Mini-Literary analysis. The Road: How is the boy a representation of a Christ-like figure?

Upon completion of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, one wouldn’t think it to have very much relation or comparison to anything from the Bible or Christianity, but after studying the text a bit; I’ve come to find some relation between the two.  Although McMarthy was not a professed Christian whatsoever, he still creates some situations in his writing throughout The Road that could be seen as spiritual or related to our Christian faith in some way. 

We know from the text that the boy from the story looks to his father for protection, guidance, provision, and reassurance.  The relationship between the boy and his father could be compared to Jesus’ relationship with God the Father.  Although the father from the story didn’t exactly act in the exact same manner as God the Father did with Christ, he was still everything the boy needed.  The boy couldn’t have survived without his father.  We know from the gospels that Jesus was afraid of what he was sent to earth to do.  He was submissive to his Father, but would still continually ask for strength and provision seeing as he did not feel fully prepared to handle the situation at times.  Jesus was always in communication with his Father and listening for what he was to do next; -very much like how the boy was always looking to his father to find out what was going to happen next. 

The boy in the story also reminded me of how Christ would act if he were to come upon some of the situations the boy and his father did throughout the story.  Or, in other words, the boy acted in the way Christians today should act and treat others.  The father on the other hand reminded me of the way most Christians today would handle the situations they came upon. 

The most prominent scene that comes to mind from The Road that could be compared to a story in the Bible is when the father and son come upon a man on the side of the road who called himself Eli.  The father is skeptical and somewhat reluctant to help the old man, but the boy feels as if he’s obligated to help him, like there is no other option but to help the man and give him something to eat.  On page 163, the father says to the son, “I don’t think you should touch him.” But the son ignores that statement and responds with, “Maybe we could give him something to eat.”  The boy responds to the situation he’s in like Jesus would, -or like a “Good Samaritan” would.

This situation is similar to the story of the leper on the side of the road and the Good Samaritan from the Bible.  A man traveling on a road from Jerusalem to Jericho is attacked by robbers, stripped of his clothes, and left half dead on the side of the road.  A priest and a Levite walk right past the man without stopping, afraid to touch him.  But soon enough the Good Samaritan comes along and helps the dying man.  He gives him something to eat and even bandages some of his wounds.  There is no question to me that the boy is like the Good Samaritan.  He gives the man on the side of the road who was half dead something to eat and even convinces his father to let him stay with them for a night.  The boy represented Christ throughout the whole situation, while the father had to be convinced by his own son that it was okay and safe to let the man stay with them for a night.  The father acted like most Christians today would react if they saw a man dying on the side of the road.  They would convince themselves its none of their business and someone else would come along to help instead of them having to go out of their way. 

Christians should have the mindset of others first, then them self, but it is usually the opposite.  Jesus always put other before himself and in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan man definitely put others before himself.  The boy reflects both Christ and the Good Samaritan in that in almost every situation he and his father came upon, he always thought to help others before himself.  Even as scarce as their food supply was, when the boy thought he saw another young boy around his age, he wanted so badly to turn around and help him.  He was willing to share half of his food, which was already half of a can of food.  The father had the mindset of “me first, then others” –sadly, much like that of many Christians today.  We (Christians) seem to have to make ourselves comfortable before we decide to help others.  It should be the other way around!

I strongly believe the boy represented a picture of how Jesus would handle very difficult situations, and the father represented the rest of the world and/or, sadly, the majority of Christians today. 

annotative - The Road

“a shopper from the commissaries of hell”

Commissary:

Dictionary.com: (1) n. a store that sells food and supplies to the personnel or workers in a military post, mining camp, lumber camp, or the like.
(2) a person to whom some responsibility or role is delegated by a superior power; a deputy.

Oxford English Dictionary: (1) n.  ...One to whom a special duty or charge is committed by a superior power; one commissioned to act as representative; a deputy, delegate....
(2) An officer or official who has charge of the supply of food, stores, and transport, for a body of soldiers. (Formerly they also inspected the musters of men.)

Urban Dictionary: In the context of incarceration, a store for provisions available to inmates on occasion.

These shoppers would eat your children in front of your eyes, tunnel among the ruins and crawl out from the rubble carrying charred and unidentified tins of food in nylon nets... 

It’s as if the author gives the reader a type of imagery of hell, where blackened demon-like men rule earth and scavenge for anything they can find worth some type of value, -even your own children as food.  The father in the story presumes that the world is soon to be populated by these types of men.  I think the vivid description and imagery the author uses in this one sentence adds depth to the story by really accentuating the reader’s perception of the type of world they’re living in.  It sort of gives the reader a glimpse of how truly bad and desolate it is.  These “shoppers” don’t make sense to me because honestly, if I were alive during a time such as described in the story, I wouldn’t want to live.  There would not really be any part of me that would have the desire to stay alive and/or do whatever I had to do in order to preserve my life.  To me it would be like life isn’t worth living.  But for these men, they go so far as to eat children to stay alive.  That thought is somewhat unperceivable to me.  I really don’t think we as a society would ever become that desolate… no matter what happens.  But I guess I’ll really never know!

Commissary. Oxford English dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.seuniversity.edu:2048/view/Entry/37133?rskey=nvjk7v&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

Commissary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/commissary

Commissary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=commissary

Fire.

“We’re going to be okay, aren’t we Papa? Yes. We are. And nothing bad is going to happen to us. That’s right. Because we’re carrying the fire. Yes. Because we’re carrying the fire.” (pg 83)

    This phrase “carrying the fire” is seen in more than one place throughout our readings so far.  What is the fire?  The Oxford English Dictionary defines fire as follows:

Fire: n. The natural agency or active principle operative in combustion; popularly conceived as a substance visible in the form of flame or of ruddy glow or incandescence.

Another online literary symbolism dictionary stated that fire could be a symbol of inspiration, yet it is most predominantly the symbol of hell.  The same source also listed a few other ideas of fire pertaining to purification, resurrection, and spiritual enlightenment.  Personally, I see fire as being a sense of warmth, sometimes painful to put out, sometimes hard to start/make; and of course the spiritual side of me sees fire as being something that doesn’t die – like the fire that’s been placed in me by the Holy Spirit. 
    Why does the author repeatedly use this phrase throughout conversations between the father and son?  The Christian in me wants to believe that “the fire” is their “good” spirit inside of them.  The book also repeatedly uses the phrase, “the good guys.”  An example is when the son says, “we’re still the good guys right?”  I think the phrase “we’re carrying the fire” is very significant to this story because it forces the reader to really think about what it is.  Now that we’ve dug in a little deeper into the story I’ve begun to enjoy it more, but I still find myself asking, “What is the significance to them carrying the fire?”
    The author also uses enjambment continuously throughout the book.  His refrain from using quotation marks and other punctuations can be confusing at times, but it also engages the reader and forces them to try to figure out who is saying what and what is going on in the story, adding depth to the story.  I enjoy when the author leaves things for the reader to figure out on their own because it makes the read challenging.
    I believe the fire could also be another name for the gun (FIREarm) that the father carries at all times.  The son might think that they’re safe because they have a gun – aka “the fire” that can keep them from harm’s way.  Although the meaning of the fire hasn’t been discovered yet, I believe this phrase is going to continue to be an important one throughout the text, and one that the reader needs to pay attention to in order to fully understand what’s going on. 

References:

"Fire." Dictionary of Symbolism. Web. <http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/F/fire.html>.
"Fire." Oxford English Dictionary. Web. <http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.seuniversity.edu:2048/search?searchType=dictionary&q=fire&_searchBtn=Search_)>.