Good And Evil In The Road, By Cormac Mccarthy

743 Words2 Pages

Plots are often driven by the strong, complex nature of their coinciding themes. Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, takes readers on a post-apocalyptic endeavor as the characters encounter many themes present in the story. One major theme presented in The Road is the comparison of good and evil, which lines are finely drawn but easier to cross in the post-apocalyptic environment. The characters’ decisions between right and wrong are more complicated than the modern world due to the story taking place in a rather untraditional setting. When no laws are established and everyone is struggling to stay alive, it is harder to say what the “right” or “humane” choices are. As the man and the boy battle the “evil forces” around them, they also …show more content…

Still, he offers the benefit of the doubt and the chance to live to anyone who may cross their path. At one point, he even gives into his son’s relentless begging and invites one man to have dinner with them. This is a risky step to take in such an “every man for himself” sort of world. The man and the boy call themselves the “good guys.” The man repeatedly references “carrying the torch,” which represents the light and goodness the world still possesses through them. The man spends the entire book risking his life to reach a safer environment for his son and teach him the ways of life. Any human being willing to risk their life for another truly exemplifies …show more content…

The boy, not entirely ready to venture off on his own, questions the Veteran to decide whether he is a “bad guy” or a “good guy.” The boy uses all the knowledge he acquired from his father to determine The Veteran passes the test. He draws the conclusion that he and his wife can be trusted, at least for now. Finding good people left in the world is almost unexpected, having not met a single pure sole for the entirety of the novel. As the novel draws to a close, the goodness left in the world is portrayed perfectly. The illustrated scene is, as well, unexpectedly

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Steinbeck's Standard In The Grapes Of Wrath And The Road

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • David Metzenthen's Boys Of Blood And Bone

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    Looking towards the second protagonist, Andy can also be a good role model for young boys. Even though the events that lead Andy into the war are not admirable he does show great attributes during the war. Andy is a young man of courage, maturity, mate ship and just like Henry, integrity and honesty. When faced with danger Andy is quick to quite literally step up to the mark. In combat, the soldiers were hastily called to ‘man the fire step’. Andy showing bravery and courage was the first to volunteer himself, manning the fire step all through the night. It is through these sole actions the reader gets a taste of Henry and Andy’s personalities, highlighting the minor messages in this book such as honor, mate ship and responsibility. If we were to look at the boy’s love lives, we would see the more prevailing message of relationships. Henry and Andy both face hardships in their romantic lives. With Henry in a struggling, unhappy relationship with his girlfriend (Marcelle), Henry finds himself more attracted to his friend’s girlfriend (Janine). When his friend (Trot) is killed off the most un-fascinating and foreseeable way possible, it leaves Henry in a sticky situation. Through all this, Henry can stay true to his moral code just like a real Aussie. On the other side, Andy also gets himself into a sticky situation when he regrettably impregnates a girl (Frances-Jane) while in another relationship (Cecelia). However, Andy does not abandon Frances but instead turns to her and his unborn baby for comfort in his time of darkness and despair. He shows integrity and honesty by choosing to tell Cecelia the truth. In the time of Andy’s story this was an orthodox thing to do. The author accentuates the belief through that even if society tells you it’s the wrong thing to do it is sometimes best to stick to your morals. The actions of these young men are a good influence to the social,

    Read More

  • The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Under what circumstances would you go through to better and provide for your family? Would you embark on these six deadly sins above to just get a simple loaf of bread on the table? There is no solid blame or black and white definite answer throughout this novel, The Devil’s Highway. The author Luis Alberto Urrea takes his readers to different perspectives and offers different points of view whether you appear to be a walker, coyote, or the border control on the topic of illegal immigration. Being that Urrea puts the reader in each person shoe’s and truly sees what immense, harsh, conditions for example these immigrants had to go through. Again there is no solid blame or black and white answers, both sides are at fault and in need of a solution to the problem.

    Read More

  • Sickness In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

    241 Words  | 1 Pages

    It’s the year 2028, and the world we used to know as bright and beautiful is no longer thriving with light. A disease similar to the plague broke out and caused great havoc. Although it may seem like forever ago, sickness spread only a few years ago. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is about a man and his son who fortunately survived this sickness; although they made it, the struggle to keep going is tough. Before most of the population became deceased, people went insane. They started to bomb houses, burn down businesses and towns, and destroy the environment. Anyone who had the disease was bad blood. Many saw it as the end of the world, which in many cases was true.

    Read More

  • Courage For His Father In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the boy and his father carry the fire within themselves. This image of fire is the true nature of their courage to continue on the road to the unknown.

    Read More

  • Love And Sacrifice In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, is set sometime in the future after a global disaster in which tells a story of a nameless boy and father who both travel along a highway that stretches to the East coast. This post-apocalyptic novel shows the exposes of terrifying events such as cannibalism, starvation, and not surviving portraying the powerful act of the man protecting his son from all the events in which depicts Cormac McCarthy’s powerful theme of one person sacrificing or doing anything humanly possible for the one they love which generates the power of love.

