Stephen King’s Cell and John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids are both post-apocalyptical novels that describe an apocalyptic event and how humanity tries to rebuild itself afterwards. The first recognised work of modern apocalyptic fiction is said to be Mary Shelley’s The Last Man which details the account of the last man living in a world in which humanity has been wiped out by a plague. Whilst it received harsh criticisms and reviews at the time, The Last Man has led the way for novels like H
resort to cannibalism. In her article, "The Road to Post Apocalyptic Fiction: McCarthy's Challenges to Post-Apocalyptic Genre," literature professor Glenna M. Andrade writes, "The Road is more than a simple quest for a safe home. It challenges the boundaries of the typical Post Apocalypse novel and complicates the usual, hopeful ending." The Road is a post-apocalyptic novel taking place after what is believed to be a nuclear war. A post-apocalyptic novel is typically set in a world after a catastrophe
are many vivid details and it’s easy to get immersed in the book as if you were there. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian and science fiction books because that’s exactly what the book is about. The genre of “The Road” would be post-apocalyptic fiction. This is because as the genre says takes place in a post-apocalyptic world following the story of a man and his son. In conclusion “The Road” is a good read for anyone who enjoys sitting down, reading for a while and getting really
I. McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. II. The Road starts with a man and his son trekking through a post-apocalyptic landscape after an unexplained event has transpired. The endgame according to the father is to head southeast toward the coast. His belief is that the two will be safe there. The father-son duo encounters many instances of hardship including: cannibalistic looters, a seemingly harmless house holding human livestock, and the more prevalent threat of
For years, post-modern writers have foreshadowed what the end of the world would look like through dramatic representations in literary works. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Margaret Atwood’s novel, Oryx & Crake, are no exception to this. Delving into the complexities that underlie man’s existence on Earth, these authors use their novels as vehicles to depict a post-apocalyptic world, in which all that once was is reduced to an inconceivable wasteland, both figuratively and literally. From the beginning
slide: “The Road” directed by John Hillcoat is a post-apocalyptic dystopian style movie. It features a man and his child travelling south along the coast to reach a more hospitable area. To reach the south however they must face the ravaged lands riddled with cannibalistic gangs and endure the weather. The cause of the cataclysmic event that ruined the world as we know it, it not shown to us. “The Road” falls under the post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction genre, this means that something terrible has
The Road is a post-apocalyptic novel that revolves around a journey; a journey that is more than just a physical movement down a once busy trafficway. It is a journey through morality, religion, Earthly importance, civilization, and an unbreakable bond between a father and a son. Symbolism plays a huge role in the development of the story as well as provides meanings and purpose behind each sentence in its entirety. As stated in a blog of Northrop Frye’s “The Anatomy of Criticism: Second Essay,”
world’s contemporary problems, the evolution of technology, religion or other science fiction theories. Whether society comes to an end by alien invasions, asteroid impacts, outbreaks of zombie pandemics, God’s Judgment, deadly viruses or nuclear wars, mankind’s strong appeal towards these fictional and very detailed illustrations of Armageddon will continue to surface and entertain us. First of all, the post-apocalyptic genre deals primarily with the downfall of human society, the decline of any moral
Essay: The Road The Road is a novel written by Cormac McCarthy in 2006, which is a post-apocalyptic fiction that has been adapted to film. The film adaptation of The Road was directed by John Hillcoat and was released in 2009. The novel received great praise and there was an immediate plan to adapt the novel to a film just a few years after it was written. The Road is a story of survival in the post-apocalyptic world, which brings the main characters in tough, life and death situations where they
Neville, the protagonist in the novel. However, most people don’t give enough recognition to Richard Matheson for creating the storyline and being the writer of the original novel. Both, Richard Matheson’s post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, and Francis Lawrence’s post-apocalyptic science fiction movie have many similarities and differences. The movie once again like many others fails to live up to the novel, mainly because of too many alterations in the characters, and story that leaves readers
