The Father And Son In Mccarthy's The Road

The award winning novel of the Pulitzer Price, “The Road” is a dark-post apocalyptic tale that tells of the journey south taken by a young boy and his father after an unknown catastrophe has struck the Earth. The man and the boy who remain unnamed throughout the entire novel are among the survivors left in the world who have not been driven to murder, rape and cannibalism. Despite their hardships, the man and the boy choose to remain optimistic by “carrying the fire”. McCarthy successfully conveys paternal love between the man and the boy, which is the major theme of this novel by recreating real experiences of fathering a child at an advanced age as well as his struggles with outright poverty during his career, which combine to allow us to
“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”. The effect of this on us is greatly heart-warming. This is because despite such difficult circumstances, the man’s first priority is still his son. By illustrating the closeness of the relationship between the man and his son, McCarthy is able to give us insight to our own society, by allowing love to persevere in perverse times. McCarthy is able to convey the love between a father and his son by using events such as natural disasters. An example of this is when the man comforts his son after an earthquake, “It’s gone now. We’re alright.Shh”. The man attempts to be the pillar of emotional support for his son who has yet to be independent. Also, by reassuring the boy and offering him some comfort, the boy is able to feel his father’s care and concern, and so, the boy will feel loved and in return, reciprocate his father’s love. In less dramatic situations, the man gives his son as many “treats” as he can in such a world like an old can of Coca-Cola and a grape powdered drink mix. By doing this, we see the man’s sincerity in wanting his son to have a taste of
This can be clearly portrayed by the man’s outburst of violence towards anyone who threatens his son’s life, most obviously in the scene where he shot the road rat who held a knife to the boy’s throat. “I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand?” said the man. The man however, does not kill out of malice or for food. His wariness towards others seems primarily for the protection of his son. The man’s ferocity can again be linked back to his love for his son as it is parental instinct to protect one’s children. This is proven as the man’s wife points out before her suicide that “the boy was all that stood between him and death”. In other words, the man’s unquenched thirst for survival is fuelled by the love for his