Good And Evil In The Road, By Cormac Mccarthy

743 Words2 Pages

Plots are often driven by the strong, complex nature of their coinciding themes. Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, takes readers on a post-apocalyptic endeavor as the characters encounter many themes present in the story. One major theme presented in The Road is the comparison of good and evil, which lines are finely drawn but easier to cross in the post-apocalyptic environment. The characters’ decisions between right and wrong are more complicated than the modern world due to the story taking place in a rather untraditional setting. When no laws are established and everyone is struggling to stay alive, it is harder to say what the “right” or “humane” choices are. As the man and the boy battle the “evil forces” around them, they also …show more content…

Still, he offers the benefit of the doubt and the chance to live to anyone who may cross their path. At one point, he even gives into his son’s relentless begging and invites one man to have dinner with them. This is a risky step to take in such an “every man for himself” sort of world. The man and the boy call themselves the “good guys.” The man repeatedly references “carrying the torch,” which represents the light and goodness the world still possesses through them. The man spends the entire book risking his life to reach a safer environment for his son and teach him the ways of life. Any human being willing to risk their life for another truly exemplifies …show more content…

The boy, not entirely ready to venture off on his own, questions the Veteran to decide whether he is a “bad guy” or a “good guy.” The boy uses all the knowledge he acquired from his father to determine The Veteran passes the test. He draws the conclusion that he and his wife can be trusted, at least for now. Finding good people left in the world is almost unexpected, having not met a single pure sole for the entirety of the novel. As the novel draws to a close, the goodness left in the world is portrayed perfectly. The illustrated scene is, as well, unexpectedly

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