The Road Analysis
Kaylie Wilson
Mr. Kerr
Honors English I
November 21, 2014
The Road Final Essay Assignment (Option 6)
Presence of women throughout The Road of a classic hero’s journey, with some unexpected twists, is little to no women present. The way the main characters act without women are actions of different kinds, sadness, bravery, and heroism. The lack of female characters in The Road shows the stereotypical idea of heros only being male and as women being distractions.
The man shows, through his actions, a hero’s attitude towards his main goal, which is getting the boy to a safe place before his death. The Road is not a typical hero story but still follows the Hero Journey developed by Joseph Campbell. The man is always thinking about the best things for the boy and how to save the boy. One of the reasons the man’s actions are heroic is because of the choice he made to keep the boy even though the boy’s mother chose to die. This choice he made is based on the lack of women in his life. Once the woman decided that she couldn’t live in the world anymore, the man started the journey with the boy down the nameless road. In this case maybe the woman wasn’t as much a distraction as she was an obstacle that the man was going to have to get around at some point in order to save the boy from death for as long as possible.
Women are stereotyped to be more caring so if child were to grow up with a woman versus a male it would make sense to have a more caring look on things, but with the boy, even with the absence of his mother he still tries his absolute hardest to care for everyone in The Road’s post apocalyptic time. Perhaps even though the woman wasn’t a physical part of the boy’s life she was still in his heart and mind forever helping him make decision as the man still talked to the boy once the man died. The boy thought that “...the best thing was to talk to his father and he did talk to him…”(McCarthy 286) The boy’s personality throughout The Road shows that not all heroes have to be brave, strong, or even be out of their childhood. The boy was a hero in this story, the man also was a hero, but the main asset of any hero is knowing the right thing to do. The man had to make the decisions he made to keep them alive but, the boy has every child’s sixth sense, seeing the good in all people. Although the boy was still a child and a hero he was still male showing, again, the stereotype of male heroes.
The absence of women through The Road proves that women are seen as distractions. The man would have daydreams of his wife and these were also seen as distractions, but ones he could not get away from. Nightmares can be escaped, but escaping daydreams isn’t possible even if they are pleasing they are distracting, they will be in your mind until they have played out. The daydreams are pleasant ones but still there is a voice saying not to listen or pay attention to them. Not all of the daydreams were good ones, the man often thought about his wife’s death.
“He’d taught her himself. Sharper than steel. The edge an atom thick. And she was right. There was no argument. The hundred nights they’d sat up debating the pros and cons of self destruction with the earnestness of philosophers chained to a madhouse wall. In the morning the boy said nothing at all and when they were packed and ready to set out upon the road he turned and looked back at their campsite and he said: She’s gone isn’t she? And he said: Yes, she is.” (McCarthy 58)
This is a very important excerpt because they had just lost part of their family and they act as though it is no big deal, as though they do not care, as though she was a distraction. Although she is not present in their lives the man is always thinking about her, she tried to help them and herself by dying but that did not take the memories away with her death.
No matter whether the presence of women is physical, mental, or emotional, they are distractions in The Road. The roles in this story might have easily been reversed to where the hero was a woman and the lost loved one was a man but the author was obviously proving the stereotype with this choice. The author was showing a stereotypical hero with an untraditional storyline.
Mr. Kerr
Honors English I
November 21, 2014
The Road Final Essay Assignment (Option 6)
Presence of women throughout The Road of a classic hero’s journey, with some unexpected twists, is little to no women present. The way the main characters act without women are actions of different kinds, sadness, bravery, and heroism. The lack of female characters in The Road shows the stereotypical idea of heros only being male and as women being distractions.
The man shows, through his actions, a hero’s attitude towards his main goal, which is getting the boy to a safe place before his death. The Road is not a typical hero story but still follows the Hero Journey developed by Joseph Campbell. The man is always thinking about the best things for the boy and how to save the boy. One of the reasons the man’s actions are heroic is because of the choice he made to keep the boy even though the boy’s mother chose to die. This choice he made is based on the lack of women in his life. Once the woman decided that she couldn’t live in the world anymore, the man started the journey with the boy down the nameless road. In this case maybe the woman wasn’t as much a distraction as she was an obstacle that the man was going to have to get around at some point in order to save the boy from death for as long as possible.
Women are stereotyped to be more caring so if child were to grow up with a woman versus a male it would make sense to have a more caring look on things, but with the boy, even with the absence of his mother he still tries his absolute hardest to care for everyone in The Road’s post apocalyptic time. Perhaps even though the woman wasn’t a physical part of the boy’s life she was still in his heart and mind forever helping him make decision as the man still talked to the boy once the man died. The boy thought that “...the best thing was to talk to his father and he did talk to him…”(McCarthy 286) The boy’s personality throughout The Road shows that not all heroes have to be brave, strong, or even be out of their childhood. The boy was a hero in this story, the man also was a hero, but the main asset of any hero is knowing the right thing to do. The man had to make the decisions he made to keep them alive but, the boy has every child’s sixth sense, seeing the good in all people. Although the boy was still a child and a hero he was still male showing, again, the stereotype of male heroes.
The absence of women through The Road proves that women are seen as distractions. The man would have daydreams of his wife and these were also seen as distractions, but ones he could not get away from. Nightmares can be escaped, but escaping daydreams isn’t possible even if they are pleasing they are distracting, they will be in your mind until they have played out. The daydreams are pleasant ones but still there is a voice saying not to listen or pay attention to them. Not all of the daydreams were good ones, the man often thought about his wife’s death.
“He’d taught her himself. Sharper than steel. The edge an atom thick. And she was right. There was no argument. The hundred nights they’d sat up debating the pros and cons of self destruction with the earnestness of philosophers chained to a madhouse wall. In the morning the boy said nothing at all and when they were packed and ready to set out upon the road he turned and looked back at their campsite and he said: She’s gone isn’t she? And he said: Yes, she is.” (McCarthy 58)
This is a very important excerpt because they had just lost part of their family and they act as though it is no big deal, as though they do not care, as though she was a distraction. Although she is not present in their lives the man is always thinking about her, she tried to help them and herself by dying but that did not take the memories away with her death.
No matter whether the presence of women is physical, mental, or emotional, they are distractions in The Road. The roles in this story might have easily been reversed to where the hero was a woman and the lost loved one was a man but the author was obviously proving the stereotype with this choice. The author was showing a stereotypical hero with an untraditional storyline.