The Road is a novel written by Cormac McCarthy that follows an unnamed man and a boy during an apocalypse. There isn’t much known about the Man or the Boy, only that the Man is the Boy’s father and that the Man used to have a wife. Like the Man and the Boy’s background, there is not much revealed about the apocalypse itself either. As a reader, you can tell that many things in the book are either burned or charred, leading to the assumption that there was some type of fire in the past, relating to the apocalypse. The story is basically the Man and the Boy just trying to survive and make it south to keep away from the cold. Although I enjoyed this book, I really could not relate to any of the characters. I have never been in a situation where I had to fight for survival. In the beginning of the story, it seems like the Man and the Boy are the only ones left- no one else is around them. However, it can then be inferred that there are others still alive based off of their actions, such as hiding when they hear noises, the Man always carrying his gun in his hand, or the two getting nervous going inside of old houses. Once the story continues, the Man and the Boy start to come across other people. The first person they come across is a man who was struck by lightning. The Boy really wants to help him but the Man knows that the man struck by lightning is going to die anyway. This part really shows both of the characters personalities. The Man is focused on him and his son surviving, while his Son would rather help others. This is shown on multiple occasions throughout the story. The Road is a very different type of story; it does not quite match the format for normal stories. For instance, the main characters in this story do not even have names, let alone backgrounds. There also are not many characters mentioned in this story besides the Man and the Boy. They occasionally run into other people on the road, or try to avoid other people, but they are mainly unnamed too. It is also never directly stated where the characters are located. They might not actually know where they were themselves, so Cormac McCarthy might not have added in there location so the reader does not know either. Altogether, I found this book to be very interesting. I really enjoy books that take place in a post apocalyptic world. I liked the premise of the book itself, but I did not like the ending of this story. If there is anything I could change about this story, it would be ending. I would have liked a definitive ending that really wrapped up the story. However, I would recommend this book to anyone else who was interested in it. I really liked both of the main characters in this story and their fight for survival is very moving. The Man would do whatever he could to protect his son, and I really loved his character because of his dedication.
In the beginning of the story, it seems like the Man and the Boy are the only ones left- no one else is around them. However, it can then be inferred that there are others still alive based off of their actions, such as hiding when they hear noises, the Man always carrying his gun in his hand, or the two getting nervous going inside of old houses. Once the story continues, the Man and the Boy start to come across other people. The first person they come across is a man who was struck by lightning. The Boy really wants to help him but the Man knows that the man struck by lightning is going to die anyway. This part really shows both of the characters personalities. The Man is focused on him and his son surviving, while his Son would rather help others. This is shown on multiple occasions throughout the story.
The Road is a very different type of story; it does not quite match the format for normal stories. For instance, the main characters in this story do not even have names, let alone backgrounds. There also are not many characters mentioned in this story besides the Man and the Boy. They occasionally run into other people on the road, or try to avoid other people, but they are mainly unnamed too. It is also never directly stated where the characters are located. They might not actually know where they were themselves, so Cormac McCarthy might not have added in there location so the reader does not know either.
Altogether, I found this book to be very interesting. I really enjoy books that take place in a post apocalyptic world. I liked the premise of the book itself, but I did not like the ending of this story. If there is anything I could change about this story, it would be ending. I would have liked a definitive ending that really wrapped up the story. However, I would recommend this book to anyone else who was interested in it. I really liked both of the main characters in this story and their fight for survival is very moving. The Man would do whatever he could to protect his son, and I really loved his character because of his dedication.