Meaning of Work as a Whole (p215-end)

     Due to a great deal of foreshadowing, McCarthy's readers are most likely able to figure out at least part of the ending of this book. Leading up to the end, the man grows sicker every day as he begins to cough up blood more frequently. The worse it gets, the more the reader can assume that he is going to die in the end. His illness overtakes him and his death leaves the boy alone in this post-apocalyptic world to survive on his own. However, it is unexpected (at least for me) that the boy is not entirely alone after his father's passing. Almost immediately after, he comes across another man, who is part of a smaller group trying to survive much like him and his father were.

    Like his father had taught him, the boy is very hesitant to trust the stranger and holds his father's gun at the ready upon first meeting him. But the stranger is able to convince the boy to drop the gun after continuously reassuring him that they are the "good guys" just like his father was. As we have seen throughout the novel, the boy is the father's way of staying in touch with the moral part of his soul; only killing/harming others when absolutely necessary. 

    I did find it odd though, that almost immediately after his father died the boy disregards his father's last wishes to keep the boy safe. The man tells him that he "needs to find the good guys but [he] can't take any chances," (278). However, at the same time, it reflects the differences in their characters. The boy is definitely unsure at first since his father had taught and influenced him to be, but it doesn't take much convincing to get the boy to willingly go with this new man.

    From a survival standpoint, it makes more sense for the young boy to be with at least one other rather than by himself since he would most likely die shortly after being on his own. But from an analytic point of view, the boy has been viewed as a religious figure by his father throughout the novel; an innocent angel. Metaphorically being the closest thing to God as anything else on earth, we as the readers trust that the boy is able to tell the difference between the "good" and "bad" guys.

    His ultimate fate is unknown since once he says goodbye to his father, the boy's ending is mostly up to the reader to decide. We hope that this group is the "good guys" and that the boy survives, but we don't know much about his future.

    It is interesting to note that the boy meets the new man while on the road (I have analyzed this road as a symbol of perseverance in my earlier blog posts). The boy's desire to push forward for his father's sake leads him straight back to the road since he decides to keep going rather than give up. Everything that has happened on this road has given their quest meaning or a new view of their goals.

    They come across a man who has been struck by lightning, who the boy desperately wants to help. But the man reassures him that there is nothing they can do to help so they have to continue. This is the beginning of the boy's understanding that they can't help everyone and have to look out for themselves first.

    Ely, who they met on the road earlier, left the man wondering if the quest was worth it since they very well could be close to the last beings on Earth. The man believed in God because of his innocent son, but Ely made him question this belief slightly as his days became worse (170).

    The thief snapped the man back into reality in terms of not letting his guard down and reminding him that his number one priority is their survival.  Although at this point, the man knows that he is going to die so he is doing his best to leave his son with the best chance he can to continue the journey on his own. So much so that he initially steals the thief's clothes and shoes, leaving him with nothing at all (257). The man's actions reflect the importance of survival and what lengths he'd be willing to go to save his son.

    One thing that this novel seems to highlight, is how survival instincts will almost always win over the common good. The boy is really the only truly innocent soul in the novel, but even he learns that staying alive is often not accompanied by kindness. The man teaches the boy what he can before he dies, and reminds the boy to "do everything the way [they] did it," no matter how the boy may be feeling about it (257). He comes to understand what is at stake, but still remains the innocent angel on the inside.

    Showcasing the many ways that one can react under such circumstances is a major takeaway from this novel. We see how some will resort to cannibalism, murder, theft, and abandonment to save themselves (which I have explained in previous posts). The book isn't suggesting that we should physically prepare ourselves for this type of event because it could come at any moment. Instead, it is analyzing the survival instincts that we all possess and how these instincts will show themselves when our lives are at stake.

    As the boy learns how to survive, the reader learns with him as this idea is developed throughout the novel. Much like him, we learn first hand how brutal some desicions they have to make are, such as when they had to leave the man in the road after he was struck my lightning or leave Ely behind because there was nothing they could do for them.

    Overall, I believe that, in a grueling way, this novel shows the reader the extreme things that someone would be willing to do to stay alive and protect their family. Even though these actions may have once seemed unfathomable when the world wasn't in such a horrible state, they have now become a crucial part of their survival. The moral part of this book is also important since the man and the boy have to survive in a way that still makes them the "good guys" in order to keep the connection between the two of them because that is the only good that they have left to hold onto in this world.