Analysis Of The Man In Mccarthy's The Road

The father does not comply with his son and leaves the naked man alone in the cold. This further shows the differences between the boy and his father. The final contrast between the two is exemplified with the ending. Throughout the book the reader is allowed to assume that if the son dies in the novel then the father would consequently commit suicide. At the end of the story when the father dies first the boy stays strong and decides to blindly follow other survivors and put his faith in them. Throughout, the story; however the father doesn't put any trust into anyone. His son, being a foil of him decides to put his faith into other survivors and takes a leap of faith and follow them their camp. This instance further shows the stark difference between the father and the son.

They plodded on, thin and filthy as street addicts. Cowled in their blankets against the cold and their breath smoking, shuffling through the black and silky drifts…. and the noon sky black as the cellars of hell. He held the boy against him, cold to the bone. Dont lose heart, he said. We’ll be all right (The Road 177).

Yet, he comes to realize that these stories are what define the man he is today. These stories to him are the truth, his truth of his own past and a reminder to him that those things actually happened. His stories to him serves as a reminder of what he did and did not know, and what he became or what he did not

Early on in the novel, the reader begins to learn that the The Man and The Boy have a very close and intimate bond. Rather than causing a strain on the their relationship, the isolation that constantly follows the pair on The Road actually made their bond as father and son stronger . Traveling along The Road by themselves causes The Man and The Boy’s relationship to become extremely codependent. The Boy relies on The Man like any child would rely on their father. The Boy completely counts on The Man for everything, including food, shelter, clothes, and everything else that is needed to survive on The Road. The Man keeps them safe from the “bad guys” and keeps them alive and as healthy as he can. The Boy’s needs are always put before The Man’s needs. However, The Man depends upon The Boy just as much as The Boy depends on him. If it weren’t for The Boy, The Man would have been dead a long time ago. The only reason that he has survived this long is because of The Boy. Making sure The Boy survives is the only meaning that The Man has to his life. The Boy’s continued existence is the most influential motivation

“His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye was shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole...,” writes O’Brien as he studies the deceased enemy (118). Throughout the novel, the author shows consistency with repeating stories and lines in a way to present a greater image. He reminds the reader of details the elaborate his larger view. When he writes of the man he killed, he wants the reader to imagine themselves in his shoes, as he imagined himself in the enemies’. As he carefully studies the dead man, he imagines how the boy found himself in the war. By relating American society to the boy’s village of My Khe, he bridges similarities connecting the two by a culture that promotes defending one’s land and ways of life. By saying, “he would have been taught that to defend the land was a man’s highest duty and highest privilege,” he shows there is minimal difference between how most Americans view the military and the duty of the villagers in My Khe (119). Although he had not known the exact history of the boy, he attempted to illustrate in his own mind what his life may have been like prior to the invasion. The inability for O’Brien to walk away from the body as Kiowa continued to pry him away says he was troubled by the similarities. Despite Kiowa saying it could have been him lying lifeless on

The viewpoint of the world that the narrator has, completely alters as certain events take place throughout the story. His outlook on nature transforms into a wholly different standpoint as the story progresses. As his tale begins, the narrator sees himself as a tough guy or “bad character”. He believes he is invincible. There is nobody as cool as he

In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the man and the boy are on a constant journey towards survival. Limited visibility is prevalent within different aspects of this novel. One is within the man, as he has a limited view on humanity itself. Throughout the novel, the man is

The viewpoint of the world that the narrator has, completely alters as certain events take place throughout the story. His outlook on nature transforms into a wholly different standpoint as the story progresses. As his tale begins, the narrator sees himself as a tough guy or "bad character". He believes he is invincible. There is nobody as cool as he is or as dangerous as him and his friends are. With his

One aspect being that he wants to help others that they encounter along the way. When they had their camp set up on the beach, one day the thief came and stole all of their possessions. This further prompted the father to go on a hunt to find him with the pistol and have a want to kill him. Once they had found the thief, the father was in rage. The boy pleaded, “Papa please don’t kill the man” (256). Then the father prompted the thief to take off everything and put it in the cart. The thief begged him and told the father “Come on. Listen to the kid” (257). Later, once they father and boy had left, the boy would not stop crying. The boy pleaded to his father, “Just help him, Papa. Just help him” (259). Here was a turning point of the book because the father decided to listen to his son and returned the clothes to the road for the thief to come fetch. The father had to trust the boy and give help to others that actually needed it for once, instead of pretending to be the ‘good

An important flaw the son has is that he does not remember the world as a peaceful place the son only remembers the world destroyed. This type of naivetes gives the boy a minimal outlook on the past and see the difference of the present. The father knows the difference which gives the father the realization before The Road begins. The son in portions of The Road is starving, this desolate place called the world does not give any chance of hope or second ones. The importance of this geographical state in the book makes the father and son rely on one another because they know the very importance of staying alive, and the only way they can do that is to fight for one another. The Road opens with a setting of desolation, “When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him”, which creates a concern within the readers that are realizing the magnitude of this horrible place. (McCarthy 3) The son in the first page of the book is mentioned

Undeniably, Ken Kesey's intention throughout the novel of The One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest was to enlighten us to a new world of understanding about the complexities of human nature. From observations on the internal and external conflicts between a rebel and a follower within a suppressive microcosm of society, we are elevated to the understanding of how through human nature, both conflicting figures are inevitably destroyed and further reinforces the social order. Thus, Kesey resolves this complication by inspiring us to be neither a rebel nor a follower, but convinces us throughout the text to take a third option in being a spectator that learns from the mistakes made by others in order to truly escape the repressing order of society.

The Road portrays the journey of the father and son across a black and white world that is analogous to my experiences of the quest of survival in Afghanistan and the refugee camp in Pakistan. Where many have abandoned their beliefs and morals to survive the hellish situation. Those who survive with their beliefs and values still in intact are constantly challenged on a day-by-day basis. Their survival must be persevered to keep the fire burning, however small for their own children. There must be some goodness that remains for their children to carry into the next generations. They must always remain

The father decides that they cannot wait for the two inhabitants of the town to come along, and, even if they did, there were not enough supplies to maintain them all. The fate of the two are left unknown, but we are led to believe the worst. A similar case occurs when they come across a large house. Inside the house, in the basement, a prison filled with beaten human livestock, including a man who has had his legs grafted to his pelvis. Instead of risking his and his son’s lives to save the masses of people, both travelers rush into the woods to escape the cannibals. At the end of the book, after the father’s death, the boy decides to forge southward, thus upholding his father’s dream. The son’s future and that of humanity is left unknown. The future and previous actions of these individuals are left for the reader to decide and to

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is his post-apocalyptic magnus opus which combines a riveting plot along with an unconventional prose style. Released in 2006, the novel has won awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award (Wilson). Oprah Winfrey also selected the book for her book club ("Cormac McCarthy”). The author, Cormac McCarthy, was born in 1933 in Rhode Island and is said to have wrote the novel because of his son and their relationship. The Road centers around a boy and his father while they try to survive after an unknown disaster occurs. While some people may argue that the unusual style takes away from the novel, it adds to the tone and meaning of the work.

What is most important about this passage is the idea of refuge. The child, when reprimanded, finds comfort in the arms of its mother. The man, when convicted of certain crimes returns to his motherland and finds comfort from his relatives. This fully illustrates the power of a