9/18/19 Henry Chen Period 2

9/18/19

Gods, Monsters, and the Apocalypse (Period 2)

Aim: How does the conclusion of The Road highlight the allusion of the boy as a Christ figure? 

With the closure of the unit on Cormac McCarthy's The Road, our class attempted to divine meaning from a series of three symbols prevalent throughout the novel. 

Fire: The Future of Humanity

The starting activity for the day consisted of a "spirit-reading" of the final pages of the novel, followed by a discussion of McCarthy's use of fire as a symbol. In the discussion, we presented a variety of interpretations: 

• The metaphorical flame that the father places in the boy is a sort of torch: a flame that represents the survival and perseverance of mankind. By continuing to live on in spite of his father's death, the boy ensures that the human race continues to exist in a dark world. 
• Fire represents reproduction; As long as humans continue to reap children, the future for humankind will continue to exist. The birth of a new generation is the passing of a torch, which occurs on a smaller scale in the novel. 
• Fire is a symbol of civilization; it is the discovery of fire that allowed the first humans to survive and evolve as a species. If the boy dies, the flame of ordered society dies with him. 
• The boy's fire is a sign of God's will. The father sees his son as God, or the word of God, several times throughout the novel. God's will takes the form of fire at least once in the Bible: an angel of the Lord appeared before Moses as a flaming bush. 
• As an elemental force, fire brings both life and death. Fire prolongs life by granting warmth in cold times, just as it can burn life down to ash. Whether it be life or death which the boy's fire brings depends on the boy's well-being. 

Student Reflection: Just as the boy carries the fire for his father, our generation carries the fire for the previous generations. The choices we make, as well as (quite obviously) our own survival, decide whether or not our species has a future. 

The Boy: Post-Apocalyptic Christ

When we discussed whether or not the boy acts as a proper Christ figure in the novel, opinion was not unanimous. Plenty of evidence to support the affirmative traveled the room during the discussion: 

• As stated before, the father sees his son as God throughout the novel. 
• Of all of the characters in the novel, the boy is the most compassionate and forgiving; he often shows the desire to help strangers in need, as well as some amount of empathy for those who pose a threat to him. He is a pure individual who brings light (and possibly redemption) to a grim world. 
• The boy does not leave his dead father until three days after his passing; Jesus resurrected three days after his crucifixion. 
• The boy humbly travels on foot, as Jesus did. 
• The boy tries to convince his dying father to drink from a cup; Jesus asked The Father to take his cup before his execution. The boy's cup also connects him to the process of baptism. 
• Trout are mentioned in the book's final paragraph, after the boy finds potential allies. The ichthys is an old Christian symbol. The mention of fish at the end could signify the return of God to the world. 

Classmates also provided evidence to support the counterargument: 

• While the boy is selfless, he ultimately does not sacrifice much of himself for the sake of others; rather, the father is the one to sacrifice himself for the sake of the boy. 
• In multiple instances in the book, the boy displays a nigh-foolish innocence of the world and the people in it. This differentiates his goodwill with the goodwill of Jesus, who sacrificed himself for the world despite knowing the sins that humanity has committed. 

Student Reflection: In the novel's post-apocalyptic world, McCarthy lays bare both the good and the ugly in life. While the darker side of life is harrowing, sometimes one can find proof of good and God in the simplest people and things. 

Ely: Bad Parenting

Though we lacked the time to discuss the old man and his name (the only name that appears in the book), it appears that "Ely" is a reference to two different mythologies. In the bible, Eli did not properly discipline his sons for committing blasphemy, and as a result succumbed to despair after judgement fell upon them. In the novel, Ely appears as a lonely man without hope, and admits to being surprised at seeing another child. One could view Ely as an opposite of the father; while the father possesses the necessary skills and devotion to shield his son from harm, Ely seems to have no concern for others, surviving for his own sake. Ely's name could also be a reference to Elysium in Greek mythology. He believes that, when all humans have died and the world has ended (Elysium is sometimes portrayed to exist at the end of the earth), everyone will be happier. 

Student Reflection: Besides the notion that living solely for oneself is an empty purpose for living (which I think is an asinine statement), I can divine no deeper meaning from this character. I honestly tried.