Reaching the End of the Road

Throughout The Road  our characters faced many challenges. They were attacked, almost trapped by cannibals, and starving(all the time). It never seemed like they had any chance at survival; it looked as if they were doomed to die… Until the end. For me, the ending of the novel was unfitting, and it did not sit well after reading.

One of the recurring ideas McCarthy seemed to show was the hopelessness of the father and son’s situation. They were never ‘ahead’ in life, with food and ammunition always running low. It seemed to me like the novel would end in their inevitable demise. This idea was reinforced in my mind until the very end, with the tragic death of the father.

The father’s death seemed a little weak. After seeing his survival skills I would have expected him to go down with style, protecting his son and killing enemies right and left, however he simply got sick and died. It was almost as if McCarthy was showing the irony of life; one can be strong, but there's always something that can beat them. For the father, he was ready to fight off many enemies, but he could not stop the sickness. This seemed like the ending I was expecting, the father reaches his death, tells the son to go onwards until the same type of demise occurs, however my hypothesis was destroyed pages later.

After watching his father, protector, and friend die, the boy is left with what little supplies they had, and the knowledge he had gained. He sets off to continue to survive… and immediately finds the ‘good guys’. Within walking distance of his father’s grave, he has found company to join with in order to survive. I understand what McCarthy was attempting; he wanted to add the glimpse of hope into the future of the boy, however I feel as if it came too late. It seemed like an ending that was too nice for the story. Watching the duo escape cannibals, and walk through a consistently grey environment seemed like a depressing tale that wanted a depressing ending, however that wasn’t what was given. The end was opposite everything that was shown prior in the novel.

Had I been writing the novel, I would have cut the last few pages off. I would have ended after the passing of the pistol, an item integral to the father and son’s adventure and survival. At that point I think McCarthy would have established the transition of the boy, who was about to set off alone, as well as leaving the idea of inevitable death intact. I understand why McCarthy ended his novel the way he did; to provide a little light, however that light was unnecessary on the grey path of The Road.