Assignment #2

Cormac McCarthy’s gloomy novel, The Road, focuses on a man and his child, as they fight for survival, in which the father's demise, remorseful thoughts, are utilized to illuminate the overall plot structure. The only life the father and the son knew now, was that of the road; going from one place to the next, having to rely on one another. “He knew only that the child was his warrant” (McCarthy, 4). McCarthy opens the novel by generating the main idea in the readers mind that the old man needs the child, for survival means. Therefore leading to the thought that without the child, there would be no guidance for the man to continue on through the journey; he had to make sure the child was safe. The child's mother wasn't so caring about having a child, causing the father to feel internally conflicted. “You can't protect us. You say you would die for us but what good is that?” (McCarthy, 24). Many questions were left unanswered from the beginning of the story, such as what happened to the child’s mother. McCarthy includes a flashback to further more explain why the father is so attached to the goal of keeping the boy safe. In a way, he may have felt guilty that he created another life in the timing that he wasn't necessarily able to provide a good structure for. However, just as in realty, the father decides to not listen to the negativity thrown his way, and attempts to give his child the best life he can, considering the circumstances. The father reached his point of no return, as if there was nothing more he could do for his son; it was his time to go. “You need to go on, he said. I can’t go with you. You need to keep going.” (McCarthy, 108). Seeing as that they have reached their safe point, the father has more in store for the child. He wishes for him to continue on with his life. To discover, explore, and live life on his terms; learn the rules of survival. Just as anyone else in life would; there comes a point in time when one has to adolescence into adulthood, some earlier than others. During a stage in life, there will be a curve ball thrown, but it's how it's handled that effects the outcome. Sometimes the demise of one person opens the eyes of another. Then again, the feeling of demise could be internal, such as what the audience may have inferred about the dad. The son didn't believe his father had failed him; if only his father knew.