Importance Of Sacrifice In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

The Importance of Sacrifice in The Road Cormac McCarthy’s The Road portrays a post-apocalyptic world containing nothing but the distinct loss of morality and desperate attempts to survive. In this cruel world, while most become bestial and corrupt, a father and his son struggle to find ways to stay alive while simultaneously keeping hope alive and staying humane in their ways. The sacrifices made by the man strengthen his relationship with his son and help maintain the only thing they have left: their morality. The man’s love for his son leads him to selflessly give up himself, so he can provide the boy with the physical, emotional, and spiritual necessities he feels are important. The strong religious base the man has becomes apparent in how he views the boy. Being trapped in such a dark world could easily bring on the idea that trying to raise a child is impossible or even crueler for the child than death. However, the man feels the importance of raising his child so he can teach the boy how to live and be a light in a terrible place. The boy is viewed by his father as a gift from God (McCarthy 5). The man …show more content…
The boy shows evidence that he is developing a sense of morality in how he treats his father. The man is more than willing to give up everything for his son, but the boy won’t let him. The boy demonstrates having morals and love for his father when he won’t let his father give him all the Coca-cola (McCarthy 23). The man wants the boy to have the Coca-cola when they find it, but the boy insists on the man drinking some of it. The man later tries to give the boy some of his own hot cocoa, but the boy won’t take it and says the man should drink it (McCarthy 34). The boy’s willingness to make sacrifices shows his father’s teachings have had an effect on him. The man has succeeded in equipping the boy with morality, and the boy shows it off by having the will to make the right