Cormac McCarthy’s work is significantly influenced by the ideas of survival. In No Country for Old Men and The Road, the characters are scared and will do almost anything to survive. Fear causes people to do almost anything, while subsisting. Survival is, essentially running from the fear of mortality. In No Country for Old Men, a man runs for his life because he fears the man that is coming for his life. He is running from death. In The Road, a father and his son are forced to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The two of them always have the constant fear of running out of food, water. The father also has the fear of leaving his son alone in this hellish world. Fear is a powerful force, and people will do anything to outlast death.
To begin, in McCarthy’s No Country for old Men, Llewelyn Moss, a young and ordinary man from Texas, will do anything when fearing for his life. Moss “ was a law abiding citizen. Workin a nine to five job,” (McCarthy 220). He was an average blue-collared
…show more content…
American. He has a young wife named Carla Jean, whom he loves very much. Llewelyn does not have to worry about most fears in life, including death. Moss had no reason to complain or worry about life. That was until he was caught taking something that is not his. Moss is first introduced, about halfway through the first chapter, on a routine hunting trip, where he is hunting for antelope. His trip seems normal to him. There does not seem to be anything out of the ordinary, at least for now. Life can change in an instant, sometimes for the better, but not always. In Llewelyn Moss’s case, life takes a turn for the worst, but he is forced to do whatever it takes to survive in the run from death. While hunting, Moss discovers what was a drug deal that didn’t go as planned. While investigating the scene, Moss stumbles upon a leather document case “ level full of hundred dollar banknotes” (McCarthy 170.) Moss takes the money, and from this point, his life will never be the same. A little further in the book, Moss returns to the scene, and is spotted by a man who is “ not somebody you really want to know” (McCarthy 150). This is the man that is after Moss, and his name is Anton Chigurh. Chigurh wants his money and Moss’s life, and he will do anything to get wants. Moss starts to fear death, because death is a little closer than what he was used to. This is where the concept of fear driving a man to do anything comes to play in the book. This fear drives Moss to run for his life, but it also causes him to do things that no man does on a regular occasion, like murder. He tries his best to abide by the laws, but when times get desperate, he will do anything to live. To continue, Moss is now running from this evil man. He does not actually know who this man chasing him is. It is not until later, when he finds out who Anton Chigurh is, but Moss does not know how dangerous Chigurh is. This lack of knowledge never crosses his mind, because he worries more about the fact that there is a man coming for his life. He also fears the thought of never seeing his wife again. Murder plays a huge role in McCarthy’s work. Moss was never said to be a murderous person. He was a soldier in the army, and he went to Vietnam, but he is never known as a murderer. With that in mind, Chigurh sends his men after Moss, so he is forced to kill them out of fear for his own life. Moss never thought twice about killing these men. He only committed a murder to protect himself. Eventually Chigurh does catch up with Moss and kills him, but fear made Moss last as long as he did. Similar to No Country for Old Men, McCarthy’s father and son in The Road will do almost anything to survive. The father in this book is called the Man, and his “ job is to take care of [the Boy]. [The Man] was appointed to do that by God. [The Man] will kill anyone who touches [the Boy]” (McCarthy 77). The Boy is the Man’s son, and he will do anything to protect him. The Man’s biggest fear is dying, because if he dies, his son will be alone in this dreadful world. The Man knows this day will eventually come, so he must prepare the Boy to survive on his own and protect himself. The Man is nothing without the Boy. If the Boy were to die, then the Man “ would want to die… so [the Man] could be with [the Boy]” (McCarthy 11). The Man’s only reason to live is the Boy. The Boy is his motivation to continue with life. This idea of fear making a person do anything is strengthened in this book when the Boy’s life is put in danger. The two of them encounter a stranger who is not to be trusted. This stranger is holding a knife and he grabs a hold of the child. The man scared for the Boy’s life shoots the stranger in the head, saving the Boy’s life. The Man is just a father, but when you endanger the life of his child, he will do anything to save him, including murder. Moving forward, the lack of food and water start to become an issue. More fears start to cross the Man’s mind. He needs to keep his son away from dehydration and starvation. Another problem is that the Man is slowly getting weaker. The Man’s biggest concern of leaving the Boy alone is getting closer. The Boy is not ready to continue in this world alone, and he is starting to worry about his father. Not long after this scare, the Man finds food and the thought of death seems to deteriorate. Fast-forwarding through the book, the Man discovers that all of their possessions have been stolen. All that’s left is the gun, with one bullet, and the clothes on their backs. Following the road, they find a man with their stuff. The Man threatens to kill this thief for putting their lives in danger. The Man, not only gets his stuff back, but he also takes the thief’s belongings with him, leaving him to die. The Man is willing to let the thief die in order to secure his own and his child’s survival. The Man’s thought is, if someone takes from him, he will take more from them. The Boy does not like how violent his father has become, but sometimes, violence is critical when protecting one’s self. In the end, the Man can go no further, and his worst fear has come true.
