Theme Of Empathy In The Road

Empathy is the art of viewing the world as someone else sees it. It is the imaginative act of

stepping into the shoes of another and viewing their perspective. Resiliency is the ability to

overcome challenges of trauma and tragedy. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, follows an

unnamed father and son as they travel towards the coast in search of safety and welfare. In a

time where the world has been destroyed by a catastrophe the man is overwhelmed by the

pressures of the cruel new world. The novel shows the journey of a father and son and how

the pair survives through the cunning unprotected world. In The Road, the man conquers the

terror of the need to be resilient for his son while continuing to feel empathy towards him.

To begin with, In the novel the father

In a post-apocalyptic world with no sign of humanity the man and

boy come across a stranger. He is the first human being, other than the boy, that the father

speaks to. The man’s intimacy and anger are shown deeply towards his son as the stranger

attempts to abuse the boy with a knife positioned to his throat. The man immediate response

to fire the stranger with a pistol with no deliberation and notion therefore describes his

attachment and concern towards the boy “He dove and grabbed the boy... The man fell back

instantly and lay with blood bubbling from the hole in his forehead.”(66) The sigh of relief and

adrenaline perceived by the father when seeing his son in danger in the hands of another

thus clarifies the man’s true love and affection that he discerns for the boy.

Pursuing this further, food, water and shelter are resources which are limited on the island

and burdensome to find. The father continuous thrives in search for food, water and shelter

risked his life multiple times. His duty to provide the boy with the resources and keep the boy

healthy and sheltered is a responsibility and the man’s first and only priority. Consistently,