In this book review, we’ll be looking at Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel The Road, skillfully blends elements of religion, hope, survival, and family bonds into a post-apocalyptic piece of literature. At the end of this review, I’ll share a prominent lens analysis of the novel, which will contain spoilers regarding religious themes in the novel. No major events from the novel will be disclosed in the analysis, if you wish to read on. McCarthy’s story follows two central unnamed characters, commonly referred to as The Man and The Boy, as they travel through a desolate, ashen laid land in this post-apocalyptic novel. In 2009, McCarthy’s novel was also transformed into a film directed by John Hillcoat, featuring actor’s Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who beautifully brought to life characters The Man and The Boy.
Trope Review
Post Apocalyptic Setting –
The story takes place after an unspecified extinction-level global cataclysm. Through some context clues however, the event seems to be related in some way to a nuclear level fall out, or possibly a series of natural disasters as a sort of divine punishment. The world is depicted as a desolate and barren landscape where nothing grows, and the sun hasn’t been seen in years.
Survival –
The man and his son are subject to many different variables for survival such as the elements that surround them, the remaining human population, lack of resources. The theme of survival in a harsh and unforgiving environment is a recurring trope in the novel.
Father and Son Relationship –
The man’s love for his son and his determination to protect him at all costs is a significant theme throughout McCarthy’s novel as it sets the stage for many of the conflicts present in the story.
Minimalist Writing Style –
McCarthy employs an interesting style of writing in this novel. There are no chapters to separate events, no quotations for dialogue, and little use of grammar, yet the formatting of this novel still works to tell a fluid story with few complicating factors.
Triggers/Content Warning
I would like to warn any potential readers that this novel does contain graphic themes and imagery such as cannibalism, allusions to suicide, death of children, homelessness, and murder. This book is to be read at your own discretion but is frequently referenced in the world of literature.
Prominent Lens Analysis
The post-apocalyptic story The Road, is a 2006 novel written by Cormac McCarthy. His novel follows an unnamed man and boy who travel a desolate, apocalypse-stricken land, in desperation to reach the coast. The novel stresses the severity of survival and natural instincts by creating a universe where trust is unheard of, and the characters are made to endure a kill or be killed society. Through a theological lens however, McCarthy’s novel utilizes many differing religious subsects to tell a story of hope outshining the wary, and kindness surpassing doubt. One use of a theological lens in The Road can be examined when The Man and The Boy are sitting back-to-back watching both directions of the road they’re traveling, eating canned ham, crackers, mustard, and applesauce. The two are discussing how far they are from the coast and The Man says they are “about two hundred miles from the coast. As the crow flies,” meaning if they had a straight shot, and weren’t traveling a winding road, they would be two-hundred miles from their destination (McCarthy 156). This phrase prompts The Boy to ask his father–The Man–if crows can “fly to Mars or someplace,” to which The Man tells him they cannot because it is too far (McCarthy 157). The question The Boy asks his father connects loosely to the Greek Myth of Icarus. The myth follows the story of a father and son who used melted wax and feathers to create wings so they could escape imprisonment by flying away. Icarus however disregarded his father’s warning of the Sun and flew too close which ended up melting his wings and as a result, Icarus fell to his death. Icarus’ story is a cautionary tale of excess ambition which applies to McCarthy’s novel, but more specifically to The Boy. The Boy is a very hopeful soul who is very ambitious in his pursuits to trust other travelers he and The Man meet on the road. Much like Icarus, The Boy fails to heed his fathers warnings in matters that could cost The Boy his safety. The Boy instead risks his survival by offering food and temporary shelter to the strangers he meets along the road, when The Man permits it. At another point in the novel, The Man is surveying the surrounding land that he and The Boy had camped on for the night when he starts thinking to himself things concerning The Boy. In staring out at the ashen land, he comes to the realization that “If he is not the word of God God never spoke,” in considering The Boy’s existence (McCarthy 5). This reveals two things to the reader’s: The Man views The Boy as proof of God, and The Boy is a symbol of purity in The Man’s fight for life. To expand on the first point, if his son, The Boy, was not born, then there couldn’t have been any proof of God and his miracles in The Man’s eyes. The Boy’s existence establishes that God is in fact real. In connection to the second point, The Man makes protecting The Boy’s innocence his life’s priority. The kind heart his son offers up to the world is the only thing that tethers The Man to his sanity. A third theological reference in the novel happens late in the story when The Man and The Boy are shown trekking along the road when they come across an old, haggard looking man who–after much persuasion offered by The Boy, and indignation from The Man–stays with the pair for a night. While camping through the night, The Man speaks with the traveler and learns he goes by the name of Ely. At a later point in the conversation, Ely tells the man, “When I saw the boy I thought I had died,” earning The Man’s inquisitive remark of, “You thought he was an angel,” (McCarthy 173). In the bible, Eli was a Jewish priest and judge of Shiloh who trained the prophet Samuel, who Eli believed was sent directly from God. Prophets are meant to receive messages sent by God, and act as a mediator between God and man-kind. They also divulge truth’s and encourage repentance. In the novel, the character of Ely can be interpreted as the exact opposite. Eli shares his belief that, “There is no God and we are his prophets,” then reveals a sense of hopelessness when he states his idea, “Tomorrow wasn’t getting ready for them (people). It didn’t even know they were there,” (McCarthy 168, 170). Both these ideas illustrate Ely in a shade opposite to his religious allusion: Regardless, the presence of Ely aids in progressing The Man’s development as a character, and more impactfully, a figure for his son. From the time the pair met Ely, to venturing off together once more, The Man tried his hardest to offer an open mind to The Boys mindset, as first seen when the two find the train. To conclude, through a theological lens, McCarthy changes the narrative of his story, The Road, from a piece telling the story of a desolate, ashen world with little to no hope, to a story of hope outshining the wary, and kindness surpassing doubt.
Works Cited McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Vintage International, 2006.
Concluding Thoughts
Cormac McCarthy crafts a beautifully written story about a father and son who navigate a post-apocalyptic world, despite the strenuous circumstances that surround them.
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