Savagery And Symbolism In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

In The Road, Cormac McCarthy portrays the story of a father and son duo surviving in a post-apocalyptic world that has been devastated by an unknown catastrophic event. The father and son’s journey southward towards the coast is horrific and harsh encompassed by external obstacles and internal conflict of malnutrition, thievery, and cannibalism. The two depend on each other to maintain their sanity and morality as they forge on in the destitute setting of the road. Although the young boy is born into a realm of savagery and privation, the boy is able to maintain a sense of morality and selflessness as he helps other struggling individuals throughout his journey. Through symbolism and the boy, himself, McCarthy illustrates that idea of hope, …show more content…
These characteristics are utilized to contrast and highlight the characteristics of the young boy, McCarthy presents the boy as a figure of purity and innocence despite the cruel world he is forced to inhabit. Based on the horrific environment and situation, the reader is led to expect that the duo would succumb to the “new normality” of savagery that is displayed by other survivors in the story. However, this typical expectation is only half true, since the man is the only one of the two has submitted to society’s bestiality, the father, and the other remains adamant about conforming to his morals, the son. The son’s actions of aiding others despite his own struggle to survive and the scarcity of resources further portray his morality and humanity. This idea is cemented in a variety of events in which the father chooses to steal or ignore the helpless while on the other hand, the boy shows benevolence and concern for others. For instance, the two encounter an old man whom is characterized as a “broken vulture”, the father seems very hesitant on it and wants to