The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

Ben Lee

Mr. MacDonald

Post-Apocalyptic Literature

June 7, 2023

Human Condition: When Humanity Meets Its Extreme The Road, a novel by Cormac McCarthy, depicts a journey about a father and his young son’s journey on the road as they make their way to the South in a post-apocalyptic world. The novel engages readers by highlighting many interactions between the characters, especially the interactions between the father and his son. Their journey begins as they search for the warmer region to call home. They experience challenges through external obstacles and internal conflicts. By reading the novel, the readers are pushed to reconsider the human condition as the characters reach their breaking point. The Road by Cormac McCarthy effectively

McCarthy presents several survivors who turn to robbery or violence against others for resources, even causing people to turn to cannibalism for survival. Through the conversation between the father and the mother, she states, “They will rape me. They’ll rape him. They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us, and you won't face it” (42). This passage conveys worries about potential harm, including rape, even cannibalism, and other forms of violence of the will to survive. The violence in the world has become predictable, allowing other characters to show violence if given a chance. Apart from them, McCarthy details the relationship of father and son who maintain their humanity and dignity and refuse to let themselves be destroyed. As they travel the road, the son encounters “a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit” (157). This horrifying scene also highlights the human desire to survive by depicting the most barbaric and selfish act of eating a baby, however, despite encountering painful experiences on their journey to the South, the father and the son demonstrate the instinct to

Despite the chaos and the brutality of the world, love thrives. The father demonstrates his unending love for his son by saying to die with him in the cruel and pointless world. This is illustrated in a conversation between the father and the son: “ [the son:] Can I ask you something? [the father:] If you died I would want to die too. [the son:] So you could be with me? [the father:] Yes. So I could be with you” (8). McCarthy uses the father’s thoughts of suicide to demonstrate a commitment he makes to his son that he won’t let his son die alone. In contrast to the father’s devoted love for the son, the son displays love for others. The son’s love for others is apparent when he and his father come across strangers on the road. For instance, the son asks his father “What if a little boy doesn’t have anybody to take care of him” showing the boy’s love and compassion for the little boy (65). The son thus stands for the hospitality and hope that exist in the face of despair. By illustrating different expressions of love from various characters, McCarthy highlights the undergoing power of human relationships and love, even in the post-apocalyptic