Deadliest Warrior - Featuring the Road and The Walking Dead

Deadliest Warrior: 

Rick Grimes vs. The Man

Since The Road held so many similarities to AMC's The Walking Dead, I figured I'd explore this question: Who would win in a fight - Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead, or the Man from The Road?  Read below to find out in the series finale of The Road blog posts.

Who has the edge?

Since both these stories are about survival, how could each of them fare on their own?  Rick has barely been alone during the series, as most of the time he is seen leading the Group.  However, in the beginning of Season 6 (the current season), he becomes separated from those protecting Alexandria, and he has no vehicle in which to return.  He must therefore sprint all the way back to the town while avoiding walkers, and surviving an attack from the Wolves.  While his performance then was impressive, Rick has really yet to be alone in the wilderness.  In Season 5, the Group walked a long distance along a road much like the Man and the Boy, but Rick relied more on the insight of his group members.  A good example is when Daryl finds a barn that the Group stays in during a thunder storm.  He also usually sends other group members on supply runs, as opposed to going himself.  Rick is terrific at surviving, but more so against live (or undead) forces that are out to kill him, as opposed to the forces of nature.

The Man, on the other hand, is very crafty when it comes to survival.  It's downright impressive that he and his son survive for as long as they do with just a cart to carry supplies.  Not to mention, they have to hide the cart to avoid being spotted when others come along the road.  The Man is able to locate a flare gun on a boat because he has the necessary prior knowledge, and he also is able to use that flare gun as a weapon to survive.  The Man is also alone much more often than Rick is.  Many times, the Man travels by himself during the night to either get supplies or scout ahead.  Additionally, the Man is able to obtain the materials that he and his son need through carefully planned supply raids of homes and shelters.

Clearly, the Man is better able to survive on his own than Rick Grimes.  The edge goes to the Man.

Both of these men are the leaders of their groups, but which one is the better leader?  Rick leads a very large group, and despite all the deaths that occur, currently the Group is increasing in size.  Also, the amount of deaths that happen under Rick's command is alarming.  However, Rick has kept most of his group alive for six seasons, and he himself has survived that long as well.  He's helped them survive many threats such as Shane, the Governor, members of Terminus, and most recently, the Wolves, not to mention all of the walkers that occupy the world.  That's an impressive accomplishment.  Rick's weakness is in his mental health, which fluctuates throughout the show.  After being forced to kill his best friend in season two's finale, he declares his group a dictatorship run by himself.  Following the death of his wife, Laurie, he begins to hallucinate, seeing images of her in broad daylight.  It drives him mad, and nearly costs the lives of his group members as his series of breakdowns happen in the middle of the conflict with the Governor.  In Season 5, after being crossed for the last time by those at Terminus, he completely loses his morals, and Machonne, one of his most trusted group members, even turns on him.  And in the current season, Rick has declared that he doesn't take chances anymore, which could have major consequences down the road.  

The Man has a single member in his group, the Boy.  Throughout their travels, he teaches his son how to be a better survivor.  He must overcome challenges such as the "bad guys," who are cannibals with absolutely no morals, as they even eat human infants.    The Man also feels he must kill his own son as opposed to letting him try to survive on his own.  The Man ultimately dies of illness, leaving his only group member alone in the horrific world they live in.  Often times, he leaves the Boy behind, which could leave both himself and the boy vulnerable to attack.  He also loses his morals at one point when he forces the thief to take off all of his clothes and give them up to pay for what he had done, something that most likely killed him.  One of the most impressive accomplishments of the Man as a leader was when he lead the boy through pitch darkness along the beach to retrieve the pistol, then walk all the way back to the tarp where they started.  Since they could hardly see, the Man relied on brief lightening strikes for light, which only lasted a fraction of a second.  Ultimately, the Man heard the rain hitting the tarp, and they were able to return successfully to their supplies.  Well done.

While Rick's group has lost many members, and the Man's group has lost none (other than himself), one would think this would be an easy edge for the Man.  However, Rick is responsible for a much larger group that deals with many more threats than the characters in The Road do.  Also, even though the Man is able to maintain his morals for the most part and continues to "carry the fire," Rick's lapse in mental health and loss of morals is understandable due to all the stress he was under.  Rick has to deal with worse conditions than the Man and the Boy do, and the fact that he has overcome those lapses and is still alive and leading his group today shows his strength as a character and as a good leader.  The edge goes to Rick Grimes.

Result:
A draw.

The Scenario:

