The clear conflict in "The Road" is survival, under the man vs. environment category. When the world is at its end, history repeats itself and the man and his son act like nomadic cavemen. Every day, they must find food and shelter while hiding themselves from the other survivors. In multiple situations, the reader's grip on the book tightens as illness and inevitable death are foreshadowed. In such a dark time, the cliche "every man for himself" becomes religiously practiced.
The underlying conflict in this novel is between the protagonist and himself, following the criteria of man vs. self. Throughout the entire story, the character is in turmoil. He had to come to terms with his wife's suicide and desperately tries to carry all of the family's burdens. And whilst he strives to preserve his son's youth and innocence, he seems to be leaving himself in dark anxiety. He seems to try to protect the boy from the harsh realities surrounding them; consequently, there is no one he can speak truthfully of his own fears. His thoughts remain in his mind, which I suspect may be what leads to the end of the book. As I near the final page, I predict that what defeats him is not that which surrounds him, but that which is inside. That being said, this is only a prediction.
Well written Kaitlin!
ReplyDeleteAs I started reading your post I thought about the movie "Cast Away", about how it displays man vs. environment. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to fend for your own food and shelter.Plus, not knowing whether or not you will be saved. However, as I kept reading there were some differences between your novel and the movie. The book your reading seems very interesting.
Kaitlin,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, one has to wonder what is keeping your book's protagonist alive. Wandering in a desolate wasteland and barely surviving on a day to day basis doesn't exactly give one the morale to live on. To me, it seems that the only thing keeping your book's protagonist alive is his son, who I assume he deeply cherishes. Without his son I guess that your novel's protagonist would not have made it as far as he did for he has no incentive as to keep his life.
And as with most novels and movies, I like to put myself in the shoes of the protagonist. If I were in a setting such as that, the final thing that would keep me alive is, as silly as it sounds my pride. For I have always been entertained by the prospect of cheating death and I would like to cheat death and laugh at it's ugly face for as long as I can. But that is only in my imagination; one usually reacts to these kinds of situations differently than planned.
As always Kaitlin, your post was a good read! You've got me in the mood to watch a survival movie. Hopefully though your novel won't end like the tragic survival movies that I watch.