Cormac Mccarthy Symbols In The Road

Imagine living in an apocalyptic world with human beings willing to eat each other in order to survive. Not a wonderful image right? What if a young man and his son had to go through this all on their own while maintaining each other safe. In the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy, an American novelist, this happens multiple times. The author has an excellent way of writing whereas the readers can be entertained as well as convey the several symbols found in the novel. Throughout the book McCarthy illustrates three powerful symbols that contribute to the overall meaning of the novel: the road, the Coca Cola can, and the phrase “carrying the fire.” To start off, one of the key metaphors used in the book is the road. Not only is this the title of the book but also a critical element needed to convey the “blackness” (McCarthy 15) and “darkness” (McCarthy 10) that these characters are feeling. In other words, the majority of the time the book takes place on the “road,” which symbolizes the constant journey of this father and child. On this “road” they experience hope as well as gray times when traveling. For example on this same highway the dad and son encounter “an old man” alone, cold, and hungry; however, instead of leaving this man starving they decide to hand him a tin of food for him to eat

This Coke can can represent numerous symbols that the author wants to express to the readers. For instance, in the The Road page twenty-three in the first paragraph the father reaches inside a vending machine and withdraws a “cold metal cylinder” handing it to the boy. This beginning section of the novel somewhat explains that the “aluminium” container symbolizes something from the past world when everything was normal. The readers can predict this because the boy looks at the Coca Cola as something new that he hasn't seen before, indicating that it might never be seen