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Analysis Paper, 4 pages (800 words)

The road passage analysis

Comparing two passages in The RoadMartin GuzmanIn the novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy, an innominate father and son traverse through a ravaged post apocalyptic landscape. Unsettled and exposed in a bitter cold world reigned by fear and hysteria, the father aspires to reach the warmer shores of the southern coast. Within the passages selected, McCarthy depicts through the use of vivid imagery an abiding, ever-present fear of death overwhelming the every day life of two survivors in a post apocalyptic world. The passages incorporated in the narrative are vital to clarify the purpose of the novel, an unwavering contemplation of how tenacity and tenderness between the man and the boy preserves the remaining measure of goodness that the inhumane post apocalyptic world contains. Pervasive throughout the novel, McCarthy utilizes vivid descriptive imagery to convey the vulnerability of the man and the boy faced with an afflictive and agonizing cold. For instance, McCarthy describes that the world is enveloped in devastating cold climate when he says, ??? The falling snow??¦see anything at either side of the road.??? (McCarthy, 94).

There was such an abundance of snow descending onto the ground that it was impossible to see anything at either side of the state road. Subsequently, McCarthy describes the debilitation of both survivors when he says, ??? He was coughing again and again and the boy was shivering.??? (McCarthy, 94). Here, the vivid imagery describing the ailing physical health of the man and the boy with symptoms of incessant coughing and shivering indicates the severity of the conditions they live under. Moreover, the symptoms could be interpreted to be foreshadowing death, as the cold is tolling the passage of time, incrementally jeopardizing the overall health of the man and the boy. In a similar fashion, McCarthy explicitly denotes the inevitability of death in the man??™s thoughts as he says, ??? He was beginning to think that death was finally upon them.??? (McCarthy, 129). Hope is now evidently deteriorating, as even the man is personally aware of the unavoidability of death, a looming danger lurking at the blink of an eye.

In addition, McCarthy expands his allusions to death by mentioning the man??™s dreams when he says, ??? He??™d seen the boy in a dream laid out upon a coolingboard.??? (McCarthy, 130). Death is now not only present in reality, but it is also the man??™s principal cause of trepidation and fear in his dreams regarding his son. McCarthy uses the image of a coolingboard to describe how the man envisions his dead son resting as a corpse on a plank. Moreover, as McCarthy establishes the omnipresence of death in the post apocalyptic landscape, he elicits tenacity and tenderness in order for the man and the boy to survive.

Absorbed in their quest to the south, the man and the boy display a remarkable mutual resilience, as ??? the two of them side??¦grocery cart through the snow.??? (McCarthy, 94). The mutual act of resiliency pushing the cart through the snow in the excruciating cold is a powerful testament to what humans are truly capable of, dual tenacity and perseverance for the betterment of each other despite having to coexist in inhumane conditions. Furthermore, realizing the boy was shaking uncontrollably, the man stops momentarily and initiates some curt dialogue. The boy then proceeds to ask his father if he would be capable of earnestly alerting him of when they would die. Exhibiting tremendous optimism and determination the father responds by saying, ??? I don??™t know.

We??™re not going to die.??? (McCarthy, 94). At first it seems that the father may be dismissing his son, as he does not delve into the question, not attempting to ascertain why the boy is so curious about death. However, in curt and concise dialogue, McCarthy demonstrates the pragmatism of the father, who prefers to be cursory when it comes to responding to his son??™s questions in order to protect his hope and vanish his fear of death.

Ironically, the father is not fearful of death; he sobs uncontrollably to something he thought, ??? was about beauty or about goodness.??? (McCarthy, 129) The threat of death entails a carking intensity, and when combined with emotions of beauty and goodness it is unsurprising that they can trigger vehement sobbing. Moreover, it is apparent that as the threat of death draws near, the father becomes more concerned about the safety of his son, as he is the figure that represents the fervent hope in restoring goodness and virtue to humanity. The plot of McCarthy??™s novel proves to be simple and concise, a man and his son embark on a nomadic survivalist migration from the cold interior to the more temperate shores of the coast.

They take venture with a vague but lingering sense of hope and optimism, simultaneously aware of the looming danger lurking at the blink of an eye.? In conclusion, McCarthy consistently inserts the presence of death in the voyage of the father and the son to emphasize the necessity for mutual care and perseverance in order to preserve the qualities that define humankind, virtue and righteousness.

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