In McCarthy’s fictional post-apocalyptic world, desperate drifters wander through a “barren, silent, godless” landscape toward inevitable death. The world in The Road is a frightening one: “the frailty of everything revealed at last,” survivors of an unknown catastrophe have banned together in cannibalistic tribes in a violent search for depleted resources. The sky is always grey and color and life are never to be found. In this darkened hostile world, however, lies a hope for redemption. A father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” travel the desolate roads towards the coast where they hope to find a more hospitable environment. What they encounter along the way challenges the core of their beliefs and the heart of their humanity.
And it demands we do the same.
Like much of McCarthy’s fiction, The Road requires its readers to face the harsh realities of life without offering much resolution. Why, then, do I love this novel? The first time I read the book, humanity’s capacity for evil left me frightened, overwhelmed, and horrified—yet it also left me bewildered and intrigued. So much so, I wanted to read more of McCarthy’s work. Coincidently, BYU offered an English course featuring Cormac McCarthy this semester.
I signed up. Evidently, for a ride for my life.
I’ve read the McCarthy cannon and I’ve read article after article of what the scholars have said concerning his work. Frankly, it’s the best literature I’ve come across. Currently, I’m working on a paper about consumerism in The Road that I hope to present at the Cormac McCarthy Conference in Texas in October. But more on that later.
When I had read through The Road a second time, instead of being discouraged by the dark side of human nature, I was inspired by the goodness and beauty of mankind. Thrice I cried. Listen to the tender response this father gives his son:
Can I ask you something?
Yes. Of course you can.
What would you do if I died?
If you died I would want to die too.
So you could be with me?
Yes. So I could be with you.
Okay.
When I read this, I couldn’t help but think of my own son. Will I have this same conversation with him when he’s a boy? A frightening, yet beautiful thought. In a world smothered in darkness, there is light. Hope is in the hopeless. Life is in the lifeless. And God is in the godless.
Read the book! Goodness triumphs. "It always has. It will again."
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You make a very compelling case, Blake!
ReplyDeleteI essentially agree with your interpretation of The Road. I would love to read your paper about consumerism, I found it interesting that the only (i think, at least) brand name mentioned in the book is Coca Cola. Coke belongs among the superglobalized brands, along with McDonald's and Exxon. Good luck with the Texas thing.
ReplyDeletewow, I still can't believe this is you writing I never knew you could express yourself like this. I like it. I hope you never have to go through that with Joshua.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake, my name's Oliver Tolkien and I'm a postgrad student in Engand, like Gnarmac above(though two years later) I too would be extremely interested in reading your paper on McCarthy and consumerism. I'm currenty studying The Road as part of Post 9/11 Culture - a fascinating, but terrible subject - and think that consumerism (or in this case, post-consumerism) is a teling motif in the novel. Please feel free to get in touch with me so we might discuss this further, I'd love to hear from you on the subject
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Oliver Tolkien
olivertolkien@gmai.com or oliver@theflyingpost.com
ReplyDeleteI hope to hear from you!