***SPOILER WARNING: DO NOT READ THE LAST PARAGRAPH IF YOU WISH TO READ THIS BOOK UNSPOILED***
Set in post-apocalyptic rural America, and surrounded by ash and empty towns, the unnamed protagonist in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits. Trying to survive a journey to the coast as well as fighting off lurking cannibals and harsh weather, the man in The Road pushes past the deviant packs of survivors that impose insurmountable pressure to conform to their diabolical ways. He also seems to have an edge cognitively, thinking about consequences preemptively which usually leads to avoiding danger and death. As he and his son wander about the wasteland that surrounds them, they are the sole individuals possessing any sort of conscious way of thinking.
In contrast to the rambling group of surviving nomads, the man seems to resist physiological urges in an almost superhuman manner. For instance, while everyone around him seems to eat anything and everything that moves just to satiate themselves, the man tries to serve majority of his food and drink to his son, although his son refuses to be spoiled in such a manner. He is also adamant and makes very clear to his son that they are not cannibals and will never eat another human being whether it is consciously or driven by impulse. This is accomplished however, through the man’s meticulous manner of which he forages and scavenges for food, carefully avoiding spoiled or potent sustenance.
McCarthy’s description of the man in the novel portrays a very survival-savvy and well-educated character. The man’s inventive nature also aids in his and his son’s struggle for survival, despite multiplying odds in favor of their demise. In the book, the man ventures into many abandoned houses in search for food, but he often ignores many canned foods, but he explains to his son that they were not the first inside, thus remaining food usually remains for a reason. He is also methodical in doing as much as he can to ensure the survival of his son and himself, like when he gathers seemingly empty gas cans and drips out whatever remaining fuel is in them to use for their lamp. Such a nature leads to a prolonged existence, whereas the other “survivors” seem to react purely on instinct and physiological needs, eventually leading to a contradiction in the title “survivor”.
In the end, the man does pass away, not from any immediate cause, but rather from a previous growing condition. It is then left to his son to be the conscious superhuman in the midst of all of the mindless evil that surrounds them. It is through his son that his legacy continues, his lessons of life and survival, and his character which was pure and illuminated through the constant darkness.
Completed in: ~60 min :[
