We live in a world where the threat of an apocalypse bites at our heels every day. Nuclear war or technological takeover lurk in the shadows of everyday life, but predicting how an apocalypse will actually happen is near impossible. There are infinite stories about apocalypses; everything from comic books to movies portray the vast possibilities of the end of the world as we know it. Cormac McCarthy has created what I believe is one of the most real portrayals of post-apocalyptic life in his novel The Road. John Hillcoat also turned this masterpiece into a film under the same title, but he fell short of grasping the literary artwork McCarthy created. The novel is the better of the two because the character’s emotions are fully expressed, the
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The Man’s only motivation to live in the horrid world is his son; without him, he is alone. McCarthy’s writing moves the soul and really captures the Man’s desire for his son to live. Though the movie shows his desire, it lacks his feeling of love. There is a deficiency of affection and that seems to almost pull them apart rather than show the connection that the novel portrays. This lack of affection almost diminishes the father’s efforts to teach his son to survive because he no longer cares as much for what happens to him. The book also surmounts the movie when it comes to the apocalyptic instincts of the characters. The Man, as described by McCarthy’s astute literature, is driven to survive and overcome any obstacles to keep his son alive. This drive is absent in the film and distances the viewers from him. He chooses to run or contemplate suicide rather than fight to survive, yet his main goal of the journey is to teach his son to live on his own. The film also neglected any efforts to make the boy dainty. Though it is the apocalypse, the Boy has a warm heart and great personality, but he is not cute. McCarthy described him as a pleasant boy to really make the readers feel empathetic towards him, and Hillcoat ignored his
The Man’s only motivation to live in the horrid world is his son; without him, he is alone. McCarthy’s writing moves the soul and really captures the Man’s desire for his son to live. Though the movie shows his desire, it lacks his feeling of love. There is a deficiency of affection and that seems to almost pull them apart rather than show the connection that the novel portrays. This lack of affection almost diminishes the father’s efforts to teach his son to survive because he no longer cares as much for what happens to him. The book also surmounts the movie when it comes to the apocalyptic instincts of the characters. The Man, as described by McCarthy’s astute literature, is driven to survive and overcome any obstacles to keep his son alive. This drive is absent in the film and distances the viewers from him. He chooses to run or contemplate suicide rather than fight to survive, yet his main goal of the journey is to teach his son to live on his own. The film also neglected any efforts to make the boy dainty. Though it is the apocalypse, the Boy has a warm heart and great personality, but he is not cute. McCarthy described him as a pleasant boy to really make the readers feel empathetic towards him, and Hillcoat ignored his