Father Son Relationship In The Road

The Road

Major Characters

The novel features two major characters, a man and his son, as they travel south through the barren landscapes of America. The most striking feature of this father-son relationship is the amount of devotion and interdependence that exists between them. The man cares for his son with a fatherly love that is nearly non-existent in a world filled with “bad guys”, and the man is extremely committed to maintaining his morals and passing them on to his son. This can be seen through his repeated statements of them being “the good guys” who are “carrying the fire”, and he also assures his son that they would never eat other humans or do any other inhumane actions. Even though he does have a kind heart, the man is also equipped

See if you can find the first-aid kit … Let’s start over,” (265-267). This passage, which occurs after the man is shot by an arrow, solidifies the love that exists between father and son. Even though he snaps at the boy to get the first-aid kit, he still has the mind to apologize for yelling at him and to start over with him. This passage accentuates the fact that the father and son are the only things that they have in the world, and the man recognizes this, leading to his apology. This passage is also significant because it eventually leads to the weakening of the father’s physical state preceding his

The speaker of this quote is the man, and he warns the boy of the terrors that they are going to see on their journey. He knows that the grotesque images seen on the road will forever be embedded in the boy’s mind, yet he does not want this to taint his innocence and kindness. This sets up the moral battle between good and evil, since the man does not want the boy to lose the qualities of a “good guy” by remembering all of the evils he is bound to see.

“He walked out in the gray light … with which to sorrow it,” (130). In this passage, the man discovers the “absolute truth of the world”, which shows how indifferent the universe is to the doings of humankind. Even though the humans on Earth are suffering, the planet still revolves and is “cold” and “relentless”. The bleak setting described in this passage exemplifies the lack of any future or survival for the inhabitants of Earth.

“There is no God and we are his prophets,” (170). Ely argues for atheism’s “prophets” by preaching the reality of the sad world they inhabit. This realistic look on the world is based on the fact that the universe does not react in any way to the plight of mankind. Thus, Ely believes that because of the lack of support from divine figures, humans are the only ones who are able to shape