Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road", is a tale like no other. It is was of the best post-apocalyptic stories I ever read. Usually novels of this genre are not that enjoyable and the thought of humanity coming to an end is mind bothering. The novel is about a father and his son after fighting for survival after a cataclysm destroyed most of the civilization and almost all life on earth. They embark on a journey to travel south to find a warmer climate because they are not physically able to face another winter. While on the journey that was literary a fight for humanity and life, they hoped to find more "civilized" humans like themselves. It's not easy to remain hopeful when all is lost and you're at a standstill in a dark cold place where land is devoid.
While reading the novel, I was able to imagine and visualize what was occurring throughout the story. The thought of being hunted by cannibals, having hardly any food or water and being two of the few normal humans left. I read in the novel how they had to witness a horrific scene of an infant cooked. People may think times are hard due to a recession but this situation was beyond hard. Some humans became so desperate, that they formed cannibalistic tribes and hunted other humans so they could feed of them in order to survive. They spared no mercy and had no sympathy for woman and children. Children are actually easier targets because they weren't able defend themselves. Reading all of this really disturbed me but watching the film really had me on the verge of pressing stop. Seeing films for novels tend to allow me to have a better understanding of what is taking place.
At the end of the film, the father dies after suffering from a wound and leaves the boy to fend for himself. Fortunately, they were being followed by another family that offered to take him in and ensure him that they were good people. I was hoping that it didn't end with them turning on the boy. I think in the end the family took the boy in and overtime they eventually found civilization where they could survive and start over. I think that the book sort of ends on the same note as well.
2 comments:
Campbell-
I think you may have not fully articulated what the book and movie were trying to portray. While the graphic descriptions in the book were written in such a way that the reader can help to let their imagination run wild, this was an attempt to show how humanity can break down under severe stress. The Movie did a fair job at capturing the descriptions; however, the book combined with the human imagination seems to be much more vivid. The Road takes a apocalyptic world void of human compassion and frankly just basic humanity and challenges a man’s sense morality and capacity to continue to love. The man lives for his son and their journey South provides a sense of purpose for both his son and himself to keep living. The father often spoke of the “fire inside” which I believe is his way of saying that they are caring the hopes of humanity by maintaining their integrity despite the hardships and unthinkable actions of others. In a way, this mirrors society under normal circumstances in which people choose to make immoral decisions for the sake of convenience and then rationalize why they had to make the decision they did. Our prisons are full of these types of people. The father and son had the courage to make tough yet moral decisions despite society breaking down around them.
Campbell's points in his comment are very apt. Take a look at them. The father has been dying throughout the book. The cough gives that away. The journey to the South and to the shore is the Father's last act to save the boy. He knows he is dying. The film is visual, so many people prefer to watch films. did you read the book before or after you watched the film?
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