A literary critique is presented of the post-apocalyptic novel "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, focusing on the ideologies of the two main characters and how they came to adopt them. The author suggests that the characters see a binary world of good characters and evil characters that is constantly reinforced through saying the word "okay." The author also discusses reassuring language, physical and mental health, and morality.…
“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy is a journey story set in the setting of an, assumed, post-nuclear war world. The plot of the novel is about a father and his son traveling down a road seeking others like themselves who “carry the fire”. The only destination the author mentions the pair traveling, is ‘South’.…
Throughout The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the boy works his way to the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The boy grows and progresses through the different levels until a certain event at the end of the novel shows he reaches self-actualization.…
People lose their humanity during certain circumstances in order to survive. In the book, The Road written by Cormac McCarthy, all humanity is lost in order to survive the volcano apocalypse. In the book there was a huge volcano apocalypse that almost wiped out the human race entirely. The whole world was falling apart the system that everyone followed was no more the small amount of people who survived were fighting hunger,coldness and also cannibalism. The world turned dark and ashy from all the smoke from the volcanoes all the cities were abandoned and there was no nature left to see. People saw no solutions so they started to turn into cannibals and thieves in order to survive. While traveling on the road, the father and the son meet people…
In The Road, the two main characters do not have names. They are known only as “the father” and “the boy” or his son. The author, Cormac McCarthy did this on purpose, to make the father a symbol throughout the story. While walking on the road, the father and his son have small conversations, most of which include the boy asking questions about their…
In the upcoming essay we’re about to do, I want to explore the ideas of Jack Kerouac's transformation throughout the book. When he wrote “On the Road.” people expect him to be this happy optimistic guy. Jack Kerouac was an example of youth and freedom. To everyone he was this person that changed everyone's life and even made a change to people's viewpoint of literature. He was someone that represented the Beat Generation and was even considered the “King of the Beat Generation”. But soon enough, it turns out that he’s become a whole different person. He has grown to old and can’t keep up with the present day. Someone that has turned tired of the image he has created of himself. An image where he wish he had never created. Jack Kerouac even said to himself, “Some sort of sea beatnik, tho anybody wants to call me a beatnik for THIS better try it if they dare.(27)” To explore the possibility of salvation he has met and to explain the purpose of this book to the audience.…
McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. The Road is set in a grim atmosphere. It is after apocalypse world where all signs of life are extinct. People and animals are starving, and predatory groups of savages wander around with pieces of human bodies stuck in their teeth. It is both oppressive and disheartening. McCarthy sets an atmosphere like one mediately after the world wars. It is not far-fetched to imagine the possibility of such a sad environment today. The novel tells a story of an unnamed man and his son in who struggle to survive in this horrific environment. I feel that the language in the novel is verbose. McCarthy is blunt in his descriptions. He uses repeated struggles and similar scenes forcing the reader to share the tough experience of the characters. I agree with the author that The Road is the picture of a post-apocalyptic world. I also agree with the opinion that suffering might never end, like the novel indicates through imagery at the very end. The author manages to combine happy moments with sad ones even though the sad ones takes the larger share. In addition, he accomplished his aim of having an audience that is glued to the book all along sine it is both engaging and informative. The author has a perception that the world is composed of more bad things than the good ones. This novel will be important to me as I explore the themes of post-apocalyptic fears and human struggles. However, I do feel that he leans too heavily on sadness…
In The Road, the first 16 pages give the reader a good perspective of the novel. The reader learns that the world has undergone a dramatic change. The world seems post-apocalyptic, and there is nothing much that remains. Two characters are presented but are not described in any way; we only know that they are labeled as ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’ who are father and son. McCarthy does not give description to ‘the man’ or ‘the boy’, but there actions and dialogues give the reader some sort of understanding of the characters. McCarthy could be labeling the characters ‘the man ‘and ‘the boy’ to show the effects on mankind after this catastrophe. By labeling them ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’, it could be that McCarthy is trying to universalize his characters, showing how much of a change there has been in the novel after the tragedy which has transformed the earth.…
With the daunting task of facing a derelict, volatile world, an eight-year-old boy manages the unthinkable - survival. Cormac McCarthy illustrates how the boy in The Road encounters many obstacles during his childhood, and in spite of these hardships, resists numerous temptations to give up in life. The combination of growing up in a dysfunctional family as well as a bleak, barren, cataclysmic environment affects his psychological and physical development and makes his life extremely difficult to bear. The environment in which the boy inhabits is nothing short of hellish. As stated by Janet Maslin in her criticism of The Road, “the boy was born a few days after [the mother] and [father] ‘watched distant cities burn.’” (Maslin 2). The boy grows…
looks like yesterday rather than today. They are desolate for a new day and an array of…
The novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy is set in a post-apocalyptic world lacking resources, food, and rules. It tells the journey of a man and his son to find lasting safety and of the adversity they face along the way. The boy in The Road understands the terror of living in a post-apocalyptic world, and at a young age he realizes that he must grow up in order to protect himself as well as his father. Throughout the novel, McCarthy gives the reader examples of how the boy exhibits his concern for strangers, his father, and himself.…
In a world where everything has gone to chaos, where there is cannibalism, where food is sacred, and sky is charcoal grey; people will do anything to survive. In order to survive one needs the basic elements: food, water, and shelter. Having others, to help one stay sane; having a sense of direction, in order to know where to go and where not to go: and also knowing who and what to trust is also need in order to survive. In the post-apocalyptic novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, it displays many themes, but the ones that prevails the rest is sense of trust and compassion; whether it be to trust or not to trust, to be compassionate or not. Both the father and son have different views on who to and not to trust, and when to be compassionate…
The novel “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy addresses the fundamentals of humanity. As a reader were constantly torn between the ideals of humanity and the darkness displayed during this post-apocalyptic time. Did “The Road” put forth a positive vibe of humanity or one of darkness and distrust? The novel telling the story about the fight for survival. In the dark apocalyptic world being portrayed, can someone remain “good”? McCarthy is portraying a dream of humankind that demonstrates that the most delicate and genuine feelings can exist in the most awful conditions. In the post-apocalyptic world survival by any means necessary is the only thing that is important.…
3. How is Cormac able to make the post-apocalyptic world of The Road seem so real and utterly terrifying? Which descriptive passages are especially vivid and visceral in their depiction of this blasted landscape? What do you find to be the most horrifying features of this world and the survivors who inhabit it?…
What would you do if you had lost everything? Everything and everyone you had ever loved was gone due to tragedy. The world is gloomy and ashened. The term ‘society’ is no longer a familiar word. People have regrouped in clan like packs and you are alone. When the world has fallen apart what do you hold on to? The book ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy faces a similar situation. Most have already lost their humanity, however, some strive to keep what it left of what they used to be. Putting all of the gruesome sights of heads on sticks and cannibals aside, there are truly some individuals trying to keep their hearts warm and whole. The boy and his attempts to help the helpless, the father and his struggle to stay alive, and the family at the end of the novel are all acts of the struggle of humanity.…