Trust, Hope, And Resilience In The Road By Cormac Mccarthy

Throughout the novel ‘The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, the man and the boy are faced to deal with the struggle of survival. They live off the remaining resources or items that were trashed after the apocalypse in order to remain alive. The protagonists are repeatedly approached with threats of murder and starvation while also being put into life and death situations. My belief of trust, hope, and resilience was not only confirmed but was also questioned a numerous amount of times.

The journey that the man and the boy were taken on revolves around trust. They must continuously move locations because it's not safe for them to settle and are always on the lookout for danger. The boy tends to trust others more easily because he hasn't seen much conflict unlike the man who is always cautious of his surroundings and doesn't confide in people easily. Trust is demonstrated throughout the entire novel not only by the relationship the protagonist share but also by the people they encounter. For example, when the man and the boy came across Ely, Ely chose not to tell them his real name because he wasn't sure of what they might do with it. Ely wanted to remain unknown and much like the man, Ely also trusted no one. When the man asked for Ely’s real name, Ely said “I couldn't trust you with it. To do something with it. I don't want anybody talking about me. To say where I was or what I said when I was there. I mean, you could talk about me maybe. But nobody could say that it was me. I could be anybody. I think in times like these the less said the better.” The novel clarified the definition of trust by the way the characters used it. Trust is being able to place your faith into someone or something. My belief of trust was questioned when I realized the characters used it as a way of surviving. The man never put his trust in anyone other than his son, good or bad. The boy was considered to be the “faith” within the story, he is the aspiration for a better future. The man constantly said they would always be “carrying the fire” however, when the man was dying, he changed it to “you have to carry the fire”. The metaphor was used as a symbol of both trust and aspiration. The man hoped that the boy would continue to carry the fire because it symbolizes that the civilization that was once damaged can be reconstructed and he trusted his son to do just that with or without him.

Despite the hassle of trying to survive the post apocalypse, the man did whatever he could to protect his son from the danger that awaited them. The catastrophe led many survivors to become cannibals and marauders. Regardless of the cruelty they witnessed the man and the boy refused to become one of the “bad guys” no matter how tough things became, they kept hold of their purity. The protagonist now lives in a world where there is no longer any law. As a result of no longer having any morality, they dealt with many challenges. One of them being the hope of survival and the numerous things humans premeditated in order to survive. The worst part about living in a post-apocalyptic world is the condition it puts the survivors in. Since there was no longer any food, most survivors turned to eating human beings which made protecting the boy a little more difficult. A fine example of this would be when the man and the boy came across a group of cannibals and they tried to hide near the road and wait for them to pass but one of the cannibals approached them and tried to use the opportunity to retrieve the boy, the man took matters into his own hands and shot the guy. Unlike most children, the boy was not only forced to grow up at a young age but also had to witness traumatizing things. For instance when the man and the boy entered the large house and seen numerous people that were being kept as prisoners for the cannibals lying on the floor unclothed and missing some limbs. The boy also had to hold a pistol a couple of times throughout the book whether he wanted to or not, some of them being when the man had to go off and get some supplies. The man said “I want you to do what I say. Take the gun.” and even if the boy didn't want the gun the man would say'' I didn't ask if you wanted it. Take it.” The nights were often very cold and having to sleep outside or even in a house that was not theirs was fearful. When reading the novel, I questioned myself a numerous amount of times on whether or not the man was just going to end both his and the boy’s suffering. In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, survival was a risky task but it was all about resilience and the many things people would do in order to stay alive.

In conclusion, the father and the son encourage each other to remain positive even though they are going through a tough time. They also educate and remind one another to maintain faith no matter what comes their way. Trust, hope and resilience impacted the novel by revealing the true definition behind the phrases. The boy put all his hope and trust into his father because he looks at the man as a role model; someone the boy can look up to for guidance and reassurance. The man was also a visual demonstration of resilience. He didn’t care what he had to to keep the boy alive his only task was to ensure that the boy was protected and healthy at all times. In my opinion, it’s better off to be aware of these beliefs. Trust is important because it revolves around human relationships. Resilience however is significant for a number of reasons. The first one being that It allows us to develop procedures for assurance in situations in which could be overwhelming. Lastly, hope is to want a better result. Not only does hope allow tough times to be tolerable but it also has the potential to improve some lives by being able to visualize a better future. An example of hope in the novel would be when the man and the boy entered a house at the edge of the town looking for food and vitamins and as the man was thinking, the conversation they then had was “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we Papa? Yes. We are. And nothing bad is going to happen to us. That's right. Because we’re carrying the fire. Yes. because we’re carrying the fire.” Although at times the book altered my belief, in the end it always circled back to what it was in the beginning. The only force that drove the man and the boy to continue was confiding and believing in one another.