Cormac Mccarthy The Road Essay

Written by Cormac McCarthy, The Road explains the story of a boy and his father living in a post-apocalyptic world, ridden with cannibalism and diseases threatening their lives. McCarthy has constructed a world around the boy and father, showing aspects of human nature to warn readers of the importance within trust and the will to survive in humanity. Conversely, detrimental effects that lie within these aspects of human nature are shown. Examples are specifically shown in The Road through boy and the father’s will to survive and trust they both place in each other and others.
One aspect of human nature McCarthy informs readers of is the will to survive shown by the boy and father. As they travel to the coast, extreme measures are taken to
The boy readily places great trust in his father and others, however, the father is not a trusting man. The over-arching goal for the father and boy is to reach the coast. The boy trusts his father that this is the best decision, although this could also be deadly as they use all of their supplies to reach this destination. This trust the boy places in his father’s decision allows readers to see the boy’s character; a trusting compassionate boy who places great trust in his father. Conversely, the father places less trust in others he comes across. The father and boy encounter an old man named Eli. The boy proceeds to help, asking the father if he can give Eli food. The father is extremely sceptical at this point, saying he cannot have any food and keeps the boy from Eli. This little trust the father has in others is negative, however, is what keeps the father and boy alive. It has the effect of characterising the father, showing his tough, sceptical personality. Further, the boy wanting to help Eli symbolises the trust that once consisted in humanity before the world became apocalyptic. The boy, symbolising humanity, wanted to help him, which in the world of The Road is an extremely rare. The trust the boy has in his father and the little trust the father places in others allows readers to understand while trust is important, symbolising what humanity once was, it is also dangerous to place trust in