The Good and Bad in Humanity

Authors

  • Bryony Claire Pratt University of British Columbia

Abstract

This essay focuses on the themes of humanity and morality in Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel The Road. I use secondary sources to demonstrate how the two main characters, a father and son, are conflicted with the idea of morality in their journey of survival. The challenge to define what is 'good' and 'bad,' and live according to that moral standard is emphasized throughout the novel and is discussed analytically in this essay.

Author Biography

Bryony Claire Pratt, University of British Columbia

I am currrently an English Honours student at the University of British Columbia.

References

Frye, Steven. Understanding Cormac McCarthy. Columbia, US: University of South Carolina Press, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 3 April 2016.

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Vintage, 2006. Print.

Murphet, Julian, and Mark Steven. Styles of Extinction: Cormac McCarthy's The Road. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. EBook Library. Web. 3 April 2016.

Wielenberg, Erik J. “God, Morality, and Meaning in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road."” The Cormac McCarthy Journal 8.1 (2010): 1–19. Penn State University Press, 2010. Web. 3 April 2016.

Published

2017-06-21

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

License


Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).