Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 7: The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a book about a post-apocalyptic America in which a man and his son are two of only a few survivors. They are attempting to make it south for the winter, because they know they can’t survive another winter in the cold. The event which left the world burned and destroyed is unknown, and the duo has to continuously battle the elements as well as the threat of cannibalistic villages and exposure. They live their lives in hiding. I thought this book was very depressing, but there were notes of hope thrown in here and there. The relationship between the father and son is inspiring. At one point, the son asks the father what he would do if the boy died. The man responds that he would probably die too. The boy asks, “so you could be with me?” and the father responds, “yes, so I could be with you”. This is a raw exhibition of the desire for relationship in humanity, above all other things. Maybe even over primal needs like food and water. For survival, we need those things, but for life we need relationships. The man and boy go through ridiculous circumstances which most people would not be able to survive. I think it is their relationship and love for each other (agape) that keeps them alive.