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.