The Road Memorable Passage

"They squatted in the road and and ate cold rice and cold beans that they'd cooked days ago.  Already beginning to ferment.  No place to make a fire that would not be seen.  They slept huddled together in the rank quilts in the dark and the cold.  He held the boy close to him.  So thin.  My heart, he said.  My heart.  But he knew that if he were a good father still it might well be as she had said.  That the boy was all that stood between him and death." (p. 29)

• This passage clearly shows us a significant idea in the book -- that the man lives for his child, who is the light in the face of darkness
• The tone is somber and contemplative
• Boy as a part of his father's heart -- he lives, loves, and does everything through him and for him -- the boy pumps vital blood through his veins
• The boy, and the solidarity he provides allows the father to keep faith
• They are "each other's world entire"
• His heart still longs for the oblivion of death, perhaps -- but his commitment to fatherhood helps him survive and carry the fire

This passage could be connected to multiple thematic ideas -- among these are love, loneliness, and hope.  The boy is the man's hope to live.  It is most related to this idea -- hope and solidarity interconnected.

        There is something about this passage by McCarthy that exemplifies the idea of solidarity and warmth against the darkness and cold.  As a reader, we can see how overpowering the gray loneliness and darkness is and this passage, with the two protagonists seeming tiny and insignificant.  It is a vast world of hopelessness.  But the father has a small source of hope, his son, the reason why he keeps faith.  The father said earlier, "If he is not the word of God God never spoke."  The juxtaposition of this passage, of light and hope and life, against darkness and desolation and death makes the light all the brighter.  McCarthy does this effectively throughout the novel.

        And the boy as his heart, that which pumps vital blood through the father's veins, is a powerful idea closely connected to love.  The man is determined to be a good father, and this determination keeps him alive.  As human beings in lonely worlds, we strive for solidarity and connection.  We need a role in any world.  The father's is to love and sacrifice for his son -- this is what he lives for, and the boy's is to preach goodness.

        This passage shows me love.  Love for kin and other human beings, which is more powerful than darkness and hate.  It makes me feel grateful for my siblings, my parents, and everyone in my life that gives me light.