The Co-Existence of Optimism and Pessimism in the Book " the Road"

The Co-Existence of Optimism and Pessimism in the Book " the Road"

In his book The Road, McCarthy incorporates both optimism and pessimism. The feeling of optimism, however, is represented with a greater frequency than the feelings of pessimism. It is true that the overall setting of the book is pessimistic, primarily due to the dismal and bleak atmosphere, but underlying optimism is conveyed via the interactions between the father and his son. McCarthy reveals optimism in the boy’s thoughts and actions, the southbound journey and the relationship between the father and son.
In a world gone completely awry, the boy is the light of humanity that permeates the ashen, overcast world. While both the man and the boy see the crueler side of human beings, deception and greed, the boy believes in the goodness of man-kind. The boy’s faith in humanity can be seen during the encounter with a fellow refugee, Ely, who is without a companion and without food. The boy’s compassion is reflected when he pleads with his father to sacrifice some of their own precious food stores and give them to Ely. Throughout the story, the boy has dreams that he refuses to divulge to his father. By doing so, the boy seeks to remove a burden from his father by not allowing him to worry about the dreams that trouble his son. The boy exhibits a genuine concern towards the well-being of others even though the environment he lives in should prevent him from doing so. The boy also retains hope that the world will always have the “good guys” that share his ideals, mainly pertaining to the treatment of others.

The journey the father and son take is, in and of itself, a symbol of optimism. The two believe that there is something better, something worth searching for, hence the reason for the trek. If there was no evidence of hope or optimism, they most likely would have used the bullets in the pistol to end their hopeless lives. A feeling of hope presents itself during the infinite quest for food and provisions. These are examples of optimism, but the most...

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