Mccarthy’s Novel the Road Is About Man’s Inherent Altruism in a World of Selfishness. to What Extent Is This True in the Case of “the Man”?

As one is put through times of strife and struggle, an individual begins to lose their sense of human moral and switch into survival mode. Their main focus is their own survival, not of another's. In the post-apocalyptic novel, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a father and son travel along the road towards the coast, while battling to survive the harsh weather and scarce food supply, as well as avoid any threats that could do them harm. Throughout their journey along the road, the father and son are exposed to the horrid remnants of humanity. As a result, the father and son constantly refer to themselves as “the good guys” and that they “carry the fire”, meaning they carry the last existing spark of humanity within themselves. By the acts of compassion

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

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is the author's take on a destroyed world where there are no true rules or laws anymore. There has been some kind of disaster, the nature of which is not clear throughout the book, and now a man and his boy are trying to survive in what is left. In this book the idea of justice is heavily considered. It can be seen through several scenes in the book, such as when they encounter a man in the forest, when they discover the people in the basement, when they find the bunker, when they meet Ely, when they reach the coast and when the father dies, that the man and the boy have separate ideas about what is justified. Justice is a very important theme in The Road. This is shown through the opinions of the father, the boy and their difference in opinion.

Every author creates some type of conflict to have the reader sitting on the edge of their seats whether the conflict be man versus man, man versus self, or man versus nature. The novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy wrote a story about both a man and a boy who have particularly conflicting characteristics when it comes to decision making. The boy in the story is very optimistic about everything and the man can be pessimistic when either deciding on what to do or when thinking about life or the future. In addition, both characters have different outlooks and personalities that can sometimes collide.

Selflessness is the idea that one is able to be more concerned with the needs of others over themselves. The value of selflessness is crucial in the Younger household, and is exemplified by Mama who plans on using the insurance money selflessly to buy a house for her family, rather than taking a vacation. Despite this excellent guide, Walter has a sense of entitlement to the insurance money as he says, “He was my father too.” (Hansberry 38). Due to his poor economic conditions, Walter

Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Every day, people make choices. They can chose to act in a way that benefits themselves or others, but each decision or action comes with a consequence that affects everyone. Unfortunately, most of the time that individual will decide to base their actions and decisions on what will benefit them, with no regard to how it will affect other people. This type of selfishness is widely seen in Flannery O’Conner’s short stories including, “The Life That You Save May Be Your Own” and “A Good Man is Hard To Find”. In each short story the main characters are seen to be extremely selfish and tend

“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”(McCarthy 3). What McCarthy really means is that The man’s and The boy’s actions are a reflection that comes from the effects on how the setting of The Road could have changed their psychological traits. Because the boy was born into this disastrous and scary world, The man felt that the boy was his responsibility. The man would do anything in order to make sure the boy will survive. Similarly, the boy, being only young in age feels sympathy for the man and shows that he is thankful for The Man’s comfort. The boy even shared the “last” coke with The Man, which was shown by McCarthy explaining “He looked at his father and then tilted the can and drank. He sat there thinking about it. It's really good, he said…Yes. It is…You have some, Papa”(23).

In Cormac McCarthy’s the road, the author conveys that although there can be despair and bloodshed in the world, love overcomes al l with a little faith. The man views the boy as a symbol for hope and provides the man with game a purpose in life, to protect the boy above all. Violence is the antagonist in the novel because the people are driven into thievery, murder, and cannibalism because of the post-apocalyptic landscape. Food is scarce and people are starving, and consequently, people turn to thievery as a way to fend for themselves. At this point in time, stealing is not a crime anymore. There is no government, there are no regulations, and all is fair. When the man says that he will protect the boy at any cost, it is not an understatement. When a member of a blood cult posed a threat to the boy, the man did not so much as fidget to reach the safety of his weapon. Without overthinking, the man shot the degenerated dead before his son. The aftermath resulted in the man soothing the boy by claiming that his job is to take care of him and that he was “appointed to do that by god.” And even states he would, “kill anyone who touches the boy” (77). He tells the boy that even if they had killed someone it would not be a