    Read More

  • Man And Death In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Road by Cormac McCarthy is about a father and son who are surrounded by an apocalyptic world where they are trying to survive. Many of McCarthy’s books are about negative or violent times like Blood Meridian and All The Pretty Horses. McCarthy enjoys writing about the terror in the real world. When writing literature, he avoids using commas and quotation marks.. Many works of literature have a plethora of themes throughout them, in The Road, the theme that sticks out the most is paternal love. The boy is the only thing that stands between the man and death. Aside from that, the father doesn’t kill anyone for food, he only takes the life of people who threaten the boy. Lastly, the man allows the boy have the last of their supplies, food,

    Read More

  • The Crossing By Cormac Mccarthy

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is often said that a dog is a man’s best friend. In Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Crossing, a deep affection and fondness are established between man and animal. In a particular excerpt from the novel, Cormac illustrates the protagonist’s sorrow that was prompted from the wolf’s tragic death. As blood stiffens his trousers, the main character seeks to overcome the cold weather and fatigue with hopes of finding the perfect burial site for the wolf. McCarthy uses detailed descriptions and terminology in his novel, The Crossing, to convey the impact of the wolf’s death on the protagonist, a sad experience incorporated with religious allusions and made unique by the main character’s point of view.

    Read More

  • The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Road, a post-apocalyptic, survival skills fiction book written by Cormac McCarthy and published in 2006 is part of the Oprah Winfrey book club. During an interview with Oprah, McCarthy answered questions about The Road that he had never been asked before because pervious to the interview he had never been interviewed. Oprah asked what inspired the heart breaking book; it turns out that McCarthy wrote the book after taking a vacation with his son John. While on the vacation he imagined the world fifty years later and seen fire in the distant hills. After the book was finished, McCarthy dedicated it to his son, John. Throughout the book McCarthy included things that he knows he and his son would do and conversations that he thinks they may have had. (Cormac). Some question if the book is worth reading for college course writing classes because of the amount of common writing “rule breaks”. After reading and doing assignments to go along with The Road, I strongly believe that the novel should be required for more college courses such as Writing and Rhetoric II. McCarthy wrote the book in a way to force readers to get out of their comfort zones; the book has a great storyline; so doing the assignments are fairly easy, and embedded in the book are several brilliant survival tactics.

    Read More

  • The Devil And Tom Walker, by Washington Irving

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Washington Irving the author of The Devil and Tom Walker uses the setting of the story to convey that things with a good appearance can be deceiving and be putrid on the inside. He also creates the right atmosphere for the story, and gives precise details to the audience so they can predict the topic and how it will develop. In addition, he describes each character in a manner that the readers can infer who they are, their personal characteristics, and the decisions that they might make throughout the development of the story. Moreover, he provides a background for each character in order to understand their actions and their ending.

    Read More

  • Comparison of The Lord of the Flies and The Man and The Boy In the Road

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    The structure and language used is essential in depicting the effect that the need for survival has had upon both The Man and The Boy in The Road. The novel begins in media res, meaning in the middle of things. Because the plot isn’t typically panned out, the reader is left feeling similar to the characters: weary, wondering where the end is, and what is going to happen. McCarthy ensures the language is minimalistic throughout, illustrating the bleak nature of the post-apocalyptic setting and showing the detachment that the characters have from any sort of civilisation. Vivid imagery is important in The Road, to construct a portrait in the reader's mind that is filled with hopelessness, convincing us to accept that daily survival is the only practical option. He employs effective use of indirect discourse marker, so we feel as if we are in the man’s thought. The reader is provided with such intense descriptions of the bleak landscape to offer a feeling of truly seeing the need for survival both The Man and The Boy have. The reader feels no sense of closu...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Isolation In The Road

    2281 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the Novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, survival becomes the biggest quest to life. The novel is set to be as a scene of isolation and banishment from people and places. The author uses the hidden woods as a set of isolation for the characters, in which creates the suspense of traveling to an unspecified destination near the shore. Cormac McCarthy creates a novel on the depth of an imaginative journey, which leads to a road of intensity and despair. The journey to move forward in an apocalyptic world transforms both of the main characters father and son tremendously as time progress. In particular, the boys’ isolation takes him from hope to torment, making him become fearful and imaginative. The images indicate that McCarthy’s post apocalyptic novel relies on images, particular verbal choices, and truthful evidence to how isolation affected the son emotionally and physically.

    Read More

  • The Good Guy Rules In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s son live by seven rules that make them the good guys. They do what they have to do to survive, without compromising their morals. They are the epitome of a light shining in the darkness. The conflict of the father and son’s polar opposite personalities is exemplified when looking at how they feel about the rules. The child has ease with following every rule but number six, whereas the father has trouble with every rule but number six. This shows that maybe the characters complete each other. This also shows that maybe the son is better cut out for living in this kind of world than his father is. That fact shows that the father taught the child correctly.

    Read More

  • The Road

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.”

    Read More

  • Father and Son in The Road and The Pursuit of Happyness

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

More about Good And Evil In The Road, By Cormac Mccarthy

Open Document