Cormac Mccarthy The Road Analysis

The Light in a World of Darkness 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 someone does not know where he will get his next meal, it is hard to imagine a man that displays significant generosity. The fact that this young boy is concerned for the well-being of complete strangers, who could not give a damn about him, is remarkable. In the story the man and the boy are long past starving when they stumble upon an underground shelter filled with all sorts of food. One’s first thought in this situation seems
He is mainly worried for himself when his father is not around. When the boy was sick he tells his father, “Don’t go away” (247). When his father is dying, the boy tells him: “Just take me with you. Please” (279). He feels as if he cannot survive in such a horrible world without the love and support of his father. The boy eventually finds other “good guys” and realizes it is best for him to move on in the world and not give up.
The boy in The Road is a shining example of how to fight a world filled with fear and spite with love and compassion. Through his selfless works of charity, as well as the concern he voices for not only the people he loves, but also those he does not know, the boy in The Road gives hope to what is left of humanity. He is truly a “good guy” and “carries the fire” for the whole world to