The Road Theme Essay
The book The Road by Cormac McCarthy is about a man and a boy struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The theme of the book is Love and it is shown through the father’s perspective. Throughout the book the father made countless decisions and sacrifices in order to ensure his son’s safety. I went out of his way to kill and rob people as well. In the beginning of the book the mother realizes the world is becoming dangerous at an alarming rate. She convinces the man to commit suicide with her to prevent being killed by anyone else. However, the father refuses to kill himself and the boy while the mother dies alone. The father’s decision is to travel towards the coast to seek shelter, find food, and better weather. The conflict the father has personally is to decide whether to keep going or kill his son and himself. Their entire purpose of being alive is to survive. One concern that was very important was the son’s safety. The father knew that the boy could be easily harmed so he had to protect him no matter what. While they traveled through the woods there was a man who took the child and threatened to kill him with a sharp knife. With the gun in his hand, the father pointed it to the man’s forehead and shot it almost by instinct. The farther they traveled the more problems they ran into. There was a thief that stole the fathers’ entire cart and it contained their clothes, food, and first aid kid. After finding the thief they take everything back and also strip the man of his clothes as well. He would do whatever it takes because the boy was the only thing motivating him to keep going. Although the father and son never say the actual words “I love you” it was natural love. Near the end of the book the father promises to not “send him into the darkness alone.” When the father is on the verge of dying he gave the remaining food and all of the blankets to the boy to keep him healthy. He chose not to kill the boy because he wanted the son to survive. The