Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is a post-apocalyptic novel that was released in 2006. It details the journey of a father and son as they navigate a world broken by an unspecified disaster.
It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007 along with a few other significant awards. It was also turned into a film in 2009, which garnered positive reviews, much like the novel.
The Road Quotes
McCarthy’s novel combines bleak imagery with lyrical prose to create a haunting narrative about life going on even in the darkest of times.
Here are some of the most beautiful quotes you can find in the book:
“If you break little promises you’ll break big ones.”
It’s easy to break promises when they’re small. You think of them as inconsequential and easy to make up for.
But the reality is that breaking even small promises conditions you to the feeling that you can make things right later on, so you keep on taking things for granted until you realize you can no longer make up for them.
“You forget some things, don’t you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”
It is strange how hard it is to remember your good experiences and how it’s extremely easy to remember the bad. Memories seem to have a life of their own.
“The man could hear him playing. A formless music for the age to come. Or perhaps the last music on earth called up from out of the ashes of its ruin.”
Part of what makes The Road such a compelling read is its use of powerful imagery to emphasize a point. The music mentioned above is not a happy music, but rather a lamentation fit for the world the characters currently live in.
“This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They don’t give up.“
In the context of the story, the Man encourages the Boy to keep on moving because they are the good guys. While others have succumbed to evil means to survive, he and the Boy still hold on to their humanity.
The Boy: Can I ask you something?
The Man: Yes. Of course you can.
The Boy: What would you do if I died?
The Man: If you died I would want to die too.
The Boy: So you could be with me?
The Man: Yes. So I could be with you.
The Boy: Okay.
Another reason why The Road is an excellent read is its portrayal of the love between a father and son. It’s written in such a simple language, yet conveys complex emotions about fatherhood and innocence.
“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.”
Fire is a symbol of survival. It brings warmth, light, and the possibility of good things to come. It’s an appropriate symbol in a world that’s already dead.
“Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.”
This quote emphasizes the sense of doom the Man feels about his life. Though he and the Boy persevere, their situation never seems to improve. The Earth has died and no longer has anything to give to a dying human race.
“Is there such a being within you of which you know nothing?”
The Man questions whether he would be able to kill his own son to prevent him from undergoing worse experiences—such as being eaten by cannibals. As he decides whether he could, he begins to wonder if there’s an unknown side of him that can simply kill in an emergency.
“Where men can’t live gods fare no better. You’ll see. It’s better to be alone.”
On the road, the Boy and his Son meet an old man named Ely whose faith has been worn down over the years. His statement could mean that people carry their gods with them. When they’re faced with adversity and fail, their faith is broken and their gods disappear.
“The blackness he woke to on those nights was sightless and impenetrable. A blackness to hurt your ears with listening.”
During the night, the Man frequently gets up and surveys the darkness. It may be to scout the surroundings, but it’s more likely he’s looking for remnants of humanity. He’s been so accustomed to hearing the susurrus of human sounds that the complete lack of it is hurting.
“Perhaps in the world’s destruction it would be possible at last to see how it was made. Oceans, mountains. The ponderous counterspectacle of things ceasing to be. The sweeping waste, hydroptic and coldly secular. The silence.”
Since destruction correlates with creation, the dying world in the narrative signifies a chance of rebirth. Nature goes through the process regardless of humanity’s survival.
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes. So, he whispered to the sleeping boy. I have you.”
As the Man comes to terms with his death, he muses about the things that really matter to him. And though the Man’s story comes to a seemingly hopeless end, McCarthy plants a seed of hope for the Boy. Through their existence, they prove that humans must live for others, else there’s no reason to live.
What Happened to the Boy at the End of The Road?
After his father dies, the Boy stays with the body for three days. At this point, his safety and future are put in question. The Man was the only person he knew and all he really had. Surely, someone as young and alone as he would find it difficult to survive in a dying world.
But then he’s approached by the man with a shotgun, who invites the Boy to come along with him. He says he’s one of the good guys and also “carries the fire.”
He’s welcomed to a new family and must now figure out his new place in the world. It is at this point that the Boy makes a decision that is truly his for the first time.
The story ends with the mystery of whether humanity can survive its desperate situation and what changes the Boy will undergo now that his world has forever changed.
Did you enjoy The Road? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Cole Salao
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
