Symbolism In The Road

In The Road is a quote that reads “No list of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of beauty and grace such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes. So, he whispered to the sleeping boy. I have you” (McCarthy 46) The boy mentioned and the man are the main characters of the novel. In reading, the story it is apparent that the boy and the man have a very dependent relationship. They have no one, but each other in a post-apocalyptic world. The post-apocalyptic world to which the story is set is caused by some kind of a disaster. This is evident by the fact that ash and burned remains are continually mentioned throughout the …show more content…
The boy and man can trust each other and that is a sign of hope. The part of the quote that reads, “their birth to grief and ashes” could mean a number of things (McCarthy 46). I have many theories on what it could mean. The first is that since there was a life prior to the disaster, the boy and the man basically have to start life over from scratch. They have to get acclimated to this new way of life, a life of constantly fending for themselves. They have to protect themselves from other people and take care of themselves by finding or hunting down whatever they can. The phrase could also refer to the fact that the boy was born into this world and this way of life. There is “no later”, because the man and the boy are not guaranteed to make it tomorrow. The world that they live in only promises danger, hunger and uncertainty, so all they can really do is live in the present because they may not live the next day. The things “of grace and beauty” find “ a common provenance in pain” I feel only has one meaning (McCarthy 46). That means to say that all good things originate from bad things. For, example in order to know love one must know