In the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy a young boy and his father are struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. In the beginning of the book both Papa and the boy have strong moral values, but nearing the end Papa will do anything in order to escape danger and death. When one is trying to survive, the lines between good and evil become blurred, causing individual’s morals to shift when put in life threatening situations. In the beginning of the book, Papa was very set on being a wholesome role model who did no wrong. After Papa washes the remains of a decomposed, eaten body out of his son’s hair the idea of “bad guys” blossoms in the boy's head. He wonders what it means to be good, and who is good in a world with no order. Asking
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After forcing a man that stole their cart to strip naked and sit in the middle of the road while they left him, Papa does not take into account that he essentially killed the frightened man. It is not until Papa loses his temper with the tears the boy has shed over the lowlife thief that the boy speaks the underlying truth of Papa’s actions. Papa tries to reason with the boy, saying, “I wasn’t going to kill him, he said. … the boy was awake and after a while the boy said: But we did kill him” (260). While Papa defends himself saying, “I wasn’t going to kill him”, he fails to realize that he has become the very thing he was trying to protect the boy from. Papa killed another human to prove to himself that he is still strong and can protect the boy, even with his diminishing health. Even though Papa tries to mask the truth, the boy tells him, “we did kill him”. Using the would “we” McCarthy reveals to the readers that the boys is not so little and innocent anymore. He takes initiative over leaving the man in the road and not stopping his father; which in return also makes him responsible for the death of an innocent, starving man. No matter how hard Papa, and the boy, tried to mask their dwindling morals, the life threatening situations they endured changed their outlook on what the right thing to do
After forcing a man that stole their cart to strip naked and sit in the middle of the road while they left him, Papa does not take into account that he essentially killed the frightened man. It is not until Papa loses his temper with the tears the boy has shed over the lowlife thief that the boy speaks the underlying truth of Papa’s actions. Papa tries to reason with the boy, saying, “I wasn’t going to kill him, he said. … the boy was awake and after a while the boy said: But we did kill him” (260). While Papa defends himself saying, “I wasn’t going to kill him”, he fails to realize that he has become the very thing he was trying to protect the boy from. Papa killed another human to prove to himself that he is still strong and can protect the boy, even with his diminishing health. Even though Papa tries to mask the truth, the boy tells him, “we did kill him”. Using the would “we” McCarthy reveals to the readers that the boys is not so little and innocent anymore. He takes initiative over leaving the man in the road and not stopping his father; which in return also makes him responsible for the death of an innocent, starving man. No matter how hard Papa, and the boy, tried to mask their dwindling morals, the life threatening situations they endured changed their outlook on what the right thing to do