Cormac Mccarthy The Road Analysis

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Many people face different challenges as a child that influence and shape how they will spend the rest of their lives. In times of terror and turmoil it is difficult to visualize a meaningful future. There are constant obstacles in life that test’s if one can truly overcome negativity. In The Road, Cormac McCarthy illustrates a young boy’s catastrophic childhood in a corrupt, hopeless world where he survives in society without succumbing to cannibalism. His successful journey of overcoming these obstacles on the road emphasizes the message of one relying on hope and resilience in order to survive a troubled life. In novel, the boy and his father travel down a road in hopes of a new life in the South. As they venture down the road, the…show more content…
The boy’s strength keeps him moving forward. His father is depending on him to inspire others and influence the world even if he has to do it without him. Rambo states that “...the boy's spirit will rise above the devastation, representing the promise of resurrection in the aftermath of death's finality.” Compassion, hope, desire, ambition- all qualities that the boy possess. His strong spirit allows him to make it to the South. He is the “light” that humanity lacks. Because of his pureness, “If anything, goodness will prevail” (Rambo). The boy “…brings the essence of divinity back to a corrupted world" (Cooper) which allows goodness to follow him everywhere that he goes. He is the reason why the father continues; the son is the father’s justification for living (McCarthy 5). To his father the boy is like a god. The son is devoted to his father and pleasing him. The boy must continue down the road even after his dad dies. Cremean says that “the son's reaction to his father's passing in The Road seems to offers hope for the future” (124) because it makes his dad proud. Instead of turning back and not completing the mission, the boy pushes forward to finish what he and his dad set out to do. The boy is holy in many ways. The boy carrying the fire symbolizes the burning fire within. This fire warms the world and makes it a happier place rather than a cold one. His holiness creates a barrier against evil and cannibalism (Ellis 52). The fire brings back all the lost joys before the apocalypse. It is the decency that no longer exists in the world. The boys spark stays alive and enables him to brighten

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