Supervolcano In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

The end of the world can happen in a matter of seconds. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road apocalyptic destruction is unidentified and the father and son journeys through the havoc aftermath. The demolition of the world’s peace could possibly be caused by the eruption of Yellowstone’s Supervolcano, and the outcome of the eruption is what presents the struggle for both the man and the son to survive in a grim environment. Yellowstone’s Supervolcano is not a typical volcano, but a volcano that has the ability to create a “nuclear winter” all across the United States (S4). This creates a cloud of ash which allows minimum sunlight to reach the land from all the “haze of gas” (s4). Throughout The Road, “the banished” and “unseen sun” was an implication that the sun was still
This serves as a dual purpose as a physical and emotional barrier of the struggle of living in a post-apocalyptic world. The cloud of ash also has the capability to cause drastic climate changes, more importantly a severe change in temperature dropping in a “nuclear winter” (s4). The experience of “the gathering cold” creates a bleak world in which the father only reason for being is to protect his son (McCarthy 59). The cold arises problems of how to survive from the freezing chills, however, it also includes that even with no one around and no warmth from the outside environment, the affection between the father and the son creates a strong relation to continue their survival in a barren world. It shows the true meaning of family, that even with a harsh and bitter life experience, the love between family allows one to overcome the problems faced. The cold possesses a unique ability for survival in the book as it