Schaub and The Road

Schaub of “Secular Scripture and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road” points out how The Road is paradoxical in structure. It is a story in a world with no need or want of stories, with allusions and allegories that help the reader understand, but would mean little to the post-apocalyptic characters whose previous faiths and philosophies have been replaced with a sort of rugged spirituality without rules or traditions or figureheads. I agree with Schaub’s ideas about the structure, however, I disagree in thinking that the spiritual belief the boy and his father gain is so incredibly “unique”, that is so isolated to the time and place that the man and the boy live in.

In our discussion earlier, Connor mentioned how he kept being reminded of the archetypal symbols we discussed earlier in the year that evoke the same feelings in the subconscious of every individual. Those who lived in the “old world” will eventually die out like the Man, but I think the boy and others born after the apocalypse will not lose all intuition. Though, he may not know of God or Jesus or any other religious symbols I believe he’ll understand simple intuitive symbolism. If nothing else, he’ll see light and know it is good and dark and be scared. He’ll look to the horizon and wonder what is beyond it, and then begin to question, who am I? Why am I here, like generations of men before him? I think this is best demonstrated when the boy meets the other man at the end and “demands an answer” to whether or not the man holds the fire. The man says yes which could mean either he’s just agreeing with the boy to get him to follow him or he identifies with the fire as a positive force that he and the boy share. I doubt it’s the first since this is the first man that seems as “humane” as the boy; Ely before seemed unreal like a warning or a demonic prophet. I don’t believe being human necessarily makes you “humane” in the way we see the word today, so this connection over symbols is really a great affirmation of the continued existence of humanity as well as a connection to the spirituality of the past.

Now, obviously Schuab doesn’t believe that The Road’s characters are completely without human or personal connections; his essay brings up many ideas of the boy as a god-like figure to his father and the boy’s empathy towards all living things. It’s just to the extent that he thinks that this spiritual journey transcends all others. I think it’s a testament to Cormac McCarthy’s ability that it’s not; he is able to apply these archetypal ideas used throughout time in a manner that is unique.