The End of The Road

I believe that the conclusion of The Road was a very satisfying one considering that the boy was described as being very sickly and thin throughout the novel.  The father could die in good conscience, because his sacrifices were not for nothing.  After his death, the boy encountered other travelers that appeared to have good moral fortitude.  They seemed eager to adopt the boy and now it seemed that he would not be surviving for absolutely no purpose at all contrary to the old man’s belief.  There were now children his age, which meant that hopefully one day they could reproduce and help to save the human race.  It also offers some hope of renewing civilization somewhere down the line.  When it was just he and his father, it seemed like the whole time they were not really living- just surviving.  Here, with other children and a girl his age, it gives more happiness and meaning in the boy’s existence.  If what the old man had thought were true: that there were no children left, then in all honesty all the hardships of the boy and his father would have been for nothing.

Open Letter to Parents

I think that the most important thing for any parent is communication in any form.  It is evident that at the end of the novel when we discover that Beth still held on to Conrad’s possessions, it showed that she did in fact love her son.  The problem, however, is that she did not know or could not bring herself to show him that affection.  If parents love their children, but do not show them their feelings, it can make the kids feel unappreciated and uncared for.  They could feel like they don’t even matter, because if their parents don’t love them, they may feel that no one will.  In Conrad’s case, he was dealing with a lot of psychological issues after the death of his brother and his mother did not seem to sympathize with him very much. She thought that he was acting up to target her, which clearly wasn’t the case.  Calvin faults himself as well, because before the suicide attempt he didn’t think he was involved enough in his son’s life to realize that his brother’s death had a huge effect on Conrad.  In good times and especially in hard times, parents need to sit down and talk with their children so they can better deal with their issues.

The Road Part 1: The Mother's Death

The Mother’s Death

            In a post apocalyptic world, I’m sure that it is normal for anyone to think that all hope is lost and that possibly death may be the best option for living in the current situation is too filled with despair.   This emotion clearly overwhelmed the mother to the point that she felt she needed to take her own life.  I would say that if she were alone or even if it were just her and her husband, than it would be okay for her to kill herself.  Her belief that eventually they would die of starvation or that they would be murdered or she would be raped are probably more likely predictions than them finding refuge.  In that case it is easy to think there is nothing to live for.  However, she did have a child to worry about and I have never known a mother that would kill herself to leave her child to fend for him/herself.  It was completely selfish to leave him behind and I think she should have tried to survive for as long as they could until all options were gone.  If it did come to a point where the father would be captured and possibly tortured and she and her son would be raped, I am sure that the father would then be prepared to use his gun to kill himself and his family to avoid the horrors that they feared most.

The Road Part Two: Cannibalism

Cannibalism

            One of the most disturbing parts of this novel is when the father and son discover the house in which people are being eaten by other human beings.  In normal circumstances this would be seen by many as unquestionably unjustifiable.  However, the situations in the world being that they are in this book, can one make the argument that it is ethical to perform acts of cannibalism in order to survive? 

            In my opinion the manner in which the men in these rounded up and captured helpless women and weaker men for future slaughter is a horrific act of injustice that cannot be defended.  Even if all conventional society is gone that should not give people the excuse to do whatever they want.  If an act of rape or murder is committed in a post apocalyptic world then it is still rape or murder.  Granted the act of eating another person may not be as evil as what was previously mentioned, because someone wouldn’t devour someone else just for the sake of doing it.  They may be doing it out of desperation.  But hopefully if I had the choice between starvation or eating another person who still has a strong will to live, I would take my own life.

            I would make an exception to the above argument in the case that in a small group where there are very few resources left and the people are desperate for their next meal, they all agree to randomly select a person to eat so the others can survive.  I believe there have been documented cases of this in history.  It may be horrific, but if everyone unanimously agrees that this is a good course of action than there are arguments for this situation.