Harmony Gibson
It can be argued that there are many religious undercurrents within Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 post-apocalyptic novel The Road. The story follows a man and his son as they travel along a decimated road, encountering the dangers of the fallen society and destroyed wasteland they inhabit. The boy, as the son is called throughout the novel, is the father’s main strength and reason for survival. Their relationship is the core of the novel, and the boy’s character serves as a captivating delve into the moral and psychological depth of the story. His countenance is not often reflective of his age, he is curious and thoughtful, like most children, but he there are also many instances in which he guides the father and reminds him of their morality, and he often stresses the importance of staying connected to their humanity. In a way this could be perceived as childlike naivety but as one reads on, it becomes obvious that the boy and his dynamic with the man, his father, may be representative of something far more evocative.
One could argue that the boy is the messiah of the novel. It becomes clear that he is also a metaphor for the man’s faith. Whenever the boy and the father’s relationship becomes strained due to the hardships they endure, so too does the man’s faith. One way that McCarthy displays the messianic hero through the character of the boy is through the boy's character and dialogue. The boy questions the man often, as a child might, but he never complains or argues, which differentiates his character from that of a typical young boy, especially when confronted with such reasons to.
The way the boy shows curiosity and questions things is less like childlike wonder and more as though he is challenging the man to keep going, to think critically about their next move, and push his beliefs. This is seen oftentimes in the questions themselves, but also the manner in which he asks them. Oftentimes, he'll ask a question, but the sentence will end in a period, making it more a statement to be confirmed by the man. McCarthy deliberately writes dialogue in such a way. Much of the man and the boy’s back and forth dialogue is this sort of repetitive confirmation of morals and their impending mortality, such as when the boy asks,
"Are we still the good guys? he said.
Yes. We're still the good guys.
And we always will be.
Yes. We always will be." (McCarthy 77),
The dynamic of the father and son and the shifting nature of it is a clever way to reflect the inner turmoil that the man experiences as he becomes sicker and nearer to death throughout the story. McCarthy blurs the nature of the man and the boy’s relationship to be that of child and parent one moment, and the next moment that of a man and his faith. The man nurtures the child like he does his faith, and the weaker the child becomes, or the quieter he is, the more the man becomes hopeless. There are times when the boy directly confronts the man, such as in moments when they cannot help another, or they cannot save another little boy that the boy claims to have seen. The boy’s distress in these moments where their humanity is tested is also a reflection of both of their inner ethical turmoil. It's in quiet moments away from the boy that we see the man's hopelessness, strengthened only by the encouraging words and innocence of the boy, and the man's decree,
"My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God." (McCarthy 77).
The man places such emphasis in his need to protect the boy above all else, but this also is a metaphor of his need to protect his faith and stay hopeful, as it is his only strength to continue on in their bleak existence. Earlier in the story, as the man awakens and coughs up blood while the boy sleeps, "he just knelt in the ashes. He raised his face to the paling day. Are you there? he whispered. Will I see you at last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered. Oh God." (McCarthy 11-12). It's in the absence of his son, his faith, that he has these doubts, and yet, "he knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke." (McCarthy 5).
The relationship between the father and son is a larger metaphor for one and their faith, that I think many religious people can relate to. Though it may waver at times, their savior and strength comes from Jesus who was innocent—a light in the dark just as the boy is to the man—and also the messiah.
The son, though more innocent and physically weaker, is the spiritual strength of the duo, the heart that keeps the man going, even through his hopeless or doubtful moments. The boy is his resolve, and the only thing that grounds him and maintains his morals, and thus reflects McCarthy's hopeful outlook on humanity to prevail. He also is a symbol of the man’s faith, which lives on even after he does.
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