ipl-logo

The World Will End In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

695 Words3 Pages

One of humanity’s most important yet unanswered question is whether the world will end and if so, how? In Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road, a mysterious apocalyptic event has left the world ashen and barren. This event matters because it changes what the characters do and their surroundings weigh heavily on their will to live, or lack thereof. Although McCarthy has not said what happened in his world to begin this apocalypse, he’s left numerous clues as to what could've happened. The most prominent clue is the constant fires following the main characters throughout the book. Even in a flashback, the fires emanate “a dull rose glow” (52). This gives the setting an ominous tone of the upcoming flame yet makes the man and womans impending doom …show more content…

The 3 main characters: the man, boy and the woman end up on three distinct parts of the spectrum. The man is very determined to survive and does whatever it takes for his son, referring to him as his “warrant” and the “word of God”, even shooting a marauder holding his son at knifepoint (5). He brings his son to a spiritual level as being more innocent than he is because the son constantly tries to help others. The son is in the middle of the spectrum as he makes a shift from wanting to die to wanting to live in spite of his father's death with “the pistol in his hand” ready to shoot the man following him (281). The woman is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the man because she is willing to die and eventually does commit suicide. She doesn’t see a way out or any hope when the man refers to them as “survivors” and she corrects him by calling them “the walking dead” meaning that they haven’t overcame any obstacles, only extended their suffering (55). Despite the end of the world, the man and boy must fight to find the will to survive in a savage, lonely world. When the entire world is ending it can be hard to find the will to

Show More
Related

Annotated Bibliography: The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

495 Words | 2 Pages

I also agree with the opinion that suffering might never end, like the novel indicates through imagery at the very end. The author manages to combine happy moments with sad ones even though the sad ones takes the larger share. In addition, he accomplished his aim of having an audience that is glued to the book all along sine it is both engaging and informative. The author has a perception that the world is composed of more bad things than the good ones. This novel will be important to me as I explore the themes of post-apocalyptic fears and human struggles.

Read More

Essay On Guilt In Fifth Business And Hamlet

1504 Words | 7 Pages

Although he accepts his crime along with his guilt, his actions do not do him justice. Hence in the end he gets what is much overdue, death. Although Boy kills himself, his demise occurs because of his flawed actions. What each of these individuals give in their life is reciprocated and in the end, they meet their inevitable

Read More

The Heros Journey In The Hobbit And Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

1106 Words | 5 Pages

Since The Road is more about the Boy’s journey than his father’s, the supreme ordeal at the end of the novel is the death of the Man. The death of the Man, who acted as the Boy’s mentor during the many challenges faced by the duo, represents the largest and most devastating challenge faced by the Boy. Not only is this due to the fact that the Boy feels unprepared to continue on without his father, but it is also because the “reward” and “road back” are not immediately apparent to the Boy. Compared to even the most challenging obstacles the Boy faced in the past, the death of his father leaves him both physically and mentally pained and exhausted. However, relief from his situation arrives promptly in the form of the stranger who claims to be a “good guy,” though the Boy’s future remains forever uncertain.

Read More

Cormac Mccarthy The Road Hope

804 Words | 4 Pages

Wishing for death is contrary to living with her child, and the disparity between those ideas is strong enough to ‘rip out’ her heart. Even so, the woman still chooses suicide, demonstrating the complete and utter hopelessness she felt. Next, the man’s last conversation with the boy before he dies shows hope manifesting the sake of survival. Here, the man’s health is failing substantially and he knows he will soon die.

Read More

Sacrifice In The Road

1390 Words | 6 Pages

Have you imagined how the post-apocalyptic world will look like and will you choose try hard to survive or to die? In the book, The Road, written by McCarthy, the sky is dark. It’s cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. Everything has gone, only except some human beings who try every way to survive even by hurting and killing people.

Read More

Faith And Conflict In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

1457 Words | 6 Pages

The Road, written by Cormac McCarthy, is a novel that follows the journey of a father and son traveling south to escape the post-apocalyptic scene they were unfortunately put in. The father and son are survivors of some unnamed disaster that has occurred. As time passes by there is less and less food. There is also a lack of plants and animals. Other than scavenging for food, the only means of survival for some is cannibalism.

