Outline The Road

I. - A tour into The Road
A. - Ashes are all around, with no food and suffering from exposure to cold a man and his son travel through the road with just one objective, getting to the south before freezing to death. This is the scenario that Cormac McCarthy shows in this post-apocalyptic novel called “The Road”.
 
B. –By analyzing the different aspects of “The Road” you can clearly see howpowerful and fantastically made this novel is. The symbols used by McCarthy take an important role in making “The Road” so believable that you can feel you are inside of the story. For that reason, in this essay I will explain some of these symbols and the literary tools used by McCarthy.
II. - Symbolism
A.- The Coca-Cola
1. The Coca-Cola is a representation of the pre-apocalyptic world. Aworldwide product that before the catastrophe was so easy to get, now is over. It may be the only Coke the boy will ever taste.
2. “He withdrew his hand slowly and sat looking at a Coca Cola. What is it, Papa? It's a treat. For you.(…) You have some, Papa. I want you to drink it. You have some. He took the can and sipped it and handed it back. You drink it, he said. Let's just sit here. It's because Iwon’t ever get to drink another one, isn’t it? Ever's a long time. Okay, the boy said.” (The Road, Cormac McCarthy, page 11,12)                                                                                  
 
             B.- The fire
1. Carrying the fire means they are the “good guys”, means that they are still humans and have a conscience. With the fire, they are safe and protected.
2.What is it, Papa? Nothing. We're okay. Go to sleep. We're going to be okay, aren’t we Papa? Yes. We are. And nothing bad is going to happen to us. That's right. Because we're carrying the fire. Yes. Because we're carrying the fire. (The Road, Cormac McCarthy, page 42)
 
C.- The Road
1. The most important symbol is the road. It represents all the hopes the boy and the man have. The road will leadthem to a safer and warmer place. Following the road is their only chance of surviving. The road is now all they know.
2. “Then they walked out to the road and he took the boy's hand and they went to the top of the hill where the road crested and where they could see out over the darkening country to the south, standing there in the wind, wrapped in their blankets, watching for any sign of a fireor a lamp. There was nothing.” (The Road, Cormac McCarthy, page 5)
 
III.- Relationship Father-Son
           A.- Love
1. Paternal Love. As his father, the man loves the boy and often demonstrates it with treats or even reading a story before he goes to sleep. The love for his son is the only reason he is alive. “You can read me a story, the boy said. Can’t you, Papa? Yes, he said. I can. (TheRoad, Cormac McCarthy, page 4)
2. Suicide. The father loves his son so much that he takes into consideration the option of forcing his son to commit suicide or maybe even kill him. Of course this is the last option and he would take. “He took the boy's hand and pushed the revolver into it. Take it, he whispered. Take it. The boy was terrified. He put his arm around him and held him. His body sothin. Don’t be afraid, he said. If they find you you are going to have to do it. Do you understand? (The Road, Cormac McCarthy, page 58)          
 
       
        B.- Protection
1. Lack of optimism. The man isn’t very optimistic about the future and when the boy asks him questions, he always answers with what he thinks is the truth, although it is very pessimistic. “Can I ask you something?he said. Yes. Of course. Are we going to die? Sometime. Not now.” (The Road, Cormac McCarthy, page 5)
2. Trust. Trust is very important in this father-son relationship, they believe in each other because they know that they can only trust themselves.
          C.- Companions                
1. Friends. Both, the man and the boy, develop a friendly relationship that makes you believe that...