As Rick is running back to Alexandria to defend against the herd of Walkers, he encounters the Man and the boy walking along the road.  Having just been attacked and wounded by the Wolves, Rick assumes the Man is of the same group, and immediately gets out his pistol and aims it at the Man. The boy hides behind him.  The Man sees Rick and immediately counters him with his flare gun.  At a standstill, they both begin to talk.
A flare gun, interesting choice, Rick says.
A direct hit will light you up, so I suggest you drop the gun, the Man counters.
Well I don't take chances anymore.
Rick cocks the gun.
I'm warning you, the Man says.
Suddenly, a walker sneaks up behind Rick, forcing him to turn around to defend himself.  The Man sees his chance to get away as more walkers begin to surround the injured Rick, and he grabs the boy by the arm and begins to escape.
But Papa, says the boy, he'll die.
He was going to hurt us.  He was going to hurt you.
We cant leave him here to die.
He can survive on his own.
The boy begins to cry.
But Papa, you said you wouldnt do this anymore.  Remember what happened with the thief.
Upon hearing this, the Man stops, and turns back toward Rick, who struggles to fight off the walkers.
He's out of bullets Papa, sobs the boy.
The Man then runs over to Rick and begins to help him fight the walkers.  The Man finds and uses stones for projectiles, and tree limbs from the ground as spears.  But the walkers are too many, and as a group they are too strong.  Rick, seeing this, tells the Man to use the flare gun.
The fire will spread quickly, you'll take out most of them, Rick shouts.
The Man aims the weapon, and pulls the trigger.  Rick, to the Man's surprise, was right.  The affected walker stumbles back, on fire, and hits another walker, lighting it on fire as well, starting a chain reaction.
Rick, having found two potential allies, turns to the Man and the boy.
The fire will only attract more, Rick says.  We have to leave now.  Leave the cart behind.
The boy looks up at the Man.  They both remain standing still.
Come on, we gotta go now! Rick yells to the two of them as he begins to sprint away.  They follow him.
How many walkers have you killed? Rick asks as they run.
I don't know, too many, replies the Man.
How many people have you killed?
One... perhaps two.
Why?
They were threatening my son and me.  They were going to eat us alive, I had no choice.
Rick continues to run, thinking about whether to add them to the Group.
What would you have done if you were in that situation?  The Man asks.
I would have killed them.  I did kill them.  I faced them before, at Terminus.
They run a bit farther along the road.
My group is under attack by walkers, says Rick.  They aren't far from here.
The Man looks down at the boy, who begins to stumble behind.
We could use your help, Rick continues.  There's shelter there too, and food.  You'll survive there.
We need to help them, Papa, says the boy.
We can't, the Man replies.
But Papa!  We have to carry the fire, remember?  You, yourself, said that.  We have to help them!
The Man sighs, looks up at Rick, and nods.
Alright, we'll help you and your friends, the Man says.  By the way, you got a name?
Rick Grimes, he responds.  What's yours?

End Scenario

The End of The Road

After a long journey of survival and hardships, I finally finished The Road.  Overall, it was very enjoyable, even for someone like myself who never reads novels.  It is a terrific character driven story about two nameless apocalypse survivors, a man and his son, who travel south as they encounter many dangers that threaten their survival.  However, the amazing part of this book is that one can look beyond the ash-filled world, the cannibals, the cart, the man, the boy, and all the other aspects of the novel and really find meaning behind it all.   

If you've seen my previous posts, then you are familiar with the story line, the characters, and the thematic ideas behind Cormac McCarthy's novel.  Last post, I touched upon the themes in the story, mainly how there was a line that marked the boundaries of humanity and morals in everybody.  Everybody in the story shared the same goal, survival, but it was those people like the man and the boy who were able to keep their morals intact.  Thus, there is a clear thematic message that this book offers audiences that apply to real world scenarios.  That is, sometimes the goal is not what is important, but rather the road we take to get to that goal is what matters.       

This thematic idea can be applied to anything in the outside world.  Take a presidential election for example.  The goal would obviously be to make the country better, and all candidates (we hope) want to complete that goal.  But clearly, each candidate has a different way of going about doing that.  Maybe a book like The Road can encourage people to asks themselves if what the candidates are doing is right.  Have some of them lost the values that make the United States great?  Where is the line drawn?  This is, of course, just one example of how someone can apply the themes of The Road to a real life scenario.  The reason I bring this up is because application of themes to real world scenarios is one of the aspects that not only makes The Road great, but it also makes it an advanced placement level book.  One of the biggest reasons why I liked this book was just because of how deep and advanced it is.  The theme and the application of that theme is just one reason why it is in that category.

McCarthy's style of writing - which is unique and deserving of high praise - is another reason.  Inclusion of nameless characters is an interesting stylistic choice, and will definitely make audience members stop and ask why that is.  The answer is, of course, up for debate.  That being said, it does make the reader think.  How much of an effect do names have on a story?  How relevant are names to the overall meaning of the story?  Does not knowing the names affect the way the audience feels for the character?  These are but a few questions that I have raised over just a small aspect of the book.  Additionally, audience members will raise questions about other stylistic devices such as lack of quotation marks, apostrophes, and chapters.  Clearly, this book will make readers ask questions, whether about thematic ideas, or just writing in general, or even how the writing affects the story and those thematic ideas.  Just from McCarthy's unique style which will make audience members think, The Road is definitely deserving of being an AP level book.

Just how well-known is The Road?  It obviously won the Pulitzer Prize back in 2007, but I'll admit I had never heard of it before I picked it up.  Then again, I never read any novels whatsoever, so that isn't saying much.  However, I'll tell you why The Road has the potential to be one of the greatest and classic books of the 21st century.  Obviously, the stories that most people are going to remember are the ones that emotionally affect them the most.  Emotional connections are created through relatable content and characters, and relatability is created through simplicity.  Think about it.  A story like Star Wars started with a farm boy who has to rescue a princess.  It is a simple story with relatable characters, and that is why it caught on with audiences so quickly despite all the science-fiction and fantasy elements that are present.  Compare that story with that of The Road, and those qualities apply just as easily.  A story about a man and his son (nameless, so now we're getting even simpler) trying to survive in an apocalyptic world as they travel south.  The story is simple enough, and the father-son relationship of the two main characters creates the relatability.  As a result, readers will be emotionally invested in the characters (as I was), which makes the story powerful and memorable, and makes for a strong ending to the story.  My point through all of this is that The Road has a high amount of potential to be very famous (maybe even a classic) throughout the following years.  Surely it is not a necessity that an AP level book be famous, but surely the brilliance behind those elements that could make it famous could simultaneously make it an AP level book.

While The Road is not my favorite book, it certainly has great qualities to it.  It is definitely deserving of being an AP level book due to its thematic ideas, writing style, ability to make audiences think, as well as its simplicity and relatability that no doubt make the book so well-known.