Cormac McCarthy's mysterious novel, The Road, sets the story in a conjuring post-apocalyptic world, where a father and son set out on a journey in hope to find a safe haven where they could survive and bring life back to normal. The kid has never seen the world in its original routine. The author develops the idea that even in a world where it was nearly impossible to survive without cannibalism, guidance and motivation can raise the spirits and lead a man to an enlightened path. The kid was the man's motivation and guidance. The author denotes, "He knew only that the child was his warrant...(McCarthy, 4)." He wanted the kid to experience the world as it used to be. This was the only hope why they were traveling, otherwise they would have died and meet the same fate as the kid's mother. The father tells the kid that they are the "good guys" because they don't eat other people, and carry the "fire" within. This is the first sign that the father thinks he will die soon, and his son needs to know how to be moral and spiritual, to survive this hell. He told the kid that tender dreams are a sign of death. He said "... the right dreams for a man in peril were dreams of peril and all else was the call of languor and death (McCarthy, 18)." The good dreams that he had of being in a safe haven with his wife and son signifies the imminent death of the father in near future. The demise of the father will be a form of hardship for his son, that he needs to overcome. His father encourages him to continue to live on, and not commit the sin of taking his own life because he has the "fire" within. The end of road, when they reach the sea shore, symbolized the end of journey for the father, where he meets with his ultimate fate. Before his death, he gives a word of advice to his son, "You cant. You have to carry the fire (McCarthy, 278). Overcoming the death of his father gives him the power to be self-reliable. His demise is the basis for the kid to survive. He finds the new "good guys" who were better equipped, and had a family. His father's death sends him to a new journey, on a new road, where he is more self-reliable and a part of a loving family.
The author is depicting life. Life is a journey and it goes on, even when loved ones are lost. This teaches us a lesson that the necessities of life are not only the means of survival, but love, motivation, and guidance are the ultimate tools for enrichment of the soul, that could contribute to the physical attributes of life. As food and other necessities are essential to the physical body, spiritual enrichment is essential to the soul. Both aspects are necessary for living a healthy life.
The author is depicting life. Life is a journey and it goes on, even when loved ones are lost. This teaches us a lesson that the necessities of life are not only the means of survival, but love, motivation, and guidance are the ultimate tools for enrichment of the soul, that could contribute to the physical attributes of life. As food and other necessities are essential to the physical body, spiritual enrichment is essential to the soul. Both aspects are necessary for living a healthy life.
