Preview

Biblical Allusions in the Road

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
562 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Biblical Allusions in the Road
Brian Alvarez 1/11/13

The Road Literary Analysis Essay

Throughout the novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy uses religious symbolism. This literary technique uses references to religion in the book. These references are also called Biblical Allusions. One biblical allusion in The Road directs to a named Ely and what he thinks about the world as it is now, and how humans symbolize God’s prophets on page 170. He does not believe in God. Ely then says that he sees the boy as a God on page 172. Another example of religious symbolism in The Road can be when the father states “curse God and die” on page 114. This biblical allusion refers to Job and his troubles from the bible. The father and the boy eventually meet a man named Ely on the road. McCarthy describes him by saying “He looked like a pile of rags fallen off a cart” (page 162). Ely talks a lot about God, and how he has forsaken the human race. On page 169, Ely says “Nobody wants to be here and nobody wants to leave”. Ely himself does not even believe in God. On page 170, Ely and the man have a deep religious conversation. The father eventually says “I guess God would know it. Is that it?” Ely replies saying “There is no God” The father questions Ely, “No?” Then finally, Ely says “There is no God and we are his prophets”. That quote in the book has a strong significance. It basically means that we as humans symbolize God’s prophets. “We” meaning all the humans who survived the apocalypse. And by Ely saying there is no God, all of us humans as prophets are worthless, since there is no God, according to Ely. That quote also has a strong impact on the reader. It gives the reader a sense of pity for all of the humans who have survived the disaster, because they are somewhat stuck on Earth with no purpose of life. Ely then goes to say “When I saw that boy I thought that I had died. “What if I said that he’s a God?” (page 172) Ely had not seen a child in very long. And Ely could see the fire that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is full of allusions to the bible and other religious figures. The title of the book itself has a very strong religious undertone. "Lord of the Flies" is another name for the Devil, or Unholy One. The devil is the lord of the flies, signifying death, decay, and destruction. This is the first allusion of many that you see throughout the novel. It doesn't, however, make much sense to the reader at the beginning of the book. As the novel develops, the allusion becomes clearer and easier to understand.…

    • 362 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fire: typically a symbol denoting destruction, chaos, and negative connotation is personified as an image of both physical and metal assistance throughout the bleak and dispirited journey between the man and his son. Ash contrasts fire; symbolizing displeasure, hopelessness, and complete termination. Cormac McCarthy insinuates fire and ash in The Road to construct the empowering tone, graceful yet disheartening atmosphere, and a sinister setting of which the journey encompasses.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “There can be no great courage where there is no confidence or assurance”-Orison Swett Marden. This quote speaks true, that to have courage, we need confidence and assurance. In the book The Road, a symbol often referred to is the father of the son. He represents the idea of an older figurehead helping you along your way, and reassuring you. This symbol also helps a theme function and come up.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Pulitzer-winning-novelist Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the protagonist and his wife express contrasting views on death. In the middle of an apocalypse, the man holds onto hope, while the woman is resigned and wants to die. Even though the man opposed his wife’s bend towards death in the first half of the novel, he shifts towards the stance of his wife as he himself nears death by the end.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road, a father and his son try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where the majority of people have turned to cannibalism and the environment is twisted and dark. Despite their being glimpses of hope and the Son being showed as the next Messiah, a message of hope could in no way be conveyed in the book. The book is depressing, sad, and makes readers feel grateful for what they have and that they do not have to go through what the protagonists face everyday day.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, the characters and events symbolize the themes presented in Christianity. An example would be Jim Casy, a former preacher who stopped preaching for he had sinned. He accompanies the Joad family to their journey to California, and even though he insists he isn't a preacher anymore, he continues to preach the Joad family.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Since its original publication in 1930, the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner has drawn much exploration and critique. Though this analysis is very far reaching and broad in topic, one interesting route of investigation is the novel 's connection to the Old Testament. One does not have to be a Christian to study the similarities in theme; there are very many occurrences of biblical subject matter and correlation, these having been studied by student and scholar alike. The Old Testament is known commonly as the more historical part of the Bible; it sets up the background knowledge to the New Testament and gives readers an idea of the nature of the times. Many general themes of the Old Testament are reflected in the Bible as a whole, as well as each book having its own plot and theme. Such Old Testament themes such as original sin and ideas corresponding to that of the Book of Job can be found inherently in As I Lay Dying.…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Exile in the Road

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In The Road, McCarthy asserts that while evil is almost always portrayed as undefeatable, it does not completely overcome good. The way in which McCarthy proves this theme is through his use of the boy as a symbol of innocence and moral righteousness. In every experience that the father and son have with evil, the son always pleads to do what is morally correct in favor of what they must do to survive. For example, when one of the “bad guys” advances on the father and son, although the boy is under the threat of danger, he still begs his father not to kill the man, which shows the boy’s generosity and tendency to want to help all people in need regardless of their capacity for evil. The boy’s determination to aid the threatening stranger proves that in spite of all the evil surrounding them, one small trace of good may always be seen in the boy.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In how to read literature like a professor there is a entire chapter dedicated to symbolism. Symbolism is very strongly used throughout the entire novel 'The Road', the road itself being one of the strongest symbols. Throughout the entire novel the road represents hope, if they can find the road they travel along it and feel as if they have a chance, I also feel as if the ocean is a symbol of hope, it keep the going, on a mission.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Almost everybody has read a book that, at first glance, seems like an ordinary book, but actually contains a hidden deeper meaning. Many authors use allusions to express these hidden meanings, and one of the most commonly alluded texts is the Bible. Lord of the Flies is a superb example of a novel packed full of allusions to the Bible. William Golding, the author, used these allusions and other literary devices to state his opinions on various subjects. Golding’s entire novel is devoted to answering the age-old question: is man naturally good or evil, and his position is backed up by these Biblical references. Golding’s use of Biblical allusions in Lord of the Flies calls attention to the corruption, laziness, narrow-mindedness, and savage tendencies of man that ruin civilized society.…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "Desire Under the Elms", by Eugene O'Neill, many uses of both biblical and mythological allusions can be seen. These allusions help add depth to the plot of the play by linking the play to other similar, well-known stories. Three of the best allusions are seen in Cabot's talk about how God is a strong god, his talk about God being in the stones, and his telling Eben that he is blind as a mole.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    | Although this is physically what happened to his family, I think that it is also saying that God helped them in their time of need. In the bible it talks about God being your refuge and strength in trouble, and I think that God gave his mother and their family hope to keep going and hope for a brighter future.…

    • 2532 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The father lived his life believing in God, but after meeting Ely he finds out that he’s been living with a false belief. The father and the boy stayed the night with Ely, and that night he said, “There is no God and we are his prophets (P.170).” This means that god doesn’t exists because of all the bad things happening in their world is proof that he doesn’t exists. After Ely said this the father questions his own…

    • 80 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first 39 books of the larger work called the Bible, is called the Old Testament. The Bible itself is arguably the best selling and most read book of all time, yet it’s well known to be quite challenging to read through and understand. The Old Testament portion of the Bible, notably the most difficult portion of the Bible for most to study and follow, yields 39 books from multiple authors, and spans over 4000 years of crucial world and church history. If that were not enough to take on, the Old Testament comes our way through multiple styles of authorship and formats, including but not limited to, books of history, law, proverbs, ethics, philosophy, treatises, dramas, songs, epics, biographies, and letters. There have been many books written and published to survey, explain, and/or bring to light the Old Testament, but none more helpful to me than the review subject of this paper, the work of Dr. Elmer L. Towns, entitled “A Journey Through the Old Testament”.…

    • 2696 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays