The Road Essay -- Literary Analysis, McCarthy

In Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† refer to themselves as â€Å"the good guys† compared to â€Å"the bad guys†. While reading this book I was lead to believe that â€Å"the boy† is truly the only â€Å"good guy† left, because â€Å"the man† and every other character that I encountered in this book share some of the same qualities as â€Å"the bad guys†. The boy constantly begs his father to be sympathetic and charitable to the drifters that they encounter on the road, but the father usually refuses or either puts up an argument before finally giving into the boy, and handing over one or two cans of food to the stranger. Although â€Å"the man† is in survival mode, he expresses no compassion for humanity and therefore represents â€Å"the bad guys†. â€Å"They came upon him shuffling along the road before them, dragging one leg slightly and stopping from time to time to stand stooped and uncertain before setting out again.†(McCarthy 49). â€Å"They followed him a good ways but at his pace they were losing the day and finally he just sat down in the road and did not get up again.†(McCarthy 49). â€Å"He was burntlooking as the country, his clothing scorched and black.† â€Å"One of his eyes was burnt shut and his hair was but a nitty wig of ash upon his blackened skull.†(McCarthy 49, 50) . â€Å"What is wrong with the man?† â€Å"He’s been struck by lightning.† â€Å"Can’t we help him?† â€Å"Papa?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"We cant help him.† â€Å"The boy kept pulling at his coat.† â€Å"Papa?† â€Å"Stop it.† â€Å"Cant we help him Papa?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"We can’t help him.† â€Å"There’s nothing to be done for him.† â€Å"They went on. â€Å"The boy was crying† â€Å"He kept looking back.† (McCarthy 50). I was agitated with â€Å"the man† during this part of the novel, because I feel that he should have at least stopped and checked on the fee... ...he thought it was beauty or about goodness.† Things that he’d no longer any way to think about at all.† (McCarthy 129,130). â€Å"The man† still shows acts of kindness towards strangers here and there in hopes that the boy will not follow in his footsteps and give up fate as well; he wants â€Å"the boy,† as McCarthy states it, to continue â€Å"to carry the fire.† This book was very interesting and pleasurable to read, I found myself intimately connecting with the characters. In some ways I found myself walking in â€Å"the man’s† shoes, not caring about humanity, and only protecting the one most precious to him (me). In some instances I also sided with â€Å"the boy† clinging to the hopes of a brighter world where there is still some purity in civilization. This novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a true masterpiece and I recommend it to anyone looking for a phenomenal read.