The Road by Cormac McCarthy takes place in post-apocalyptic United States in a menacing and bleak landscape in which a man and his son have to survive. Despite their impending deaths and devastating circumstances, the unnamed father and son maintain a strong relationship that helps them preserve during the trying times; I found this relationship admirable from beginning to end. The Road is a must-read because it has characters that are oddly relatable and despite the lack of normalcy in their surroundings, they maintain an unwavering love for one another.
The obvious bond between the man and boy is illustrated throughout The Road. Considering their god-like references toward one another, it is not a surprise that father and son are notably described as "each the other's world entire" (6.) In the beginning of the novel when thinking about the boy, the man decides that "if he is not the word of God God never spoke" (5.) After the man dies and the
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It is inferred that the gun that contains two rounds is for the man and his son as a last resort; however, the man uses one bullet to kill a man who threatens the boy. Late that night while the boy is asleep, the man contemplates how there is only a single bullet left in the pistol in the case that he needs to kill his son out of mercy to keep him from suffering; he tries not to ponder that outcome by thinking, "You will not face the truth. You will not" (68.) Although he does not end up killing his son, this situation reminds me of George Milton killing Lennie Smalls in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; George loves Lennie, but he would rather kill him quickly himself than have Lennie's murder being prolonged by Curly's treatment. The same is for the man in The Road; he would rather kill his son himself than have him die suffering from a situation out of their