The Boy will have to continue life alone. Before the Man passes on, he continues to comfort the Boy by telling him that he will “ have to carry the fire” (McCarthy 279). The fire is not a tangible fire, but it is the inner strength of the Boy. The Boy needs to understand that he is strong enough to continue alone. The Man has taught the Boy everything he needs to know about survival. Returning to the subject, fear made the Man do unthinkable things, but it was all to keep his son safe. The Man, like Llewelyn Moss, was not known as a murderous person, but fear changes personalities. When people face their fears, they do anything that is necessary to get past those fears. The Man murdered a stranger to threatening the life of his son, and he left another man without life essentials to die. Now the Boy knows what he needs to do to continue, and he knows to do what ever is necessary when his life is in
danger. In conclusion, both No Country for Old Men and The Road share similar characters with similar fears. Moss and the Man both did things they would have never thought of doing earlier in life. They both know murder is wrong, but it was necessary to prolong their lives. Fear changes the way people think and act. Cormac McCarthy is very skilled when it comes to writing a story with the topic of survival. He also knows what fear can do to a regular person. Fear motivates people to do whatever is needed to survive in any situation, no mater the how harsh the situation is. Murder is the most extreme result from fear found in these books, but at both times was necessary to extend the characters life. Fear influences individuals to do anything, no mater the consequences.
He always wants to help someone else in need before himself, whereas the father is only concerned about their own personal wellbeings. He “is the one” who worries about their ethical choices and wants to help a stranger in any way he can (259). McCarthy proves the importance of the boy’s spirit of love for other people when his dad dies and he must take the leap of faith to continue along the road with a new family. Despite all the corrupted people they encountered beforehand, the boy meets someone who is “carrying the fire” (129). This mantra by the father and son, symbolizes hope and humanity. The qualities Steinbeck labels for a writer to create in his writings can be summed up in “carrying the fire” since the two never did give up. It is the greatness of the heart and spirit Steinbeck notes that is “inside [them]. [And] [i]t [is] always there” (279). It is noteworthy that even in the midst of death and ashes, the two are able to hold onto their relationship and sanity. The “good guys” can continue to carry meaning and structure in their lives, even in a time where society turned into a battle to survive on the remnants of
The boy’s mother will take the easy way out for herself so that she won’t have to fight through the pain. By taking her own life, she will leave the boy in the father’s hands. The boy misses his mother everyday
When the man and boy meet people on the road, the boy has sympathy for them, but his father is more concerned with keeping them both alive. The boy is able to get his father to show kindness to the strangers (McCarthy), however reluctantly the kindness is given. The boy’s main concern is to be a good guy. Being the good guy is one of the major reasons the boy has for continuing down the road with his father. He does not see there is much of a point to life if he is not helping other people. The boy wants to be sure he and his father help people and continue to carry the fire. The boy is the man’s strength and therefore courage, but the man does not know how the boy worries about him how the boy’s will to live depends so much on his
The stylistic choices an author makes when writing has a huge impact on the mood and atmosphere of the piece created. Take, for example, Cormac Mcarthy’s The Road, and Gregory Robert’s Shantaram. The two incredible novels are in many ways similar, however also very different due to a different writing styles.
“[He] looked across at his father and wondered just how he was going to tell him. It was a very serious thing.” This point of view demonstrates how nervous the boy is to tell his father that a close friend, Bill Harper, was arriving the next day to fish with him. The boy sits next to the fire and parries the idea of divulging his innocent plan. He knows that things are changing in his life and that eventually he must leave his father and create a new life with new social requirements, demonstrated by this quote: “He knew it was something that had to happen sometime. Yet he also knew that it was the end of something.” The boy goes on the wonder, “It was an ending to a beginning and he wondered just how he should tell his father about it.” The boy’s thoughtful attitude exhibits a bond between father and son and a relationship of respect. The boy wonders if it is also a relationship of
Living in fear and trying to survive to be last man standing is a way of living in many cities around the country. In a world where men have to wear their manhood on their sleeves and solving their problem with violence, lives are not as meaningful. In “My brother’s murder” the author Brent Staples narrates the story of how his brother Blake choses to be part of this violence to survive in a dangerous neighborhood in which they were both raised. These decisions leaded to his early death at only 22 years old. Blake could of leave the toxic environment, chose a different lifestyle, or accept his brother help when he offered. All the differences decisions he could of take instead of following the violence path could have save his life, making him responsible for his own death
The son upheld the idea that in dire situations, he must abandon everything except for the instinct to survive. Harsh and dangerous conditions can affect one's outlook on life as well as their priorities. In The Last Days, Irene Zisblatt witnesses the brutal beating of a small child as his head was bashed against the side of a truck by a SS officer until the blunt force trauma caused the young child to die (Moll). The trauma from seeing the small boy being abused to death traumatizes Irene, which prompts her into losing her faith in God. As Irene notices the cruel atrocities taking place around her, she questions whether God is really there for the innocent Jewish people if he does not try to stop such horrible events taking place.
