Finding Food and Shelter

2. Finding Food and Shelter

According to Maslow as quoted by Pettijohn 216, physiological needs which include the motives such as hunger, thirst, and rest constitute the basic needs that should be satisfied first before one can move on to the higher needs. Physiological needs become the priority because these deal with physical survival. People will die if they do not eat and rest. While in order to survive the father spends a lot of time rummaging through vacant houses, sheds, barns, cars, trains, stores, and a ship. He must do it in order to find food or they will die. Once, when entering a supermarket, the man finds a Coke from the gutted machine and gives it to his son. By the door were two softdrink machines that had been tilted over the floor and opened by a prybar. Coins everywhere in the ash. He sat and ran his hands around in the works of the gutted machine and in the second one it closed over a cold metal cylinder. He withdrew his hand slowly and sat looking a Coca Cola. 22 Meanwhile, he also wanders alone around an empty barn and farmhouse leaving his sleeping child and his pistol under his blanket. There is no one at those places so that he can search food easily. He gets coarse and dusty seeds at the barn. He checks the house room by room including the kitchen, the mudroom, and the garage. He expects that he can find clothes and beddings in the closet but there is nothing inside. After he thinks the food he gets is enough for both of them, he returns soon and gives that food to his son. However, in his searching of food, there are times the man should face directly the terror of the existence of the cannibals. Once, when he comes to an abandoned house he finds on the floor of one room of the house a door or a hatch that is locked with a large padlock made of stacked steel plate. He is so curious to know if there is food inside because they have not eaten for a few days. Before he can open the door, he sorts through PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI tools in a tool shed near the house. He chooses a long handled spade and then works with it. Back in the house he chopped at the wood around the haspstaple and finally jammed the blade under the staple and pried it up. It was bolted through the wood and whole thing came up lock and all. He kicked the blade of the shovel under the edge of the boards and stopped and got his lighter out. Then he stood on the tang of the shovel and raised the edge of the hatch and leaned and got hold of it…. Then he raised the hatch door and swung it over and let it down on the floor behind 116. Later, he enters the room and finds horrible scenery. There are two naked people huddle against the back wall and on the mattress lay a dead man with legs gone to the hip and stumps of them are cauterized. He turns and grabs his son to get out of the house although outside there is also a danger that is waiting for them. At this point, the father in the novel makes use of his energy to find food and to get secure from the cannibals. As stated by Maslow the dominant forces such as security, protection, and anxiety affect a person’s life until they can be satisfied. It can be seen that these forces also affect the father in his attempts to get food. When he realizes that there is a danger inside the room he automatically becomes alert because he feels anxious. Then, after understanding this reaction of the bad feeling, he immediately grabs his son and runs to get out of it. Further, because there are also bad people come toward the house, the man and his son run as fast as they can into the woods to get protection. After they make sure that they are safe, they continue their travel. Therefore, the fulfillment of safety needs is very important to determine the next steps to take in order to survive. Meanwhile, on one occasion the father sees a boat on the beach. He determines to check into the boat what he can find out. In this case, he applies problem-solving strategy PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI to get what he wants. According to Brockovich and Eliot 180, problem-solving skills include isolating the problem, identifying the route to its obstacle, figuring out a way to get round it, and fixing the problems. Therefore, the father in The Road finds problems he must consider before doing his actions. To get useful stuff he needs to search for the boat and leaves alone his child on the beach. He realizes that the cold is deep, cold and freezing but he decides to swim as fast as he can. In the same time, his son insists on going with him but the father assures that he will always check on him. He also gives him a responsibility to take care of their clothes while he is searching for the boat. Finally, his son agrees to stay alone on the beach and lets him swim to the sea. Reaching the boat, the man works hard to enter the cabin. He must be quick in order to avoid losing his body temperature and keep conscious. He tried the low teak door but it was locked. He gave it a shove with his bony shoulder. He looked around for something to pry with. He was shivering uncontrollably and his teeth were chattering. He thought about kicking the door with the flat of his foot but then he thought that was not a good idea. He held his elbow in his hand and banged into the door again. He felt it give. He kept at it. The jamb was splitting on the inside and it finally gave way and he pushed it open and stepped down the companionway in to the cabin 240. He checks all places in the cabin and collects the useful stuff he can bring. Sometimes, he goes up on the deck to check his son. Then, he returns to the cabin to sort what to take and makes bundles of the collected stuff. When everything is ready, he quickly swims back to the beach while carrying the stuff. He knows his son is attentively waiting for him. Fortunately, the father can come back safely even though he hurts his shoulder. He is quite happy with all he has got. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI He waded ashore in the last of the light and swung the tarp down and palmed the water off his arms and chest and went to get his clothes. The boy followed him. He kept asking him about his shoulder, blue and discolored from where he’d slammed it against the hatch door. It’s all right, the man said. It doesnt hurt. We got lots of stuff. Wait till you see 246-247. Furthermore, in order to get safe from cold and cannibals the man always tries to find shelter. As it is described in the novel he and his son make a camp on the hill, sleep in the woods and live for a couple days at abandoned houses. He sometimes leaves his son for a while to find wood so that they can make a fire. He shows the aspects of love as stated by Fromm 36 in his protection. He knows and understands that he has to make his son secure. When they make a camp in the wood at night the snow and trees fall so hard. The situation is getting worst because everything is wet, the fire is out, and they may be hit by the falling trees. In this case, he has to think fast to get the nearest place and save his life. Eventually, he determines to take shelter under a falling tree. There, he said. I think that’s it. He dug a tunnel under one of the fallen trees, scooping away the snow with his arms, his frozen hands clawed inside his sleeves. They dragged in their bedding and the tarp and after a while they slept again for all the bitter cold 102-103. On the other hand, when they decide to stay for a while at an abandoned house the father has to make sure that there is no cannibal inside. He estimates the distance between the house and the road and checks all of the rooms carefully. There’s no one here. There has been no one here for years. There are no tracks in the ash. Nothing disturbed. No furniture burned in the fireplace. There’ food here. Tracks dont stay in the ash. You said so yourself. The wind blows them away. I’m going up 225-226. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Having known the house is clear they can stay for a couple days eating, sleeping and collecting useful stuff such as blankets, clothes, and food. When they are ready, they continue their travel to south.

3. Fighting against his Fears of Death