'The Road' Idea essay

In the novel 'The Road' the author Cormac McCarthy uses the idea of choice in order to portray how characters react in an apocalyptic situation. .The road is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where of government and set of rules is abolished. The novel follows a young boy and his father as they traverse through rough terrain in order to seek refuge to the east. McCarthy challenges the reader to determine how the reader would react in this situation, to retain morals and a sense of hope by 'carrying the fire'. To embrace to deterioration of the human race and join a blood cult. Or to give it to the worlds nightmarish woes and take your own life. McCarthy uses these 3 ideas to examine how people will often resort to horrific action to find a sense of purpose and belonging.

McCarthy uses the metaphor 'carrying the fire' to display how certain survivors are carrying the hope of humanity and longevity of the human race . McCarthy makes the reader realise How fragile societies structure is and how we don't have to make these important decisions like the boy and the father do even if it appears that all sense of hope and humanity and disappeared. We see a display of 'carrying the fire' when the boy and the father come across a man who is stuck by lighting, the boy asks repeatedly - "Can't we help him? Papa?". This shows how the boy is carrying the fire and will sacrifice everything to help others, even precious resources which are scarce in a crippled world. The boy also says " We should go get him, Papa…we could take him and we could take the dog…and I'd give that little boy half of my food." This shows the how boy's humanity and morals have been retained in such a horrific scenario. The reader is able to realise how people retain their morals in an apocalypse through the concept of 'carrying the fire'.

McCarthy uses the blood cults represent the deterioration of human race and the ugliness that has emerged in this 'new world'. Blood cults are described as a