The Characters Within
Meet the main players in The Road
I don't read books very often - there, I said it. Seeing as this is the first post, I figured I should address the title of the blog first and provide some background on who I am. I'm a movie guy, not a book guy. People love books, but I just don't see the magic in them. That said, when I read a good book, I do very much enjoy it - just not as much as seeing a good movie or TV show. However, I recently bought the award-winning novel, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and decided to give it a go - rest assured, I have never seen the 2009 film adaptation (although I am now very interested in watching it after reading the rest of the book). Thus, with all that established, let's dive into my thoughts on the first quarter (72 out of 287 pages) of the book. Specifically, this post will analyze the story's main characters.
The first thing I can say about the characters is that they reflect McCarthy's unique writing style, as none of the characters have names yet. He refers to the two main characters as "the man," and "the boy." The man is confirmed to be the boy's father as the boy often refers to him as "papa" (the first time being on page 5). The story follows these two through an apocalyptic Earth as they journey on foot to the southern part of the United States.
It's pretty clear that the man is the main protagonist, as the story centers around him. We see his interactions with other characters, know what he is thinking, and experience his dreams and memories. Even though we have yet to find out his name, we can easily learn and care about the man through his words and actions. For example, McCarthy establishes early that this man is a survivor - an important quality for a protagonist in an apocalypse story. The man comes right out and says "we're survivors," referring to his family (55). Therefore, the man's main goals in this story are staying alive, and protecting his son - two qualities that are likable. This creates a connection between us and the character, which makes us care for him.
McCarthy focuses the story around the man's parental relationship with his son. Again, everything the man does is to ensure the survival of his family. This is apparent in even the smallest lines of dialogue. When his son asks him if they are going to die, he gives him hope saying, "Sometime. Not now" (10). The man is very protective of his son, especially when it comes to other people. When the boy wants to stay by the river where he considers it to be "a good place," the man responds, saying "we cant stay ... the waterfall is an attraction ... for other people and we dont know who they will be and we cant hear them coming ... its not safe" (42). When they both see another man who was struck by lightening, the man doesn't let his son get close to him. The man even kills for his son, shooting another man in the head who was a threat. This is where that connection between the character and the audience becomes really important, because if the man were not a likable character, we might see that as just an act of murder.
Aside from being a guardian, the man is also a teacher. Many times, the boy learns from his father. Once again, this is noticeable in small lines of dialogue. For example, the boy asks, "What is that, Papa?" and the man answers "It's a dam... it made the lake" (19). Later, when the two are eating, the son asks "What's morels?" and the man explains "They're a kind of mushroom... Take a bite" (40). Again, showing the man as a teacher makes him more likable, because even with everything he has been through, and with all the ways the world has changed, he has not forgotten the value of parenting and teaching. Parenting and teaching are things we, as an audience, can relate to, which helps us relate to the characters (whether it be to the man, the boy, or both).
There are plenty of other examples of how the man is a great father, specifically all those times when he comforts the boy when he is scared, but considering we haven't even gotten to the son yet, I'm going to have to speed this blog post up a bit.
However before I completely end my comments on the man, I have to address the scenes about his wife. We are introduced to the man's wife through painful flashbacks in which the man horribly relives how she ended her own life after he begged her to keep fighting to survive. "I'll do anything," the man says, to which his wife responds "I should have done it a long time ago ... You cant protect us ... Id take [our son] with me if it werent for you ... Its the right thing to do" (56). The reason I bring up this scene is because it proves the importance of likable characters. I liked the man for all the reasons explained above. As a result, this scene was unbelievably powerful. It was sad knowing how much the man goes through to keep his family alive, yet he couldn't protect his wife from herself.
Overall, Cormac McCarthy succeeds in creating a strong protagonist whom we can root for, feel for, and (honestly) read the book for.
The boy is our secondary character. He follows his father on this journey to the south. Judging from his lack of knowledge about the world before the apocalypse, and judging from the amount of times he is scared, I'd guess he is rather young (between age five and ten).