Read More

Essay On Cormac Mccarthy The Road Fire

541 Words | 3 Pages

The discovery of fire revolutionized human history. It allowed for vision in the night, a method to cook foods, and a way for protection for the human ancestors. Its became indispensable for the development of human societies, and continues to be of great importance today. It continued to hold its importance in writings and visual works, becoming a universal symbol for various meanings such as power and wrath. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, fire is a prominent and reoccurring symbol for life, death, and passion.

Read More

Humanity In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

646 Words | 3 Pages

Fear eventually catches up to them because what the father had been afraid of since the beginning has finally come. He dies, leaving the boy to fend on his own. Mccarthy concluded his novel with a tragic ending filled with gloom and

Read More

The Father And Spirituality In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

910 Words | 4 Pages

In The Road, a novel by Cormac McCarthy, published in 2006, a man and a boy struggle to survive as they travel south on the road in the post-apocalyptic world. On their journey to the coast, the man and the boy encounter the remains of an ashen world, ravaged by men who are willing to kill to survive. Among the death and destruction of the post-apocalyptic world, McCarthy illustrates how the man gains resilience from the spirituality he finds within his son, which proves how in a world void of official religion, belief in something greater than yourself creates the strength necessary to survive. The man sees his son as a spiritual figure that provides him the strength to survive in the desolate world.

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Space Program Of The 1960s

395 Words | 2 Pages

The goals we set for ourselves are often the hardest to achieve. This is due to the fact that many people are concerned with how others perceive them, and often set much higher goals than are reasonable. In addition, personal goals often stem from an internal need; no goals are achieved without drive and purpose, which only come from within. The Space Program of the 1960s is an example of a self-prescribed goal.

Read More

Symbolism In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

1031 Words | 5 Pages

Ashen Alleys to the South A country in desolation, few humans remain, and nature in complete shambles. Under the cover of ash clouds, setting retains the tone of “The Road.” It not only sets the backdrop of the novel, but continually affects the father and son. Their surroundings cause physical, psychological, and even spiritual issues. Without the daunting background, Cormac McCarthy could not have created such a compelling story with characters that drive our hearts to the breaking point.

Read More

I Survived Book Summary

468 Words | 2 Pages

For example, when Jess, Eddie and Sam were in the abandon cabin they experienced an earthquake. The reader can sense the frightfulness they must have endured as trees tumbled down everywhere around them in the forest. The author also describes in detail how the heat from the blast felt so hot that every breath was like inhaling fire. Thankfully, Jess figured out that if she tucked her shirt over her mouth she could breath. This intrigues us to read on as the reader wants more details on what she is going through and how she survived.

Read More

Irony In The Tell-Tale Heart And The Lottery

471 Words | 2 Pages

The demonstration of the narrator's imagination unconsciously leads his own thoughts to grow into a chaotic mess that ultimately ends in a death. By murdering, it’s his own way of finding peace. He is portrayed as being a sadist, sick man with an unnatural obsession for

Read More

Summary Of John Jeremiah Sullivan's Essay 'Feet In Smoke'

323 Words | 2 Pages

Through this, “Feet in Smoke” allows the reader to “walk in someone else’s shoes” and conveys the cathartic and shared human experience of death and its looming

Read More

The Sociological Approach In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

1297 Words | 6 Pages

Within the literary world, the sociological approach can be presented within a widely multiplying range of dystopian and other literary works. They can either be functionalist, conflict, or interactionist perspectives. The Road, written by Cormac McCarthy, is a novel set in America, following a father and his son on a journey to the coast, however, it isn’t all pleasant. In a world of ash, destruction, and cannibalism, they must carry the fire, sacrifice, and love to survive each day on a dying planet. It is clearly apparent that the sociological approach is the most appropriate critical approach when examining The Road.

Read More

More about The World Will End In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

Related Topics

Open Document