The Road; Extractions.

This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.
Notably, the running theme throughout the novel is the importance of protecting ones possessions in a world that is crumbling around you. The representation of the father having this forced duty to protect his son from the horrors of the world gives us the impression that this reality is so impossibly dreadful that the father is adopting this task of keeping his son away from as much horror as possible. The enormity of this strong bond between the two combines the ideas of the significance of relationships and gives us the endering idea that they might possibly survive. However, this could be argued that he is enflicting his selfishness upon his son; he would rather keep his son in such a terrible world than have to face it himself. By creating this image of him protecting his son as a job gives us the impression that he is getting some sort of 'payment' from it; sanity.

Yes I am, he said. I am the one.
By the man stating that he is 'the one' reflects the selfish nature the man has had to adopt because of the bleak world around him; if he doesn't look after himself, he cannot look after his son. The only thing he has any empathy for is his son, only because he is literally a part of who the father is. They are combined into one person, giving themselves the significance of having something to live for. In philosophical terms, the father is life itself, nothing other than his journey holds any importance. He draws out the significance of this fact to such an extent that we get the impression that nothing else holds any importance over his own, and his sons, well-being.


Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.
'Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots.' are all bright, nutritious fruits that creates the image of a naturalistic and rural ambience which represents natural goodness within the world. Yet, this opposing, syththetic food conflicts with this endearing image.The significance of the full stop gives us the impression that the goodness in the world has stopped; the man couldn't come across anymore purity within the world. The comparison between the natural fruit and the man-made products represents what we as a society have become, and possible why the world has become the wreck it has within the novel. We manipulate the purity of the natural world around us with technology and scientific knowledge because we have the capability to, and nothing powerful enough to stop us. In addition, the 'canned hams' and 'corned beef' has been made for a specific purpose, unlike the fruits that have had the freedom to grow within their environment. This could represent how society has picked certain aspects of the world that we could adapt and does so in a way that it becomes false and manufactored into what we as a society thinks is acceptable and needed. Perhaps the morals within the novel are that we should be grateful for what we have, otherwise we may live to regret it. 

Are we still the good guys, he said.
By abandoning the use of punctuation, the question creates a dramatic accusation about the fathers' morals. We as the reader have no knowledge of the characters past experiences, so he asking us to judge him as the person he is now. On the other hand, it could be a representation of how we as a society are quick to judge; we may have already critized the man and his morals without realising it. In addition, because there is no puncuation, we as the audience acknowledge that there is no'one there to hear him, so it would be pointless to turn it into a question. This creates a blank, lonely image as the reader recieves the sudden realisation that the characters are may literally be wandering an empty world.

We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.
The 'we' is singled out as 'he' by the end of the sentence, meaning the father alone hasn't moved because he cannot bring himself to leave his previous life. Possibly, this could be the critical point in the novel where the father realises once and for all that he will never be able to return to his old life; it is nothing more than a fickle dream. Yet, he doesn't want to leave his memories behind in such a destroyed environment because it is so precious to him. However, this beautiful image of his past life in comparrison to the boys anxious actions around his fathers belovedhome gives us the impression that everything, even something as precious as ones home, has become a terrifying sight.


The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.
Alike to the tedious, everlasting road that progressivley creates more tradigy the more distance they cover, the continuous falling of the cold, bitter snow only emphasises their extreme exhaustion of their new reality. Days marge together, creating a repetitive and endless cycle of merciless brutality.  


Okay? Okay.
The dinstinct absense of emotionless responses between the father and son creates a gap between the two that is filled with terror and fear. This could be recognised as an act of sacrifice; they do not want to attatch themselves to one another in case either of them die as this would intensely hurt and disturb their loved one.


They sat on the edge of the tub and pulled their shoes on and them he handed the boy the pan and soap and he took the stove and the little bottle of gas and the pistol and wrapped in their blankets and they went back across the yard to the bunker.
This ridiculously long sentence and the repitition of the word 'and' could represent how tedious these actions are; they have become routine to the man. Or, in contrast, the long sentence is used to highlight these occuring events because they are so out of sorts to the readers' own routine. It also emphasises that their possessions are few, creating an empathy between characters and reader.

Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth.
The eerie presence of 'silence' in the world emphasises how lonesome the duo really are. For the booming world to be in utter silence, the abnormality of the situation gives us the impression that the whole of existence has been shattered. McCarthy uses 'Tolling' in such a way that it makes us suspect the fathers' previous life; like his own past experiences ultimatley ended the world. Perhaps the terrifying treck is his punishment; McCarthy has purposely let the man survive this long to make him suffer for his wrong-doings. Or, the father could be blaming himself for destroying his world, as though the loneliness of the situation has drivin him to self-pity that is has disrupted his own psychological well-being.

She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift.
For 'coldness' to be illustrated as a gift, it presents the fact that the man must be so desperate to feel emotion again in this harsh world. Without emotion, we lose passion and empathy; we would be nothing more than heartless robots, so for him to dwell on this cold sensation reminds him that he is still human. This representation of this world that thrives on despair gives us the impression that joy is rare, so he must occupy himself with his last memory of emotion, otherwise he would lead himself into madness.