McCarthy ends the novel with the image of trout in the mountain streams because it gives the novel a sense of humanity. Without the illustration, the novel would consist entirely of the gloomy, ashen world of grey, lacking any sparks of color. The ending is surprising as it contrasts the novel’s typical depiction. Such a bright and pretty description differs from the rest of the dull and dark descriptions in the rest of the novel. Furthermore, the scene is filled with life, contrasting the barren wasteland in which the journey has occurred. Due to the stark contrast to the remainder of the novel, the end prompts a rethinking of the previously occurring events, for the man holds a pessimistic view of the world throughout the journey, while the
