Examples Of Cannibalism In The Road
Timothy Wang, John Sanders, and Mikalai Hubarevich
Ms. Chvany
English 12, P.2
4 November 2012
A Study in Human Nature
Those that should survive an apocalyptic event would face a terrible struggle for survival. The principle of survival of the fittest would be one of the only things keeping individuals alive; people would have to resort to cannibalism and to killing each other as a food source to increase their longevity. In The Road, McCarthy examines the essence of human nature in a post-apocalyptic environment and ventures into the darkest corners of the human subconscious, showing that when an individual is forced to live in some of the hardest conditions imaginable, it is human nature to do anything to survive.
In this desolate world, the individuals lose their morals and values and become remorseless and apathetic. The man and the boy encounter an old man along their journey to the sea. There is a glimpse of the values lost by most of the survivors as he says, “I don’t have anything…You can look if you want.”(162) The old man instantly assumed that the man and the boy were …show more content…
Whereas in present day society cannibalism is frowned upon, it is the common method of survival in the post-apocalyptic world. In the book, one family survives by keeping a cellar full of people who they eat piece by piece. Once the man and the boy break into the cellar, they are confronted with “naked people, male and female, all trying to hide, shielding their faces with their hands. On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and the stumps of them blackened and burnt.”(110) Surprised and shocked by this experience, the man and the boy then proceed to try to run away as fast as possible. The fact that normal people have to resort to cannibalism and have a cellar full of people for food suggests that it is the nature of humans to do anything to survive, including eating their own
Ms. Chvany
English 12, P.2
4 November 2012
A Study in Human Nature
Those that should survive an apocalyptic event would face a terrible struggle for survival. The principle of survival of the fittest would be one of the only things keeping individuals alive; people would have to resort to cannibalism and to killing each other as a food source to increase their longevity. In The Road, McCarthy examines the essence of human nature in a post-apocalyptic environment and ventures into the darkest corners of the human subconscious, showing that when an individual is forced to live in some of the hardest conditions imaginable, it is human nature to do anything to survive.
In this desolate world, the individuals lose their morals and values and become remorseless and apathetic. The man and the boy encounter an old man along their journey to the sea. There is a glimpse of the values lost by most of the survivors as he says, “I don’t have anything…You can look if you want.”(162) The old man instantly assumed that the man and the boy were …show more content…
Whereas in present day society cannibalism is frowned upon, it is the common method of survival in the post-apocalyptic world. In the book, one family survives by keeping a cellar full of people who they eat piece by piece. Once the man and the boy break into the cellar, they are confronted with “naked people, male and female, all trying to hide, shielding their faces with their hands. On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and the stumps of them blackened and burnt.”(110) Surprised and shocked by this experience, the man and the boy then proceed to try to run away as fast as possible. The fact that normal people have to resort to cannibalism and have a cellar full of people for food suggests that it is the nature of humans to do anything to survive, including eating their own