The Road - Cormac Mccarthy

Other than the boy the father has hope in very few things. But one thing which is shown throughout The Road is the father’s sense of morals. The father always reassures the boy and himself that they are the good guys which gives them the hope to keep persevere because they are, to the father, keeping goodness in the world alive, “carrying the flame.” Cormac McCarthy presents the cannibals as a lost hope in The Road. They are almost only referred to as the “bad guys” and are described as if they are animals with no hope other than to survive.

The son however is the ‘faith’ within the story. He is the hope for a better future. The son is more trusting towards others and therefore becomes upset and quiet when his father doesn’t agree with him. “I’m afraid for that little boy” – The son has never seen another young boy and is frightened for him but his father shrugs off his pleas to help him and says “I know but he’ll be alright”. Towards the end of the book it appears that the father and his son become distant to each other due to their diverse personalities. It could however be seen that the son is a lot more knowledgeable about dangers and therefore does not need his father as much.

In the novel “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, the theory of Existentialism can be easily seen through various key components. Existentialism is a philosophy that accentuates an individual’s existence as a free being who is entirely responsible for the choices they make. It questions the human existence and whether there is any purpose of living; it is a notion that declares that an individual must define their own meaning in life and attempt to make rational decisions while existing in an irrational universe (Crowell). Such existential concepts are showcased throughout the book as an unnamed father and son travel across the United States where an unclear cataclysm has occurred destroying almost all life on Earth. They are striving to survive in this world where murder, cannibalism and sex slavery have become the norm. They are faced with inhumane situations and barbaric people, forcing them to make crucial decisions. It is understandable that the father and the boy are undergoing an existential crisis when being placed in this post-apocalyptic world where they attempt to fulfill their ultimate goal of reaching safety by abiding by their morals and depending on their hope while questioning their faith in God.

Willa Cather once said, “The end is nothing; the road is all.” It doesn't matter how things turn out, it's the journey that really matters. That's where you learn the most and are able to grow as a person. I agree with and respect this quote, because it reaches out to those who may be going through a rough time and are in need of comfort. This quotes shows us that through rocky times with ourselves, others, or life in general, that what matters most is not the result, but the road taken to where we are now.

Violence is defined as a behavior involving physical or mental force intending to hurt, damage, or kill someone. In the words of Zak Ibrahim, peace is defined as the proliferation or the increase in the existence of Justice. But where does love fit in to these conversations? Violence cannot necessarily transform into love, but the presence of it is surely important. Violence involving our most loved ones, helps us find love and compassion in the toughest of situations, and leads us toward paths of peace. In this essay, examples will be drawn from Zak Ibrahim 's keynote presentation, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Beautiful Boy; a film directed by Shawn Ku, and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.

In the Road by Cormac McCarthy published in 2006 a man and a boy go through a post apostolic world trying to get south before the winter. Their main goal is survival and they will do whatever is needed to survive without showing compassion and just focus on their own survival. When things become their worst people will do whatever they need to do to protect themselves and their loved ones from the harm and danger that surrounds them even if it hurts other people they will do what they have to do. Survival is a theme shown throughout the book and that the man would do whatever he has to do to protect the boy and try to give him a better life. When it says “He watched the boy and he looked out through the trees toward the road.

The Road: Love Papa and the boy only chose to live because they both still had one shred of hope; that the other was still alive. In The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, love was very necessary in survival and happiness. A father and his son traveled the world together on foot, helping each other solve problems and making up for each other’s weaknesses. They barely ever fought, even through all of their hardships, demonstrating how much Papa and the boy loved each other. Love helped Papa and the boy keep moving forward even despite the hopelessness and violence surrounding them.

In both 1984 by George Orwell and The Road by Cormac McCarthy the characters draw hope and possibility from their relationships with each other. It is through these relationships that they are able to survive in their worlds that have been plagued by corruption and lack humanity. In his novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy describes a setting stripped of almost all humanity in a disaster-torn world devoid of almost all human life. Yet despite the unfavourable setting in which the novel takes place, the characters are still able to find hope in each other.

“Hope… Sometimes that’s all you have when you have nothing else. If you have it. You have everything .” In The Road by Cormac McCarthy a recurring theme in the story is gaining or losing hope. Throughout this story there are numerous instances and events that occur in which all seems lost at a dead end, but in those moment hope carries through and thrives. In this dystopian post apocalyptic world the man and boy are fighting to stay alive while keeping their humanity as well as searching for what humanity is left in this kill or be killed cannibalistic planet. As their time journeying down the road increases so do the dangers and obstacles they face to survive. The more they overcome the more hope thrives in them showing that in even in the most catastrophic events having hope helps them get closer to finding the light at the end of the tunnel and not being consumed by the darkness.

Living in a post apocalyptic time period wreck one's life, particularly, when one is stripped of the most essential necessities. Such a scenario enormously influences the way an individual behaves, as well as the ability of an individual to differentiate right from wrong. However, goodness, companionship, faith, a moral sense and hope of surviving, can help one, to certain extent, to overcome hardship. Goodness preserves the morals and humanity in a society that seem lost. Companionship gives one love and support to survive for the other person in difficult times whereas faith is the driving force that keeps one going in a world that lacks purpose.

Upon reading the book, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, readers may be shocked to see the way it is written. Cormac McCarthy’s style of writing differentiates from other famous authors. He does not use correct punctuations such as apostrophes for contraction words and quotation marks around dialogues or use correct sentence forms. His rhetorical mode makes it difficult for the readers to perceive it but there is a reason as to why he writes this way. The reason why his writing style is so different is because of the way his life influences it. Not only does his life influences his writing style, it also influences what happens in his novels. Everything that Cormac McCarthy writes in his books have a purpose. In order to understand McCarthy’s reason for writing so differently and the themes behind No Country for Old Men, the readers would also have to understand the writer’s life and the effect of its influences.

To begin with, is how the father will do anything to keep the boy safe. Though there were many scenes that show the father protecting his son there was one that stood out. They confront a man that strayed too far from his group. The man took the boy hostage with a knife; “He dove and grabbed the boy… with the knife at his throat.” (66). “… leveled the pistol and fired…” (66). The father sees the danger his son is in and acts quickly, shooting the man. He was capable of shooting a man in front of his son in order to protect him.

Cormac McCarthy’s tenth novel, The Road, is his most harrowing, yet deeply personal work, published in 2006. A setting stripped of all natural life with a father and son as the sole survivors of a post nuclear holocaust. The Road is essentially an existential tale as the father and son have one focus: to survive and to attain some meaning in their lives. Without any cultural and economic influences, the father and son must carve out their existences from a world devoid of life. The only meaning that they have come from the paternal and filial love that they feel, the essence of the family and life.

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 for a child. 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 presents 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 to survive in the post-apocalyptic world.

The Man, The Boy, and the remains of a dead world are the only constants the reader will know as they make their journey down “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. The novel tells a story of the nameless protagonists as they traverse through a post-apocalyptic land in an attempt to reach the warm coast before winter. McCarthy’s story also covers many dark and heavy topics - primarily death. He has said himself that death especially is a major issue in the world, and that writers who do not address it are not serious. As a man of his word, McCarthy has written “The Road” with imagery and metaphor alluding to how death stays as a heavy presence even after it has done its work. The book’s dystopia is a result of all of the worst faults of humanity,