While reading the The Road I have wondered if the main characters would ever run into anybody living. Finally they find a man limping along the road. Then, with the boy wanting to help, an argument comes about. This is the first type of dispute between the man and the boy that would actually affect their relationship and communication with each other.
The young boy asks more than once "Can we help him Papa?" but he was just shot down by his father each time (50). The next morning the father wants to justify himself and he says "There's nothing we could have done" and the boy did not respond (52). The father briefly explains himself and the situation to his son, and then all seems to be well.
This back and forth kind of argument, I feel, reflects the amount of love the father has for the son. I was able to sense just how much the father seemed upset over the fact that his son was mad and almost disappointed in him for not helping the man without hope.
While this shows the father's love for his son, I feel it also shows a sense of hope. To live without his son's good terms and approval there would be no reason to live, also. He did not want to go on with his son upset at him, he wanted them to carry on with good terms which is a sign of strength and perserverance through their journey to the south.
You made some interesting points. The father not only loves the son, he is also very terrified of being left alone. The mother has already abandoned them, and he often seems to show this fear that the son could leave him as well either by dying or simply getting angry with him and leaving or wandering off. They have such an intense, realistic relationship; it's really the heart of the novel. I also think it's horrifying that, in a world where almost everyone has died, this poor soul manages to get struck by lightning. Very unsettling...
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you both. In this world the author has painted, no one wants to be left alone in all of this destruction. The father has stories and memories where most times than not he was not alone but in the company of someone dear to him. If his son is ever to turn away from him even through an argument he will not survive. His son is the only light the father has left in this dark world. Not having his son talk to him leaves him feeling alone and may put him at a risk of going back to his dreams and getting lost within them and at the same time leaving his son.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Jordan. While I was reading the book, I wondered how the father and son could not have many fights while the world is falling apart and they are constantly fighting for their lives. Their lives have one stressful situation after the other, so they have to be tense all the time, which would make me expect for them to fight more. Because they had not fought before this scene, this scene really got my attention and made me think that it has to be a very important scene. Noticing that the father cannot stand his son mad at him because he is the father's only hope to survive is vital to understanding the full meaning of the book.
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