Why The Road by Cormac McCarthy Is So Popular?
I recently read Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian novel The Road and I was flabbergasted by its ending. I get flustered every time I think about how McCarthy decided to kill off the father’s character at the end leaving the boy behind to explore the new dead world. But the more I think about it I realize that the ending was just around the corner since the beginning. I mean it’s always a fascinating idea to put characters in a middle of an end-of-the-world situation but McCarthy’s craft ensures that the circumstances in the book don’t get too overwhelming. Instead, he just fares through the practical solutions every time the father and son duo gets into trouble.
Cormac McCarthy in one of his interviews says that The Road is less about pain and more about the father-son love in a natural world where nothing is left. His book is a comment on how easily everything can be lost in the world but the human will to survive is far more obstinate and solid. Personally, I am quite intrigued by the mother’s character in the book. Although we see her for a very brief period of time she leaves a lasting impact throughout the book. Somewhere in the middle of the end of the world, she decides to commit suicide as she doesn’t want to get caught by cannibals or what the book often terms “Bad People”. I think the mother delineates the power of choice even when everything is haywire and that I think is quite powerful.
The boy on the other hand comes full circle as someone is learning the ways of the new world without knowing much about the world that has been lost. I loved his gentle inquisitiveness and how he is the only one to float the boat of humanism throughout the book. He is scared, thrilled, and inconsequentially in love with his father. It breaks my heart to relive the last moments of the book as it breaks the string between him and his only hope. However, I am slightly relieved that McCarthy decided to spurt a bit of hope at the end by uniting the boy with a good family.
Let’s talk about the man who incessantly decides to take his son toward the south where slowly new life is sprawling. We see him play several roles throughout the book as we are focused on the man’s emotional and physical trauma. There was a point in the book where he begs his wife to not leave knowing very well that what she was choosing was pretty pragmatic. On the other hand, we see him killing a man in order to save his life. The readers witness the man in health and fragility and create a bond that goes beyond the fictional world.
Final Thought
The Road is one of the rare books that question the ways of humanity through the lens of love. Cormac McCarthy is a writer who needs to be read widely by people and experience numerous worlds.
