Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy, author of the award winning book “The Road,” talks about the story of a man, his boy, and the indefinable trust that they share. In a world where everything seems to destroy them, Cormac shares the struggles the two must endure to keep them from harm, at a time where the world has pretty much ended and turned into ash. This book is told through a 3rd person perspective, and is kept that way throughout the book. This road is one of the most easiest and accessible ways they can travel, but also makes it dangerous at any given time. Right from the start, McCarthy focuses on 2 main themes: survival and perseverance.
From the beginning to the end, the man’s is overprotective of the boy, and will do anything to protect him and make sure he survives. An example of this is towards the beginning of the story (McCarthy 42) , when a man attacks the boy, and the man has no hesitation in shooting him. He does not only have determination to protect himself but for the boy, in hopes that he will survive. The man doesn’t rely on giving up, but has hope that his son will survive. The man’s whole plan for venturing in the South, is to find shelter for his son. Because winter is coming, they must venture out for their own safety.
The other main theme of this book is perseverance. The love between these two characters is what allows them to persevere. Much of the story consists of the two’s daily struggle to survive, while others have turned to cannibalism. There are parts when they would search through empty houses and find nothing. One day they walked through a house in a field, to find some morning glory seeds in a shed. (McCarthy 136). He pockets them, but he doesn’t know why. This scene shows that the man still has some hope despite his wearniss and depression, to save the seeds. Over the course of the novel, the man continues to persevere for his boy and to make it along the road.
“The Road” uses a 3rd person point of view, which shifts between direct speech and indirect speech. The narration also sometimes combines with The Man’s voice and is used throughout the story. An example is in this quote, “The color of it moved something in him long forgotten. Make a list. Recite a litany. Remember” (McCarthy, 31). McCarthy uses the narrator’s voice to do many different jobs: to explain what is happening to the characters,to describe what The Man thinks and hears , and to create suspense through McCarthy’s voice.
All in all, the themes of survival and perseverance is displayed several times throughout the book. This book delivers several different messages throughout the books themes. The use of a 3rd person’s point of view makes it easy for people to interpret the story and understand key points. Overall, the struggles that they faced revealed a lot about the boy and his father.