Symbolism in The Road

1)The road or the journey has often been used as a metaphor for life itself - the journey from birth to death. McCarthy explores this idea in the road especially with the man. The man goes on a journey on the road seeking redemption and peace from his past, he learns to let go of his past and to build a relationship again with his son. At the end of the book the man dies this relates to the idea about a journey being a metaphor for life itself as in life its envitable that you will die. The death of the man doesn't come as a shock because its expected due to the conditions they're living in and the subtle hints of weakness in the man.

2)In American Culture the road is an important symbol due to America being a large country crossing the continent symbolically shows a pioneering spirit. America is a country of hope and resilance to chose the right path. In the road the man and the boy follow the right path where the man completes his journey and the boy continues his journey with a nuclear family as protection.There are many roads in America this could represent the many different paths in life you can take but each leads you to a different fate. The bad guys follow the wrong path to cannibilism and inhumanity, where people are seen as food for surival. The boy is the pioneering spirit for the man and himself he takes them on the right path of humanity.

3)In the Greek tale of The Odyssey Ulysses goes on a journey where he encounters many mental and physical tests and trials. This tale is similar to the journey of the man as he encounters physical tests when he is shot and when he starts to feel ill because he has to decide whether to carry on or to give up. Mentally he is tested as he has to let go of the past and allow himself to forgive and forget the past in order to seek redemption. The boy also encounters mental tests as he learns to cope with teh death and destruction of the world whilst still only being a young boy. He has to cope with the death of his father and learn to survive for himself. Both the man and the boy also encounter physical tests in regard to hunger as there are many parts of the book where they have to go hungry due to the lack of food.

4)The journey as a structure for a novel implies a particular kind of pattern. In the road theres ins't a particular pattern however in the scene where the boy is playing with a truck and the follow on from that scene is the arrival of the roadrat implies a pattern that everything good always follows on with something bad. In each event in the novel the boy and the man learn something about life and their humanity. For example when the man leaves his belongings in the road it shows that he has learnt to leave his past behind and move on.