Literature Analysis #2

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

1) The Road is the story of a man and his son in search of a refuge in a post-apocalyptic world. Throughout their pursuit to a new beginning, they encounter numerous setbacks. The father's top priority is to keep his son alive and healthy. He will do absolutely anything for his son, and his son feels protected and cared for. At such an early age, it is important for his son to feel safe because it will keep him mentally sane and functional. Furthermore, scavengers would constantly pose a threat to the father and son. As the journey goes on, the father slowly starts to suffer from his poor health. Near the end of the story, the father dies from disease and the son is offered to join another colony. The son accepts, and the story ends with the son venturing away with his new found family.

2) The theme of the story is how the power of hope can affect the way we live. If the father had not hoped for a refuge on the coast, he would not have struggled to get his family there. The father would have eventually died from his disease wherever he was, and the son would have been alone. The son would have never been picked up by the colony in the end, and he may have died, as well. Hope is a feeling we get that drives us to work for what we want. Without it, nothing would happen, and no progress in society would be made.

3) The tone of the story is depressed. Nothing seems to work right for the father and son. They are constantly struggling to survive and only hoping that the rumors they heard of the coast were true. The author accomplishes a sympathetic mood for the audience with his depressed tone. For example:

• "I told the boy when your dream about bad things happening, it means you're still fighting and you're still alive. It's when you start to dream about good things that you should start to worry." 
• "How many people do you think are still alive?" "In the world? Not very many."
• "Do you ever wish you would die?" "No. It's foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these."

4) McCarthy's use of syntax, imagery, and setting aided him in expressing his theme of the power of hope.

• Syntax: 

          "You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget."

• Setting:

          The setting is in a desolate wasteland where there is no happiness to be found. Sorrow lurks in nearly everyone's lives.

•  Imagery:

          "Then they set out along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the others' world entire."