Cormac Mccarthy The Road Analysis

Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, is a bleak parable chronicling the journey of a father and son across a desolate, post-apocalyptic America. McCarthy’s work typically focuses on themes such as human nature, theodicy and the evil within society, with an overriding nihilistic worldview. The Road follows through on this, with McCarthy prophesying our destruction as a consequence of these societal flaws, and reminding modern readers of how much we have to lose if we remain on this path of self-destruction. Critic Andrew Hartman observed that, “Just as existentialist thought emerged from the horrific events of the twentieth century… Cataclysmic events compel epistemic crises.” In this respect, McCarthy’s worldview is very much a product of the twenty-first century. In an era characterised by warfare, global warming and a perpetual threat from terrorism, it is no surprise that McCarthy wanted to write a novel that allegorises the state of our world as a post-apocalyptic …show more content…
Critic Erik. J Wielenberg viewed The Road as “a meditation on morality, what makes human life meaningful, and the relationship between these things and God.” The novel’s stance on God is somewhat ambiguous, leading to two opposing viewpoints. With McCarthy being a Catholic, many believe him to be deploying the idea that ‘God is dead’ in modern society, largely seen here as a result of the intense suffering felt by the survivors, with one remarking,“Where men cant live gods fare no better.” This can seen by the lack of morals - something central to many religions - and the obliteration of the world’s natural beauty - “The sweeping waste, hydroptic and coldly secular. The silence.” McCarthy’s unique literary style, like the aforementioned lack of punctuation, is again key in creating the sensation of this ‘godless’