While reading The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, I found myself getting very emotionally attached to the storyline. Although I am not generally an unattached reader, I do find that my sympathy or feel for characters and plot structure varies among different works of literature. With this reading, I can say that I was impressed with my degree of commitment to McCarthy’s writing and the tale that he narrates. When forced to contemplate why this book strikes out to me, I can only resonate this particular interest with the overall theme of human survival.

McCarthy identifies many elements that adhere to the principles of a post apocalyptic narration. Setting is one of the main means by which he establishes this nexus to acceptable standards of “new-era” literature. Everything in the novel is characterized by a heightened degree of lifelessness. He makes prolific use of particular adjectives that convey this bleak environment, rendering it “raw”, “silent”, “barren”, and “godless”. McCarthy also incorporates natural elements such as wind and rain to further emphasize the dreariness that fills the atmosphere around them. As a reader, I couldn’t help but submit to the eeriness and emptiness of the novel, which enabled me to connect to the characters before we really got a sense of who they were. By overwhelming us with stark language, McCarthy succeeds in setting up a post apocalyptic plot that accurately demonstrates a road in the midst of death.

The persistent and unrelenting fight for survival that the father exhibits is highly striking. I cannot help but wonder what it is that gives him such a will to keep going. Of course, he is moving forward for his son and is searching for some way to start anew. And despite this drive, I still find myself questioning his disposition at times. After all, its difficult to comprehend how a man whose lost so much can remain so determined. At times, it even seems as though the longing for his past is superficial. The imaginary conversations with his late wife are fleeting and he is quick to leave the photographs of her on the side of the road. Even when the boy says that he wishes he were still with his mom, the father tells him he can’t speak like that, and urges him to keep moving forward. It occurred to me that perhaps, this desensitization is yet another element of post-apocalypticism that McCarthy utilizes in his work. We witnessed a similar desensitization embodied by Selina’s character in “28 Days Later”. Her nontraditional female leadership was such a central point of analysis that we may have failed to recognize the true source of this numbness. It seems only natural that a dead and barren earth be accompanied by a barren soul , as exhibited in survivors. Those who are younger and more naive, have yet to truly comprehend the extent of their situation.

It seems that survivors of these strange apocalyptic events become so consumed with the need for survival, that they lose sight of what it means to survive. In the process, all human qualities and morale are challenged. This certainly comes into play when considering the survivors’ interactions with other humans. When they stumble upon another boy on the road, the father continues on without hesitation while his son stops and attempts to help. We can make sense of the father’s rationale on the basis of survivalist duties. They cannot stop to help because they must be wary of their own safety, nor can they share supplies with others in need for the same reason. But rationale does not function as a solo force; most often, it works in conjunction with feelings and inexplicable impulses to act a certain way or help a person in need. The lack of such collaboration between mind and soul is a further indication of the transformed being in the post apocalyptic world. It may be that this type of behavior is a key to survival; by sympathizing with everyone and thinking about what little is left to live for, there is no point to pursue survival at all. Thus, disregard of human empathy is essential to stay alive.

My final intrigue with this novel is the power of the road itself. Why, in spite of the death of the people and the earth itself, the road remains intact and ongoing? The omnipotence of the road carries with it a strange element of foreboding, which may be a sign for another subset of doom in this new world.