YTMND

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 will to live and survive drives the story, and the post-apocalyptic element of bleakness is well describe to set the scene. The book starts out on a dreary night with the Boy and the Man asleep in the woods. The world has gone to ruins and most have resorted to savagery. Food is scarce, and death becomes an escape from the wasteland that we once called Earth. The man is dreaming about a monster chasing him and he is soon awoken. This monster throughout the book represents death that lurks around every corner, and if it catches him he said that means he has accepted death and cannot continue fighting to live. The pair spot a convoy of men coming their way and quickly seek shelter in the woods. One member strays from the group and is shot…