It is interesting how even though our main character is the man, we learn the most through the boy. As the boy asks his father questions, we gradually learn more about the world these two live in. One example is when the boy asks about state roads, and the man tells him that "they used to belong to the states. What used to be called states" (43). Therefore, we learn that somehow, states in this world cease to exist. We don't know the details about what happened to the states, but through the boy's character, we learn just enough to raise more questions about the post-apocalyptic world, without being left completely clueless.
One scene that I think shows a lot about the boy as a character is when his father wants him to drink coca cola. The boy insists that the man have some too, but his father hesitates. The boy says afterwards, "It's because I wont ever get to drink another one, isn't it?" (24). The boy is able to make conclusions about the world they live in based on his fathers actions, which shows his cleverness.
However, if I could name one characteristic about the boy that really gets annoying, it's that he's constantly afraid. It doesn't matter what it is, this kid will get frightened by almost anything, which is understandable, but simultaneously irritating. I think that's normal, though, because we haven't had the opportunity to learn everything these two characters have been through, and how frightening the world is that they live in. If there was more background, I'd understand more why he is always afraid. At one point, the boy even gets frightened by visiting the house that the man used to live in. Just in that three-page scene about visiting a house, the boy is prompted to say "I'm scared" three times. In conclusion, while the boy isn't a dislikable character, I can't say I'd be too upset if he dies. Actually, his death would be powerful mainly because of the effect it would have on his father, because that would mean he failed to protect both his wife and his son. Of course, that's all hypothetical, and it's material to look forward to as I continue to read the story.
Overall, the two main characters are enjoyable to read about. This shows the brilliance of Cormac McCarthy's writing, because he created strong, relatable characters and placed them into a dark world. The result is a character-driven story that is emotional, compelling, and suspenseful.
McCarthy focuses the story around the man's parental relationship with his son. Again, everything the man does is to ensure the survival of his family. This is apparent in even the smallest lines of dialogue. When his son asks him if they are going to die, he gives him hope saying, "Sometime. Not now" (10). The man is very protective of his son, especially when it comes to other people. When the boy wants to stay by the river where he considers it to be "a good place," the man responds, saying "we cant stay ... the waterfall is an attraction ... for other people and we dont know who they will be and we cant hear them coming ... its not safe" (42). When they both see another man who was struck by lightening, the man doesn't let his son get close to him. The man even kills for his son, shooting another man in the head who was a threat. This is where that connection between the character and the audience becomes really important, because if the man were not a likable character, we might see that as just an act of murder.
Aside from being a guardian, the man is also a teacher. Many times, the boy learns from his father. Once again, this is noticeable in small lines of dialogue. For example, the boy asks, "What is that, Papa?" and the man answers "It's a dam... it made the lake" (19). Later, when the two are eating, the son asks "What's morels?" and the man explains "They're a kind of mushroom... Take a bite" (40). Again, showing the man as a teacher makes him more likable, because even with everything he has been through, and with all the ways the world has changed, he has not forgotten the value of parenting and teaching. Parenting and teaching are things we, as an audience, can relate to, which helps us relate to the characters (whether it be to the man, the boy, or both).
There are plenty of other examples of how the man is a great father, specifically all those times when he comforts the boy when he is scared, but considering we haven't even gotten to the son yet, I'm going to have to speed this blog post up a bit.
However before I completely end my comments on the man, I have to address the scenes about his wife. We are introduced to the man's wife through painful flashbacks in which the man horribly relives how she ended her own life after he begged her to keep fighting to survive. "I'll do anything," the man says, to which his wife responds "I should have done it a long time ago ... You cant protect us ... Id take [our son] with me if it werent for you ... Its the right thing to do" (56). The reason I bring up this scene is because it proves the importance of likable characters. I liked the man for all the reasons explained above. As a result, this scene was unbelievably powerful. It was sad knowing how much the man goes through to keep his family alive, yet he couldn't protect his wife from herself.
Overall, Cormac McCarthy succeeds in creating a strong protagonist whom we can root for, feel for, and (honestly) read the book for.
