Symbolism In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is gothic literature for many reasons. Not only is the story dark and gloomy, but the descriptions are as well. The Road is a perfect example of gothic literature because it has many examples of grotesque themes and uses southern and Celtic roots in the book. Cormac McCarthy takes things from his Southern, Tennessee roots and uses it in The Road. McCarthy uses Tennessee as the setting in part of The Road. McCarthy has described Tennessee as a dark and gloomy place. The Road includes many examples of isolation. Having a setting that is dark and gloomy with the theme of isolation is very gothic. In the book they come across a “See Rock City’ sign, that tells the readers that they are in Tennessee for that portion of the book. In “Death in Knoxville” David Davis describes Tennessee saying, “The mountain, coves, and rivers of eastern Tennessee have a haunting quality”. He then talks about how Mcarthy uses the eerie setting of Tennessee in many of his works.

McCarthy uses fire in his book. Just like in The Road fire means more in Celtic culture. Fire is seen as a sign of hope in the book, but Bennett tells us about how it is seen in Celtic, “In Celtic culture the hearth fire was the center of family activity, providing warmth, light, and food for the family” (Bennett 1). Throughout The Road there is plenty of storytelling and fires. The storytelling seems fake and farfetched, but still hopeful for the boy. The fire is the only clear source of light that they get in the book. Earlier in The Road the man describes the morning sun as still gray and gloomy. Having fire be the only source of bright light, and the place where the boy gets stories of the past, that is the only time the man and the boy get a little bit of hope in the