Struggle for Survival in Cormac Mccarthy’s the Road
In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the man and his son face numerous obstacles throughout the novel in order to stay alive. The man, one of the main characters
in the novel, hesitates to help any random strangers in which himself and his son
encounter along their path, the two characters enter many dangerous areas in search of
food, water, and shelter, and the man continues to place faith into false reality and also
creates this scenario for his son in order to create motivation for them to carry on. In this
novel, survival is the central theme.
Whenever the man and his son encounter a stranger, the man refuses to help them
even if they are in awful conditions. For example, they come across a random traveler
who claims to be named Ely. When the son begs his father to help him, he says “I don’t
think he should have anything” (McCarthy, 149). The father denies the stranger with any
aid for he is too fearful of placing trust into anyone. He knows that the only way to
survive is to selfishly carry out without giving even the smallest of assistance to any man,
woman, or child that crosses their path. For him, that is the only choice for he does not
know if the stranger has motives to kill them. Also, after walking past a village, the son
claims to have seen a little boy and begs his father if they can go back and get him. The
man then says “Stop it. We can’t.” (McCarthy, 80) and thinks that his son is seeing
things. Again, the selfish desire to survive prevents him from helping others. He does not
want to go back because he does not want to do anything that will risk their lives. The
thirst for survival becomes greater than his conscience hence it prevents him from giving
into his son. Another time this occurs is when the man and his son are robbed by a
stranger. The man catches him and takes back their stuff, along with the thief’s
belongings. The son begs the father to show mercy
in the novel, hesitates to help any random strangers in which himself and his son
encounter along their path, the two characters enter many dangerous areas in search of
food, water, and shelter, and the man continues to place faith into false reality and also
creates this scenario for his son in order to create motivation for them to carry on. In this
novel, survival is the central theme.
Whenever the man and his son encounter a stranger, the man refuses to help them
even if they are in awful conditions. For example, they come across a random traveler
who claims to be named Ely. When the son begs his father to help him, he says “I don’t
think he should have anything” (McCarthy, 149). The father denies the stranger with any
aid for he is too fearful of placing trust into anyone. He knows that the only way to
survive is to selfishly carry out without giving even the smallest of assistance to any man,
woman, or child that crosses their path. For him, that is the only choice for he does not
know if the stranger has motives to kill them. Also, after walking past a village, the son
claims to have seen a little boy and begs his father if they can go back and get him. The
man then says “Stop it. We can’t.” (McCarthy, 80) and thinks that his son is seeing
things. Again, the selfish desire to survive prevents him from helping others. He does not
want to go back because he does not want to do anything that will risk their lives. The
thirst for survival becomes greater than his conscience hence it prevents him from giving
into his son. Another time this occurs is when the man and his son are robbed by a
stranger. The man catches him and takes back their stuff, along with the thief’s
belongings. The son begs the father to show mercy
Cited: List McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007