The boy is our secondary character. He follows his father on this journey to the south. Judging from his lack of knowledge about the world before the apocalypse, and judging from the amount of times he is scared, I'd guess he is rather young (between age five and ten).
It is interesting how even though our main character is the man, we learn the most through the boy. As the boy asks his father questions, we gradually learn more about the world these two live in. One example is when the boy asks about state roads, and the man tells him that "they used to belong to the states. What used to be called states" (43). Therefore, we learn that somehow, states in this world cease to exist. We don't know the details about what happened to the states, but through the boy's character, we learn just enough to raise more questions about the post-apocalyptic world, without being left completely clueless.
One scene that I think shows a lot about the boy as a character is when his father wants him to drink coca cola. The boy insists that the man have some too, but his father hesitates. The boy says afterwards, "It's because I wont ever get to drink another one, isn't it?" (24). The boy is able to make conclusions about the world they live in based on his fathers actions, which shows his cleverness.
However, if I could name one characteristic about the boy that really gets annoying, it's that he's constantly afraid. It doesn't matter what it is, this kid will get frightened by almost anything, which is understandable, but simultaneously irritating. I think that's normal, though, because we haven't had the opportunity to learn everything these two characters have been through, and how frightening the world is that they live in. If there was more background, I'd understand more why he is always afraid. At one point, the boy even gets frightened by visiting the house that the man used to live in. Just in that three-page scene about visiting a house, the boy is prompted to say "I'm scared" three times. In conclusion, while the boy isn't a dislikable character, I can't say I'd be too upset if he dies. Actually, his death would be powerful mainly because of the effect it would have on his father, because that would mean he failed to protect both his wife and his son. Of course, that's all hypothetical, and it's material to look forward to as I continue to read the story.
Overall, the two main characters are enjoyable to read about. This shows the brilliance of Cormac McCarthy's writing, because he created strong, relatable characters and placed them into a dark world. The result is a character-driven story that is emotional, compelling, and suspenseful.
I can definitely relate to the part about not reading many books! I don't actually mind reading it just seems like I can never get around to it
ReplyDeleteAnyways though I think that this sounds like a great book, and I find it really interesting that you bring up the point that characters don't need names for us to really care about them. Do you think the author did this so that you could kind of make the man and boy into your own version of them, or because names are just an insignificant detail when it comes down to an apocalyptic survival situation?
You also touched upon how when we care about certain characters, their sketchy choices/actions don't seem as bad to us, which really reminded me of "The Great Gatsby". Gatsby is a bootlegger, yet we are exposed to other aspects of his character that make him more appealing and easy to appreciate.
We don't necessarily blame him for his actions to the extent that we might normally. The fact that you learn a lot about the man (the main character) from the boy also reminded me of "The Great Gatsby", since we learn most about Gatsby from Nick.
I'm curious as to why the wife killed herself? Was she too weak for their "journey" or was she unhappy? Do you know the whole situation yet?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you for your good comments, they do mean a lot. In response to your first question about the character names, I have to say I'm not really sure yet why McCarthy chose to leave them nameless, mainly because there is still much more of the book left. Who knows, maybe they'll be named later in the story. For now, though, I think it is more that the names are insignificant, which is proven by the fact that we still care about the characters despite them not having names.
DeleteMy guess about the wife is that she thought the world they live in is so horrible, filled with so many nasty apocalypse survivors that all want them dead, that death by her own hands when she was ready was the best option for her and her family. But there weren't enough bullets, so she only took her own life.
Jonny, a well-written intro to the novel and its main characters. I find your comment about the boy's fear really interesting, as it was not the reaction I had. Maybe I just expected a small child to be scared of everything, especially given the world they live in. To me, it suggests that the only world the boy has known is one if which everything contains the potential for danger, even the man's old house. That fear led to a lot of tension for me as I read, sort of like how in scary movies music is often used to create tension and anticipation, even if nothing happens.
ReplyDeleteOne side comment: if possible, could you make the text a bit bigger?
Liking the style of your blog already! Do you think the lack of names detracts from the characters, even though we are so close to them? Or does it get rid of possible distractions characters names might add to the story?
ReplyDelete