The History Behind Humanity: Conjuring the Past in The Road Anonymous 10th Grade

Many people accept that individuals’ morals, beliefs, and ideas are with them from birth; that it is in each person’s nature to behave the way they do. However, an equally powerful source of one’s ideology stems from their surroundings, and those that have walked before them: parents, family, teachers… The Road by Cormac McCarthy fully exemplifies this principle. The novel occurs in a post-apocalyptic era, shrouded in darkness and devastation. With no prevailing society or community, the story follows a man and boy, father and son, through their harrowing journey toward the Southern United States. Throughout, the man must parent the boy, doing so by telling him memories of the past- of morals which have since been lost by most people in their current world. As a result, the boy develops an eminent sense of humanity.

In the novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy utilizes cynical diction and symbolic language to create a reverent tone toward retaining memory of the past, proving history must be remembered to preserve humanity. McCarthy’s use of cynical diction to describe people of the post-apocalyptic time reveals his condemning tone toward those who have forgotten their purpose and past, accentuating his reverent tone toward those who...