McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 173

Everyone will be satisfied when everything comes to an end. Trust me, no one would rather be in this hell of a world. I mean, unless it’s someone like you.

Me? I don’t like-

I know. But you chose to be in it because of him. I don’t blame you.

You would do the same, wouldn’t you?

The old man stays in silence as he stares at the fire.

You wouldn’t-

You don’t know anything.

The old man picked up the little twig from the ground and threw it in the fire.

You had one?

Billy. My happiness only lasted 7 years. Never saw him since then.

The man took a stare at his sleeping son, and turned back to look at the fire as it intensified.

There was barely enough bread for us three. I suffered an accident, and was unable to work. I preferred that he ate.

Three?

The old man stood in silence while he threw another twig at the fire.

She didn’t want our angel to live the same fateism. Selfishly, she took my heart with him to the adoption center. She never told me where but rather why.

I’m pretty sure he’s an angel. Angels keep going forever.

You’re right. Just remember. Your hope is just like this fire. You have to feed it twigs. If it’s small, it will not warmth you. If it’s big, you’ll have enough to warmth others.

And how’s your fire?

Right now I have ashes. But I rather have my ashes than none at all.

One of the characters that made me curious ever since I finished The Road was definitely the old man. We knew him as Ely. One of my favorite parts of the book was when he felt vulnerable when he saw the boy. It made realize that he still had a paternal instinct. Which made me conclude that he might’ve been a father at a time. Even though he didn’t quite share his story with the man, I knew that his story was time worthy, which is why I wanted to explore that part of the book.

I guided myself from Ely’s paternal instinct. That made me decide how and why Ely’s attitude was a huge part for his character. When the papa and the boy encountered Ely, he automatically thought that they were robbers. He didn’t even try to run or fight it. Which made me realize that maybe he’s already accustomed to other people taking away what is his. That gave me the idea of the plot.

The plot consisted of the Ely, his little boy, and his wife. After suffering a tragic accident that enabled Ely to work, he could no longer support his family.  It came to a part when they became extremely poor and they couldn’t support their 7 year old boy anymore. His wife then took the decision to take their son to an adoption center. The wife thought her son would be better with another family that could give him what he deserved. The wife took Ely’s son away, and he ended up regretting it forever.

  During the organization of the plot, themes and motifs came naturally. One of the themes that automatically stood out to me was hope. When something you love so dearly, and it’s taken away from you, you tend to lose motivation, hope, and purpose in life. Specially if you lost it all, like in a world where there’s literally nothing left. You’ve got to work what you’ve got. Sometimes having hope is the only key for survival. But in the contrary, if you actually have something to fight for, your desire for survival should be greater than any other person. Which is why I made Ely share his story with the man. To serve as a reminder to keep going. Even if the odds seemed to be against him. The motif I chose to do was fire. They dealt with fire pretty much everyday, which is why it was a great idea to metaphorically show the importance of hope, and the way it’s maintained so it doesn’t die. Just like fire.