The Road by Cormac McCarthy - Term Paper Example

The Road Cormac McCarthy wrote the novel, The Road, in 2006. The Road is about a post-apocalyptic tale journey that a father and a son undergo after several months. The two passes through landscapes that unspecified cataclysm have blasted (McCarthy, 2010). Throughout the book, the author has used different stylistic and narrative devices to portray the central themes as well as in plot development. For instance, the author has used narrative voice, vocalization, sympathy, metafiction among others in elaborating some of the themes in the novel. The themes in the book include violence, love, mortality, death, trust, faith, and doubt among others. This paper will discuss the theme of love and how the author has used sympathy as a narrative device to achieve it. First, the author has used sympathy as a narrative device to develop the theme of love. Sympathy is defined as the perception or reacting to a distress or need of another person. In the novel, The Road, the narrator used sympathy in many contexts to show and develop the theme of love. In the novel, the relationship between the two protagonists is tied to sympathy hence a show of paternal love. . The man’s wife showed sympathy to the boy before her suicide by saying that the boy was between her and death (McCarthy, 2010). This is an indication of love through sympathy. The mother was willing to do all she could, to save the young boy since he stood between the mother and death. Secondly, the author showed sympathy in developing the theme of love using the fathers conducts. For instance, the father struggled to survive with the aim of saving his child, which is a show of love for him. Although the father expects to die, he still lives because he is seeking life for the boy. The man does not like saving his son from civilization destruction, rape and murder among others by killing him in a way that is not good as the mother did by coming suicide (McCarthy, 2010). The father believes that suicide becomes an option only if the son is to be dangerously harmed. Because of the love and sympathy that the father has for the son, he leaves him a pistol wherever he explores a new and unsafe environment (McCarthy, 2010). From all these, it is evident that the father and the mother were after the wellbeing of the boy, and they were willing to go all the way to ensure the boy was safe. Through this, the author has used sympathy as a narrative device to achieve the theme. Thirdly, the author’s use of sympathy to develop the theme of love is evidence of the man’s love for his son as it drives him to ensure his survival. For instance, the man often demonstrated the strength of his love by willing to shoot anyone who endangers or threaten the boy’s life (McCarthy, 2010). Throughout the novel, the man hurt others as in the case of the thief who took their cart and the man who attacked his boy (McCarthy, 2010). The man is very wary towards others, which is also justified because it is aimed at protecting his son. Through all this, it is evidence that the affection that the father has towards the son is very strong because he is willing to go all the way and take extraordinary measures to protect the son. Through all these, sympathy is evident since the man is willing to bear the burden of the child and do all to suit his interest and to make the boy happy. Therefore, sympathy as a narrative device is used to develop the theme of love. Additionally, sympathy is evident at the last minute as the man was almost dying. This takes place in a less dramatic and violent situations as the man gives his son several treats such as powdered drink mix among others (McCarthy, 2010). All these are to show the love for the son. Similarly, the man told his son to eat his share of food instead of keeping it for himself with hopes of regaining health (McCarthy, 2010). He was sympathetic and wanted his boy to live a decent life, making him offer all this procession for the love of the child. For instance, the man gave all the small gifts and sacrifices to show hi strong love for the boy. Hence, it can be argued that the author used sympathy as a narrative device to show the link between the protagonists. Lastly, sympathy is portrayed in showing the extent in which the father was willing to protect his son. The ultimate goal of the father was to protect his son at all cost and ensure he is safe as this is what mattered to him. In other instances, the man was in a state of an obsession for the boy’s well-being. The father does not care what it takes to protect the son and to keep him alive. Because of this, the man shows his love for the boy by murdering the threats to the boy’s life. Similarly, in some instances, the man told the boy that he is one of the bad boys he hears, and willing to do anything to protect him (McCarthy, 2010). Similarly, the man told the boy that his job is to care for him as this is a responsibility that God assigned him. He went ahead to tell the boy that he is willing to kill anyone who touches him (McCarthy, 2010). The author used sympathy and voice narration in showing the love between the father and the son. In conclusion, the novel, The Road, has many themes with love being central. The love between the man and the boy is undisputed because they are willing to do all within their means to ensure they stay together. The author has used sympathy as a narrative technique to show the love existing between the two. The man believes it is his responsibility to protect him and use diverse ways, including killing threats to the boys life. Reference McCarthy, C. (2010). The Road. New York: Picador. Read More