Cormac McCarthy's depressing novel, The Road, tells the story of a man and his son on their never ending journey along the road. Knowing that he would eventually die, the man tries to teaches his son how to survive in a very hassle environment. He wants to ensure that his son will be able to survive when the time came for them to part ways.
While walking along the man and his son "carried knapsacks filled with essential things in case they had to abandon the cart and make a run for it" (McCarthy 2). To survive in such a harsh environment they needed to prepared for the unexpected. This taught the boy to never feel too comfortable and constantly be aware of his surrounding, they never knew when they were going to be attacked. While on the boat the man tells his son that, "We're going to eat well tonight. But we need to move on" (McCarthy 120). The man knew that they were never safe, so he wanted always be on the move. He did this to ensure that if someone is following them, they'll stay one step ahead of them. By saying on the move they'll never get too attached to one place. Feeling his demise coming the man tells his son that, "It's all right. This has been a long time coming. Now it's here. Keep going south. Do everything the way we did it" (McCarthy 145). Seeing the light, the man realizes that his journey has ended. He tries to give his son some words of advice to keep him motivated. He believes he has done the best he could to teach his son what it needed to survive and now it's time to see if the son payed attention to anything his father taught him.
Most parents when they eventually die, want to be able to say that they taught their child something that made their life better than it was before. They aren't always able to accomplish this, but they try their hardest to teach their children as much as possible in the limited time they have.
While walking along the man and his son "carried knapsacks filled with essential things in case they had to abandon the cart and make a run for it" (McCarthy 2). To survive in such a harsh environment they needed to prepared for the unexpected. This taught the boy to never feel too comfortable and constantly be aware of his surrounding, they never knew when they were going to be attacked. While on the boat the man tells his son that, "We're going to eat well tonight. But we need to move on" (McCarthy 120). The man knew that they were never safe, so he wanted always be on the move. He did this to ensure that if someone is following them, they'll stay one step ahead of them. By saying on the move they'll never get too attached to one place. Feeling his demise coming the man tells his son that, "It's all right. This has been a long time coming. Now it's here. Keep going south. Do everything the way we did it" (McCarthy 145). Seeing the light, the man realizes that his journey has ended. He tries to give his son some words of advice to keep him motivated. He believes he has done the best he could to teach his son what it needed to survive and now it's time to see if the son payed attention to anything his father taught him.
Most parents when they eventually die, want to be able to say that they taught their child something that made their life better than it was before. They aren't always able to accomplish this, but they try their hardest to teach their children as much as possible in the limited time they have.
J.F. 4th period
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Strength: Thesis
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