The Road-Father Son Relationship
Throughout The Road by Cormac McCarthy, the man protects and guides the boy during their trudge to the south. However, in the story, they act more as companions than father and son, and the man treats the boy as an equal both in action and dialogue. Chased by cannibals, the boy he man seeks to defend the boy from both the cannibals and scavenge food for them to survive. As the man and boy trek down the road, cannibals closely hunt them and they often escape by hiding or by retreating away. The man often plunders empty houses, trying to find food and clothes for them. The man is successful, finding “crate upon create of canned goods” (McCarthy 138). “Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots, canned ham, corned beef”, etc. (McCarthy 138) provides the food the man and the boy eats. The man carries a pistol with him used to shield them from cannibals. Before the man dies, he gives the boy the pistol, telling him to “keep the gun with you at all times. You need to find the good guys but you cant take any chances.” (McCarthy 278). As mentioned before, the man and boy communicate more as friends than relatives.. At the beginning of The Road, when the man first woke “he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him” to confirm the child’s well-being. The man will “read me [the boy] a story” (McCarthy 7) and “held the boy close to him” (McCarthy 29). The boy demonstrates great maturity as he cares for the man by reminding him to “pour the hot water back […] and pour some of the cocoa into his own” (McCarthy 34) and constantly reminding the man to take heed of his health. Eventually, after the man dies, he was “wrapped in a blanket…” (McCarthy 286) and the boy “sat beside him and he [the