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Faith And Conflict In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

1457 Words6 Pages

The Road, written by Cormac McCarthy, is a novel that follows the journey of a father and son traveling south to escape the post-apocalyptic scene they were unfortunately put in. The father and son are survivors of some unnamed disaster that has occurred. As time passes by there is less and less food. There is also a lack of plants and animals. Other than scavenging for food, the only means of survival for some is cannibalism. Survival is started to feel unlikely. Throughout the story keeping faith alive or conceding was a constant battle due to these harsh conditions. From questioning the existence of God, to questioning the honesty of one another, and questioning whether they will make it to the south alive; the main characters struggle to keep faith alive. Being on the run and continuously having to watch your back from danger all over, results in a sense of weariness and hopelessness. In this story faith and doubt functions to exhibit the power and significance of each. One cannot exist without the other. Although doubt can be mistaken as a barrier in a situation, it acts as a tool that strengthens faith. As the story goes on, the father makes it clear that he feels it is his god given mission to protect the boy at all costs. The man says “My job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand?” (pg. 99) The boy is almost like the man 's authority to live and is the reason he fights to keep faith

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