Cormac Mccarthy The Road Analysis

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Ethical Aspects in The Road Compared with Today's Society In the novel, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, McCarthy writes about a father and son who try to survive after a tragic catastrophe. Although McCarthy never reveals the father or son's name, he brings them to life by vividly describing their actions. This description gives the reader the ability to relate to their actions and helps portray the father and son's relationship. Throughout the novel, the father and son build a strong relationship which is built around love, fear, and determination. McCarthy also uses the setting to help demonstrate the father and son's hopeless situation. While McCarthy paints a vivid image of a desperate world, the father and son maintain their hope and…show more content…
The father's protectiveness is very evident many times throughout the novel, however one of the most notable events was when a man threatens his son with a knife and the father shoots the man in the head. Although this action was probably necessary, the fathers downfall is his suspicion that everyone is their enemy. His father's paranoia causes them to move constantly from camp to camp, consequently, never getting the chance to make friends with anyone. His son, on the other hand, is much more sensitive and innocent. He feels very safe with his father but at the same time he questions some of his decisions. Although his father is made out to be the hero and decision maker, the boy influences his father at certain points in the novel. For example, the boy shows influence when they met a blind man walking down the road. The father's initial reaction is to leave the man alone, but after the boy's influence, they talk to him and give him food. This input from the boy helps build the father and son's relationship that the whole novel is based on. Another aspect of the father and son relationship is their love they have for one another. Many of the fathers actions help exemplify the love he has for his son. Throughout the novel there a countless number of times when the father puts his son before himself. For example, the father gives his son the last of the food and water. His actions portray he is a loving father who would die for his
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