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting. Therefore, there is hardly any food available to The Man and The boy throughout the story. The Man is constantly sacrificing his food for his son throughout the entire story. In addition they endure harsh weather conditions. For most of the story it is very cold and finding warmth is a task the man faces for his son and himself. These two problems are shown in one sentence of the story. “They ate a poor meal and lay down in the cold,” (McCarthy 12). Being able to cope with these circumstances really shows the determination of The Man. The Man is a fighter in tough times and does not give up. He is always concerned for his son. The Man is a truly loving and determined

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

Sheri Fink once said “The moral values, ethical codes and laws that guide our choices in normal times are, if anything, even more important to help us navigate the confusing and disorienting time of a disaster.” Living in a post apocalyptic time can be unbearable if one is stripped of the most basic necessities. Such an event can greatly affect the behaviour of a person, as well as the ability to distinguish right from wrong. But like the boy and his father in the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy they stuck to their morals to overcome the hardships they face. The novels recurring themes such as companionship, survival, and good versus evil, prove that a persons moral standards could change in a time of need.

We often consider the world to be filled with core truths, such as how people should act or what constitutes a good or bad action. In The Road, McCarthy directly challenges those preconceptions by making us question the actions of the characters and injecting a healthy dose of uncertainty into the heroes’ situation. From the very beginning, the characters and their location remain ambiguous. This is done so that the characters are purposely anonymous, amorphously adopting all people. While on the road, the order of the day is unpredictability; whether they find a horde of road-savages or supplies necessary for his son’s survival is impossible to foretell. While traveling, the boy frequently asks “are we the good guy” and the father always replies with “yes” or “of course,” but as the story progresses this comes into question.

In Cormac McCarthy novel, The Road, McCarthy uses Character flashbacks to show the separation between good and evil. A conversation is being had between the mother and the father. The father proceeds to tell the mother that she can not kill herself.The mother continues to say she can't live in this world anymore, she is giving up and the father is telling her no. “ [mother]i don't care, it's meaningless. You can think of me as a faithless slut if you like. I've taken a new lover. He can give me what you cannot. [father] Death is not a lover. [mother] Oh yes he is. [father]Please don't do this.[mother] I'm sorry.[father] I can't do it alone” (McCarthy 29). This shows the ones who stay because they care about others are the ones who keep their morals and

The intentions of actions help decide whether it is morally good or evil. The man has many more blurred moral situations than the boy throughout the novel. One example of this is when he kills the “roadrat”(35), out of self-defense for his son. The man assures the boy “[they] are still the good guys”(39) even after he killed the man, because his initial intent was not to harm him. McCarthy demonstrates the idea that good gets evil and evil gets evil with the outcome of the “roadrat”. He refuses not to harm the boy and man and therefore gets killed. Although this exact situation is not the basis of the norm morality in modern society, it still helps demonstrate the triumph of good. In a regular world this intention of good can be applied to simple things, such as; a small lie in order to protect others. The novel helps demonstrate principles by using the extremes. In an apocalyptic

The encounters and interactions the man and boy had while on the road help develop McCarthy’s larger theme of humanity losing its selflessness when it’s in danger. For example, while the man and the boy are traveling to the coast they come across a burnt man, half-dead lying in the road. After some observation, the boy asks the man if they could “help him” but is continuously shot down by his father who repeatedly tells him to “stop it” (McCarthy 50). The Road’s setting is one of the strongest over the weak, those who can’t survive for themselves they simply won’t. This burnt man, who was struck by lightning, is an example of that as he is now in no condition to scavenge for food and medical supplies and will probably just die where he currently sits. The boy, realizing this, wanted to do something to give the man even a small chance at survival, but the man knew he was a lost cause and should be left to die. The boy and his overwhelming desire to help the dying man is representative of old society and its pressure to help those with lesser than you, ideals that were result of religious codes and churches. But in a world where none of that matters or is present, the man is what humanity has become, selfish being whom only care about