beacon of hope to be a complete stereotype, all too often, the hero of the day is a strong, virile, ruggedly handsome man, but what if he was not? What if he was just an average man, or not even a man at all, but a woman or a child? When reading fiction, the imagination is allowed to run wild, painting vivid pictures interwoven with personal life experiences, relatable to the characters in the novels and to one’s own life experiences. The most memorable content of both The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
due to the lack of them in the novel. Former children’s laureate Anne Fine claims “It’s not only an absence of female characters which is a problem in books, but it’s how the women are represented when they do appear” (The Guardian). Modern post apocalyptic fiction strays away from that and follows the belief that Judith Butler explains in her essay. The minimal amount of female characters along with their negative connotation makes reading The Road difficult for a modern audience. Women are now mostly
“Prodigy” is an exciting post apocalyptic science fiction novel written by Marie Lu. It is told by the two protagonists, Day and June. They attempt to discover the truth about the rebels they are working with, and The Republic. The Republic is their main form of government who killed both of Day and June’s families. They find that the leader of the patriots, and the antagonist of “Prodigy” is planning to become the Elector; the main leader of The Republic. Day and June travel throughout the
savage effect through its descriptions of Hare-Lip, Hoo-Hoo, and Edwin’s knowledge of the past world. The passage is also important because it shows how civilization has collapsed and restoration does not seem hopeful, which relates to the overall post-apocalyptic theme. This passage fits in near the beginning of the story, and it provides some background
Cormac McCarthy’s bestseller, The Road, involves a theoretical, post-apocalyptic world. He is able to use literary devices to affect those who read his novel as well as the outcome of his story. He fabricates a clear picture for anyone who chooses to pick up his book. The constant imagery throughout The Road creates a mental picture of this desperate world McCarthy’s characters are forced to survive in. McCarthy’s setting never varies throughout his entire novel. Every scene is dark, the landscape
In The Road, by Cormac McCarthy in 2006, a catastrophe takes over the world and leaves civilization struggling. The book focuses in on the hardships of son and father just trying to make it to the coast. Through their journeys we see the lengths to which people will go to survive, and the man’s determination to do things the right way. They survived on scavenging over the scraps of past society. They kept pushing and found encouragement in the small things. Throughout the book the duo learn that
The Road is a book written by Cormac McCarthy which he based off of his own son, and what the earth would be like years from now. The book begins with only two main characters the son and the father. The book is set in a post-apocalyptic time frame were the earth was destroyed and all that lay is dust and ash. All around them they encounter dead organisms, burnt corpse, no food and burned down or destroyed buildings and homes. Each day that goes by they have to avoid encountering any other humans
The Road: An Archetypal Criticism A master of abstract, violent stories filled with biblical alliterations, Cormac McCarthy writes about a nameless man and son traversing a barren wasteland of post-apocalyptic America on an idealistic journey on the titular road of the book. Brimming with symbolism and the ancient struggle of good vs. evil, McCarthy’s forte, he questions what would happen if a worldwide catastrophe were to occur. Father and son travel facing the evils that have perpetrated this now
novel, The Road by Cormac McCarthy elaborates not only the settings and the actions but also the love between a father and a son which is present even around the time of ultimate inhumanity and the stubborn desire to struggle to stay alive in the apocalyptic world and manipulate different writing techniques such as literary devices and characterization to explain the negative aspects of humanity. The man, although knowing he will be dead, wanted to live in order to refrain his son from all sorts of
In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, in the post-apocalyptic world that the man and the boy live in, dreams begin to take on the form of a new “reality.” As the novel progresses, the man’s dreams, initially memories remnant of his pre-apocalypse life, become “brighter” as the boy’s dreams become darker and nightmarish. Through the use of color and distinct language, McCarthy emphasizes the contrast between reality and dreams. The man’s reliance on bad dreams to keep him tied to the harsh reality alludes