Theme Of Father Love In The Road

In order for a child to live in a complete and happy family, the paternal love plays a major role in a life, especially the love of a father which is much more important than a mother’s love for a child. Moreover, a father’s love is one of the greatest influences on the child’s personality development throughout his/her life. A father’s love brings a sense of protection of security in a child. In the novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy presents the great example of paternal love. The novel deals with a post-apocalyptic story about an unnamed man and his unnamed child as they move toward the south to find a better place to live after the catastrophic event. The son is the only reason for the father to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. Although

The boy asks the man, “Can I ask you something? Yes. Of course. you can. What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die too. So you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you. Okay” (10-11). McCarthy points out that the man’s love for his son is what makes the man want to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. In the novel, before attempting suicide, the man’s wife criticizes him for using the boy as a reason to survive. The wife tells the man “The only thing I can tell you is that you wont survive for youself” (57). The quote explains that in the world, where landscapes devastated by fire, the weather conditions are getting harsh, the town and houses are abandoned, little food, no supplies, and no shelter left, no want to live that kind of situations, but the man wants to continue living the life, so he can always be with his

The man tells the boy, “I cant. I cant hold my son dead in my arms. I thought I could but I cant. [the boy] You said you wouldnt leave me. [the man] I know. I’m sorry. You have my whole heart. You always did. You’re the best guy. You always were. If I’m not here you can still talk to me. You can talk to me and I’ll talk to you. You’ll see” (279). The quote illustrates the scene when the father is dying. He has always thought that he will kill the boy whenever the hard time comes, so the boy can be with him, but when he realizes that he cannot live longer because of his severe illness, he does not have the strength to kill his own son. Furthermore, the man feels afraid of leaving the son alone in the world where no humanity exists and humans have to kill and eat another human being in order to survive, but he still cannot see his son being hurt and disappointed. He assures his son that even though he is not going to be with him physically, the boy can always talk to him, and he will always