In works of fiction authors usually use characters in their novel in order to create impact for the readers. When a character perishes in a work that is not satire it is usually used to greatly illuminate the work as a whole. Such as in the post-apocalyptic novel the road,by Cormac McCarthy. The death of the boys father in the road emphasizes the novels view of perseverance as the boy chooses to continue to fight for his life in a world with nothing now that he no longer has his father. The only reason he does this is because everything the father teaches because relevant when he dies, and now the boy must do what his father has asked him to do in order to survive.
The main theme in The Road is looking for the "good guys" and the boy and the man seem to be on a journey to find these people in a world that is lost. Every person they come across is out there to get them, except for an old man.The good guys are never seen by the father because he dies before meeting them. McCarthy always plays with the idea of morality as such "He sat there cowled in the blanket. After a while he looked up.Are we the good guys? He said.(pg77). The question,ismorally gray there are no good guys,yet there are people who just wont cross certainlines. The father would never murder, rape or become a cannible like the rest of the left over world because he strives to show his son that there is still good left. This impact is ochestrated later because the Man does die and the lessons he taught his son will have to be heeded in order to survive.
Similarly the demise of the mother illudes a large significance in the novel. She is mentioned only in flashbacks as the woman, and she gives up in the world. Hence why there is only two bullets left in the revolver instead of three.This is a lesson to the boy, as him and his father face the constant struggle of not using the final bullets and just going with the mother also. Her characterzationis a reflection of the mood in the desolate earth "Will you tell him goodbye. No. I will not. Just wait till morning. Please. I have to go. She had already stood up.For the love of God, woman. What ami to tell him? I cant help you. Where are you going to go? You cant even see. I dont have to. He stood up, Im begging you, he said. No. I will not. I cannot"(pg58). The mothers suicide is the reason for perseverience the dad does not want his son to ever end up the same so he raises him to be a survivor.
The main theme in The Road is looking for the "good guys" and the boy and the man seem to be on a journey to find these people in a world that is lost. Every person they come across is out there to get them, except for an old man.The good guys are never seen by the father because he dies before meeting them. McCarthy always plays with the idea of morality as such "He sat there cowled in the blanket. After a while he looked up.Are we the good guys? He said.(pg77). The question,ismorally gray there are no good guys,yet there are people who just wont cross certainlines. The father would never murder, rape or become a cannible like the rest of the left over world because he strives to show his son that there is still good left. This impact is ochestrated later because the Man does die and the lessons he taught his son will have to be heeded in order to survive.
Similarly the demise of the mother illudes a large significance in the novel. She is mentioned only in flashbacks as the woman, and she gives up in the world. Hence why there is only two bullets left in the revolver instead of three.This is a lesson to the boy, as him and his father face the constant struggle of not using the final bullets and just going with the mother also. Her characterzationis a reflection of the mood in the desolate earth "Will you tell him goodbye. No. I will not. Just wait till morning. Please. I have to go. She had already stood up.For the love of God, woman. What ami to tell him? I cant help you. Where are you going to go? You cant even see. I dont have to. He stood up, Im begging you, he said. No. I will not. I cannot"(pg58). The mothers suicide is the reason for perseverience the dad does not want his son to ever end up the same so he raises him to be a survivor.
