TRUST AND THE BEGINNING OF THE ROAD

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is a novel which narrates the story of a father and his son as they struggle after the “end of the world”. At the beginning of the book, they encounter themselves in a cave sleeping as if they had lost all their belongings. As readers, with this scene we can infer that the father and the son are survivors of a world catastrophe which took away everything they had, including their beliefs.
“He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of
God God never spoke.” (The Road, pg. 3)

In this quotation from the book we can see how the father is in an enormous spiritual battle in which he has lost so much, that for him the child is his only hope. If he lost him he wouldn’t have anything left, since he is the only reason for him struggling to survive the horrible conditions. The child does not only serve as an allegory for hope, but as well represents the only innocence that remains. As a kid, he is actually not aware of the events that are happening and has no control over them, since he is frequently trusting hid Dad and obeying him.
“Can I ask you something? he said.
Yes. Of course.
Are we going to die?
Sometime. Not now.
And we're still going south.
Yes.
So we'll be warm.
Yes.
Okay.
Okay what?
Nothing. Just okay.
Go to sleep.
Okay.
I'm going to blow out the lamp. Is that okay?
Yes. That's okay.
And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something?
Yes. Of course you can.
What would you do if I died?
If you died I would want to die too.
So you could be with me?
Yes. So I could be with you.
Okay. “(The Road, Pg. 5-6)

The son sees his father as a role model and a person he can trust, and due to this he never questions his decisions and agrees with everything he says. This is clear in the excerpt above in which we can see how he responds by saying “Okay” to everything.
In this first chapters I really liked the way McCarthy is telling the story with so many details, making everything sound so real and melancholic. Also, while reading these pages I enjoyed a lot the relationship between both characters since it is based on trust and relying on each other to move on. The Father needs the child for hope, and the child needs the Father to take care of him.