all costs. While The Boy's goal is to stay safe, just as The Man's. However, the boy is not as extreme in his actions. The Boy just wants to help people. He is a very generous character as seen through his actions in this most recent section. He so badly wanted to help a man who was struggling to survive where the father did not want to. The Man's first reaction to seeing the old man is to keep moving, while the boy's is to "...give him something to eat" (163). This has been seen before also where the boy wants to help people and be a good person, to find the other "good guys". Yet, the father doesn't want his son to be lured in by someone who seems trustworthy who will just stab them in the back. The Man's see's the boy's generosity as his downfall. Two very different ideologues. So, the second box on the checklist is also filled in. We are on the road to being an AP level book. (See what I did there).
3) The characters go through a journey that changes their ideologies.
So far, this part of the checklist is iffy. We have a journey, no doubt about that. The entire book has been about the journey. However, this book has shown no sign of there being any change in either of the characters. Being near the end the change should be visible, but it isn't. Also, there isn't much information known about the two characters so it is very hard to tell whether or not the change in thoughts will occur. The best example of that starting to happen so far has been The Man letting the two of them help the old man (Ely). This is a change from the beginning of the novel where The Boy wanted to help the burned man and the father wouldn't let him. However, these two scenes seem relatively small in comparison to the book as a whole and it doesn't seem like the father is going through a big change in heart to start helping other people. I assume this based on the last that was spoken of Ely in saying that "...all went on. When he looked back the old man had set out with his cane, tapping his way, dwindling slowly on the road behind them like some storybook peddler from an antique time, dark and bent and spider thin and soon to vanish forever. The boy never looked back at all" (175). It seems that the two really don't care much about the man or what they did for the man because The Boy didn't even look back to see what impact they had on him. They just continued on their way to the south. So, the third point is a little shaky because we have still not reached the end of the book yet to fully determine this. However, it could be a possibility.
4) There is lots of evidence (symbols, themes, motifs, ect.) to prove meaning of work as a whole throughout the novel. This meaning of work as a whole relates to the characters journey in some way.
The last point is also slightly hard to tell. Yes, there are very clearly symbols, motifs, and other literary devices that contribute to the themes of this novel. However, it is hard to tell at this point whether or not the journey adds to the meaning of work as a whole. As partly explained in my last blog post about style, there are lots of motifs in this novel that can relate to the overall theme of the book. There are definitely points that can be related to the journey. For example, the determination of good vs. evil has been a major part of the pairs journey. The Boy is constantly asking about who is good and who is bad and how he can tell the difference between the two. It is brought up many times throughout the novel and I believe that it is a overall theme of the book. Being able to determine who is good and who is bad, not just from being told but from your own thoughts. However, it is hard to relate their journey to that theme. Yes, good vs. evil is brought up many times throughout their journey. However, that is really just it. It's only brought up a couple of times. It isn't a major arc of the characters determining who is evil and who is good. They have only just talked about it for a bit. This point is also hard to determine whether it is checked for The Road because the journey is not yet finished.
Overall, from my checklist The Road definitely hits two of the points and it is possible to hit the other two. So up to this point in the novel is does not have AP merit. However, by the end of the book it could very well be of AP merit. So lets to just, to be determined. A follow up post may be uploaded to once and for all see if the book meets the two failed criteria. At the end of the book it could very well be of AP merit. But for now, it's just a regular old non AP book.
A thoughtful statement of elements that make a novel Ap-worthy. I think it's a good list, and your assessment of how well the books fits these elements is thoughtful and well-supported.
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