Exploring Father/Son Relationships
Imagine yourself standing next to your son, the only other inhabitant of the land with a pulse for miles around. The dismal earth is covered with gray ash, the air thick with the particles. Envision yourself scouring for food to diminish the boy’s hunger in every corner of every ashy room, coming across nothing but bones and more ash. Now, picture yourself and your son in the small, religious community of Gilead, Iowa. The townspeople are caring and compassionate, providing comfort for you and your family while you prepare for your own passing. These two extremes, apocalyptic and compassionate, are what the father and sons in The Road and Gilead faced, respectively.
Many fathers around the globe would agree …show more content…
The Road tells the experiences of a boy of around nine years old and his father, who slowly dying, as he has been coughing up blood. The mother of the boy killed herself a few years before the story takes place, to escape from the rape-filled, torturous society they currently fight to survive in. In The Road, the father sacrifices everything he can to keep the boy healthy and safe; he will go without eating so the boy can have more energy when food is scarce. After the scene in the basement with the tortured people, the man and son hid in the woods. The man, knowing they would live the same fate if caught, was ready to sacrifice himself to ensure the boy’s freedom. After realizing he couldn’t leave his son alone, he explained, “I was going to run. To try and lead them away. But I cant leave you [sic],” (McCarthy 113). If he had run, he would have been caught and tortured like the rest of them. By staying, he still may be caught if the men find them. However, the man would use the last bullet in the pistol to grant the boy a quick and painless death, sacrificing himself. The father would kill his own son to spare him the pain the men could cause if they were caught. He is willing to take a lifetime worth of torture before letting the men lay a finger on his
Imagine yourself standing next to your son, the only other inhabitant of the land with a pulse for miles around. The dismal earth is covered with gray ash, the air thick with the particles. Envision yourself scouring for food to diminish the boy’s hunger in every corner of every ashy room, coming across nothing but bones and more ash. Now, picture yourself and your son in the small, religious community of Gilead, Iowa. The townspeople are caring and compassionate, providing comfort for you and your family while you prepare for your own passing. These two extremes, apocalyptic and compassionate, are what the father and sons in The Road and Gilead faced, respectively.
Many fathers around the globe would agree …show more content…
The Road tells the experiences of a boy of around nine years old and his father, who slowly dying, as he has been coughing up blood. The mother of the boy killed herself a few years before the story takes place, to escape from the rape-filled, torturous society they currently fight to survive in. In The Road, the father sacrifices everything he can to keep the boy healthy and safe; he will go without eating so the boy can have more energy when food is scarce. After the scene in the basement with the tortured people, the man and son hid in the woods. The man, knowing they would live the same fate if caught, was ready to sacrifice himself to ensure the boy’s freedom. After realizing he couldn’t leave his son alone, he explained, “I was going to run. To try and lead them away. But I cant leave you [sic],” (McCarthy 113). If he had run, he would have been caught and tortured like the rest of them. By staying, he still may be caught if the men find them. However, the man would use the last bullet in the pistol to grant the boy a quick and painless death, sacrificing himself. The father would kill his own son to spare him the pain the men could cause if they were caught. He is willing to take a lifetime worth of torture before letting the men lay a finger on his