The Road by Cormac McCarthy Book Analysis

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a novel about a father and son fighting through the hardships of an apocalyptic world . The man and the boy are two of the few people that have fought for survival through and after the apocalypse. An unexplained event occurred, turning our world into a barbaric environment, while completely altering the mindsets of the two main characters. Their adapting mindset heavily impacted how the man and boy take in the hardships thrown their way.  The man starts the journey in a negative manner, but the boy creates a spark of fight in the man. In The Road, Cormac McCarthy creates a mood of hopelessness and sorrow, despite the man and boy's willpower, showing that survival is hard but worthwhile.

McCarthy generates mood in the boy's development of perspective towards survival. The boy is characterized as scared and fearful by claiming, “I wish I was with mom,“ knowing that his mom [is] dead (55). He is born into an apocalyptic world, where almost everything is feared. At this time, the boy was six-ten years old completing tasks that most adults haven’t yet faced, consequently leading to the time the boy wished for death. Almost leaving the boy feeling closer with the man, due their relations for longing for the warm hand of death. The boy leaks out his vulnerability, “[Lifting] His wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one,” indicating that the boy not only has to take care of himself, but also has a duty to look out for the man (259). Proving that the boy's mindset is almost forced to evolve and mature. 

McCarthy applies mood to contrast the perspectives of the boy and man, making their personalities clash. The boy cares for everything around him, while the man’s only focus is keeping them both alive. Their personalities put together create a battle of morality versus survival, “Can we help him papa? No. We cant help him. There's nothing to be done for him,” (50). The boy carries a light sense of curiosity with him, making the dark comments that McCarthy slides in the man's character intense. Optimism lives all through the boy, making his character altogether, colorful in the gray. “Do you think there could be fish in the lake? No. There’s nothing in the lake,” (20). The man, however, lacks the natural positivity the boy expresses. The boy had to show the man that the end result of the journey is based on his mindset, whilst the man mentored the boy to survive without him. Both characters work together to balance out the considerable and robust journey.

Furthermore, mood is integrated to exhibit how the man's point of view on survival evolves . The man specifically began his journey with a negative point of view, ”He got the binoculars … and [the cities] grayness like a charcoal drawing sketched across the waste. Nothing to see,” (8). The man used to look out and see nothing but the depressing monotony of the new world he had adapted to. The boy drilled his childlike wonder into the man's head, allowing him to remember hope and positivity, allowing for the man’s emotion to seep back through. ”This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They dont give up” (137). Showing that he’s finally ready to fight for survival, for the boy and himself. The man wants to mentor the boy in the hardships of survival and how to overcome them, and show the boy what true determination and love looks like. He wants to show the boy that survival is worth the challenges faced along the way, to leave his own mark on the world.

In The Road, Cormac McCarthy exhibits a mind-set of hopelessness and sorrow, notwithstanding the man and boy's grit, showing that survival is difficult yet valuable. The man is the main source of negativity, which then rubbed off on the boy. With that said, they both overcome feelings of negativity, showing true determination and love. The undiscovered apocalypse was a good thing for the man, to remind him what he is living for and to then influence the boy to think the same way. McCarthy uses the two different characters to contrast certain messages and to give different perspectives on life.