Personification In The Road

In The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006) a father and son illustrate dedication towards each others lives by surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. Through hard times both characters deal with facing death and admitting that they both want to die, but they depend on one another to continue survival in this dreadful world. McCarthy describes this as a recurring theme throughout the book. The idea of death is a constant threat, but through reliance and love of others one can persevere.

Cormac McCarthy’s brain child “The Road” is a postapocalyptic novel that illustrates the harsh reality of the world. This story serves as a truth that humans, when stripped of their humanity will take desperate measures in order to survive. The reader learns; however even when it seems all hope is lost good can still be found in the world. The son character of this story illuminates this philosophy. He is a foil of his father and shows how even a person never accustomed to the luxury of a normal life can still see goodness.

The love between the protagonists in the times of hardship is the most profound relationship in the book and the strength of it raises the standard of the novel. The relation of the father and the son is very strong and symbolizes protection to the child. They take the initiative to struggle and live in an apocalyptic place which has been completely destroyed. The father is like the soul of his son and the very last hope for the son to survive .The son finds support in his son when he goes through the stages of loneliness and despair. It is a natural way for people to rely on others for support and by survival instincts; it is deeper when there is such a close relationship between a father and a son. McCarthy in terms of characterization makes the buy very innocent as he does not know how to differentiate between the “good guys” and “bad guys”. He wants to help everyone and on the other hand the father is very strong and is wise. He lives each and every day as a normal day so that he can keep his son strong as well. The father is very intelligent as he responds to his son questions thoughtfully to keep his son’s hope up. The father is very optimistic even when they are facing a hard time moving forward. To quote, “The lay listening, Can you do it? When the time comes? When the time comes there will be no time. Now is the time. Curse God and die. What if it doesn’t fire? It has to fire. What if it doesn’t fire? Could you crush that beloved

One thing that remains constant in the ever-changing world of Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian novel The Road is the relationship between The Man and The Boy. The father and son’s bond is extremely close, especially due to the isolation they face on The Road, but it is filled with love and endearment, like someone would expect any relationship between a father and son to be.

Cormac McCarthy, in his seventh novel, delves into the realm of a post-apocalyptic era in which a father and son journey to survive. McCarthy is known for his dark writing style and vivid imagery in his writings. He uses these to develop the characters and the themes of his novels. In his bestselling novel The Road, McCarthy uses this imagery and dark writing style to develop the characters of the father and son, their struggle to survive, and the themes of morality, isolation, and love.

In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the son does not display any selfish thoughts throughout his travels with his father, but rather the contrary. At the beginning of the novel, the son runs toward a little boy standing alone in hopes to help him, though he is scolded by his father. As the father and son continue on their trek, the boy does not seem to stop mentioning the little boy, “What about the little boy, he sobbed. What about the little boy?," (McCarthy 86). Despite his father’s disapproval, the son pleads that they should accompany the little boy and bring him along their journey. He fears the for the little boy’s survival since he believes the little boy to be alone without a “papa”. The son offers to split his food rations to accommodate the little boy, even though he is well aware of the scarce food supply him and his father encompass. Along with the encounter with the little boy, the son again displays his generosity and concern with an old man named Ely, “The boy took the tin and handed it to the old man. Take it, he whispered. Here," (McCarthy 163). As the boy watches the old man eat, he turns to his father to ask the same question: can we keep him? and once again the father opposes the idea. Also in

The Road by Cormac McCarthy details a post-apocalyptic world with mysterious origins. While there are many questions about this world, the reader is left to their own imagination to determine how it got that way. Within this world, there is a man and a boy, father and son trying to make their way and survive until they can find a safe haven that may or may not exist. The see many things along the way and the man instills in the boy that it is important to remain a good guy and always “carry the fire”. Carrying the fire refers to the light inside of you that makes you who you are and may also carry the “goodness” of human nature. Inevitably, the man meets his fate via a mysterious illness leaving the boy on his own. The boy is then introduced to a family that has been following them knowing that the man was not well and the boy would need someone to look after him.

Raising a child is considered by many people to be one of life’s greatest challenges. A parent must teach his or her son or daughter about manners, morality, safety, and daily activities, such as washing hands or tying shoes. The pressure of raising a child successfully is difficult to manage in a decent society; however, doing so in a post-apocalyptic world brings on an entire new set of obstacles. In Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, the man displays sacrifice, protectiveness, and wisdom when dealing with his son.

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

In Ann Petry’s novel The Street, the wind plays the fundamental adversary, who purposely plays a violent and dangerous force. Through the use of imagery and personification, Petry successfully illustrates the relentless nature of the cold wind, further complementing Lutie Johnson’s auditory experience and strong-willed character. By using specific imagery, Petry portrays the harshness and brutality of the cold that the protagonist is forced to overcome in her endeavor for a home. For instance, the presence of the “cold November wind” becomes overly evident on 116th street as it is enveloped in a chaotic and turbulent state. Trash is flying everywhere, chicken and pork bones are on the curb.

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 a novel about a father and a man on a dark and sadistic road. The child in the story is forced to live a life of cruelty due to his father’s own selfishness and stupidity. While the mother grew weak and killed herself leaving her child alone in the world instead of taking him with her and ending his suffering. The father and son not only have conflict among themselves. The outside world is reddened with heinous monsters that will do anything to kill, rape, and eat any survivors of this world are met with a grueling fate of devastation.

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

In order for a child to live in a complete and happy family, the paternal love plays a major role in a child’s life, especially the love of a father which is as much important as a mother’s love. Moreover, a father’s love is one of the greatest influences on the child’s personality development throughout his/her life. A father’s love brings a sense of protection of security in a child. In the novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy present the great example of paternal love. The novel deals with a post-apocalyptic story about an unnamed man and his unnamed child as they move toward the south to find a better place to live after the catastrophic event. The son is the only reason for the father

In a desolate world ravaged by fire, a boy and his father trudge across the countryside. They encounter people in their most desperate times where their motives are unpredictable and noone can be trusted. The boy and his father try to maintain their morality while facing starvation and having to deal with unpredictable people they encounter on the road. Cormac McCarthy in his novel The Road, uses the theme of hope to demonstrate the human trait that purpose is essential to survival.