In One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez and "The South" by Jorge Luis Borges, many similar devices are used by the authors. Their presentations and their uses are sometimes similar and at times dissimilar. There is one device that is used by both authors that is one of the most prominent devices in both works--the train. The presentation and use of the train in both texts is different, but in both it is a method of transportation and an evil entity that is an active symbol of change.
In the beginning of the story, the narrator feels very uncomfortable knowing that he will
With the son’s fear amongst the possibility of death being near McCarthy focuses deeply in the father’s frustration as well. “If only my heart were stone” are words McCarthy uses this as a way illustrate the emotional worries the characters had. ( McCarthy pg.11). Overall, the journey of isolation affected the boy just as the man both outward and innerly. The boys’ journey through the road made him weak and without a chance of any hope. McCarthy states, “Ever is a long time. But the boy knew what he knew. That ever is no time at all” (McCarthy pg. 28). The years of journey had got the best of both, where they no longer had much expectation for
In Cormac McCarthy and the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men, compare the moral implication that McCarthy gives versus the Coens’ implied moral judgment of Carson Wells played by Woody Harrelson. In the literary text McCarthy’s lack the use of standard literary punctuation in quoting which character is speaking almost as if he interjects cinematic fiction for the purpose disorienting the audience. McCarthy characterizes Wells, a hit man, as a philosophical, militant, and mercenary who never touches a weapon for self-defense or offense. The Coen brothers’ make due with such limitation when directing Harrelson to humanize Wells’ psychotic personality when face to face with Anton Chigurh played by Javier Bardem. The Coen brothers overly complicate
...he thought it was beauty or about goodness.” Things that he’d no longer any way to think about at all.” (McCarthy 129,130). “The man” still shows acts of kindness towards strangers here and there in hopes that the boy will not follow in his footsteps and give up fate as well; he wants “the boy,” as McCarthy states it, to continue “to carry the fire.”
This decision will change him forever, but perhaps it will give him his life back as well. This idea starts to form in his mind when he has a conversation with another broken man. The man reveals that Conroy planted some incriminating evidence, and the man was given three years on top of his original one. When he first hears this, the boy doesn’t really understand. But then “A dawning horror awakens in the white-haired boy. It fills his work boots with terror and gives cold air to the sagging of his pants behind his hollowing thighs.”[15] He understand now, that his two years may not end at two years. This broken man opens the boy’s eyes, explain why Conroy would plant evidence. “I was a favorite – just like you.”[16] The boy understands his position now, and searches for a way out. When he is working in the shop, he gets lost staring at the sharp blades used to cut the cloth. He knows that the prisoners make them into shanks, but if Risk got word that he had one there’d be trouble. “But he was a hand boy in his dad’s workshop. He looks at the glittering metal blades and thinks, I can make one.”[17] But he’s still slightly broken. “The boy just stands there like a ghost, his white hair hanging in a halo around his vacant face, the red lips standing out like a punch, his legs two thin sticks under his pants. The tender belly of youth has disappeared into a hollow cavern under his uniform, and sometimes when he reaches to his privates to piss he thinks there is nothing there. That little snail shell has just gone up and disappeared.”[18] He’s desperate to find a solution, so he can reclaim both his body and his life. But he knows that using the shank on Risk would do nothing for him, he’s not just Risk’s property anymore. So, he asks himself the question that will complete his transformation. “What will I do with
At first the relationship between a father and his son can be perceived as a simple companionship. However, this bond can potentially evolve into more of a dynamic fitting relationship. In The Road The Man and his son have to depend on one another because they each hold a piece of each other. The Man holds his sons sense of adulthood while the son posses his father’s innocence. This reliance between the father and son create a relationship where they need each other in order to stay alive. “The boy was all that stood between him and death.” (McCarthy 29) It is evident that without a reason to live, in this case his son, The Man has no motivation to continue living his life. It essentially proves how the boy needs his father to love and protect him, while the father needs the boy to fuel ...
The story opens with the boy, whom to this point had ignored his mothers coughs, drops everything to rush to her aid as she “collapsed into a little wicker armchair, holding her side”. (O’Connor 206) As he watched his mother struggle trying to light the fire he told her, “Go back to bed and Ill light the fire”. (206) Now to this point, as the reader, I am unsure of the age of the boy, but I get the impression that he is a young boy. My idea of this boy is that he tries to take on too much throughout the day and eventually it was the demise of the opposite sex that eventually caused the meltdown of the “awesome” little boy. This is certainly something that will happen again to this young lad but he has definitely learned his lesson this time.