The Road to Character Development

The road to character development has begun, and the beginning seems to be a bit rocky. One major style Cormac McCarthy has in place is his refusal to offer any help to the reader. He does so by eliminating the concept of naming characters. Throughout the book thus far, our main characters have been nameless, referred to as “he”, “the boy”, “the man” or “the child”. While it may be a stylistic choice of McCarthy to leave a cloud of mystery behind the characters, it does make reading about the characters more difficult. If close attention is not given, one might read an entire paragraph thinking that the wrong character is the focus.  As a whole, the protagonists of the story include a father and son duo, with the former being a survivalist and the latter being young and scared.

The father of the story is shown as having one goal: survive as long as possible. More importantly, keep his son alive. Repeated throughout the reading was the father’s willingness to sacrifice himself to keep his son safe. He shows this by making sure his son eats and drinks first, and to keep him safe, regardless of what they face. In the most climactic part of the reading, the man shoots an enemy in the head as the enemy makes a lunge for his son with a knife. Following the murder, the father makes it clear that he will not let anything hurt his son. Throughout the reading, we see that the father knows how to survive. By making multiple fires, scavenging, and having much knowledge about the world, it is clear that the father has the tools he needs to survive, and complete his journey to the South. One of the greatest struggle we see the father have is trying to provide a comfortable, enjoying life for his son in the unwelcome terrain. This is clearly shown through the efforts taken to get his son a Coke, as well as making him hot cocoa. He also tells his son stories, leaves the lamp on for him, and tries to make sure the son is comfortable. This can not be an easy task in the world. Though he be nameless, the actions taken by the father show his survivalist nature, and his care for his son.

Though they may be biologically related, the apple fell miles from the tree in this family. Unlike the father, the boy spends most of his time afraid, and has a very bleak view of the world and their survival chances. This is shown in almost all of the dialogue between the father and son. When he is not giving his father the silent treatment, the boy’s catchphrases are “I’m scared”(21), or responding yes to his father’s statement: “You mean you wish that you were dead”(47). Based on the dialogue we receive it is very clear that the boy does not have the strength of his father. Then again… is it reasonable to expect that he would? On one hand, the boy was born into the society, and has not known any other world. One would think that this would prepare him for the challenges of the world. But a question is raised; can a child be expected to be fearless? I believe the boy is about 9 or 10, judging by his interest in card games, the toy truck he has, and his fear of the dark. In our society, these match the behaviors and interests of many 10 year olds, and may explain the boy's age. Knowing the age of the child would greatly explain his personality.

As a whole, The Road highlights only two main characters in a family. Though they are very different from each other, they are co dependent. The boy needs the man to teach him the ways of the world, and help him through any struggles. The man however equally relies on the boy, to keep him alive and keep him sane. The boy provides someone the man can mentor, talk to, and it gives him a purpose in fighting for survival. These characters seem like foils in some aspects of their personality(being fearless vs. being frightened) however they provide a necessary companion on their journey.