Analyzing Morality and Human Behavior in Cormac McCarthy's The Road

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of morality in Cormac McCarthy's novel, 'The Road'. It delves into the post-apocalyptic setting, exploring the characters' struggles for survival amidst societal collapse and cannibalism. The essay examines the father-son relationship as a representation of ethics and the conflict between good and evil. It also explores the influence of psychoanalytic theory on the characters' behaviors and moral choices, highlighting how external factors shape their actions. The essay discusses the themes of cannibalism and the loss of humanity, while also contrasting the characters who uphold moral values with those who succumb to immorality. The analysis includes references to the characters' actions, their motivations, and the external factors that influence their decisions.

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Morality in The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The novel, The Road by Cormac McCarthy tells a story of a man and his son who
try to escape the horror of a nuclear catastrophe that left all animals and plans extinct
and ashes falls from the sky leaving the ground dry, burned and unproductive. The
duo follows a road hoping that they will reach the coast where they will get a better
life. They are however forced to overcome various challenges including sickness,
starvation and threat of attacks from thieves and cannibals that seem to dominate the
road. In most cases, they find themselves with nothing except some little food and
clothes they find from abandoned houses that keep them alive before they get lucky to
find some more. The novel narrates the story of the two characters in the post-
apocalyptic America with civilization turning most of the people into cannibals that
are willing to do anything so they can continue living and they have not morals to
uphold. Notably, there is a lot of immorality though there are characters like the father
and son who represent ethics.
Morality is an important aspect of any society since people live a life guided by
the principles of ethics which is healthy for cohesiveness and co-existence of people.
There is a strong relationship between psychoanalytic theory and morality as defined
by Freud. Psychoanalysis aims at examining the interaction of conscious and
unconscious elements in the minds of a person by bringing out the repressed fears as
well as the conflicts in the mind by understanding “superego”, “ego ideal and

“conscience” (Nass 56). In addition to this, the sense of morality is driven by the
instinctual and biological forces. Freud note that psychoanalytic theory can help in
investigating elements of morality in the society and as it helps in examining the
current thoughts, feelings and desires of a person. The concept of morality in the
novel, The Road can be well understood through the behaviors of the characters and
how they develop throughout the novel.
The term morality is used to refer to the beliefs of what is right and what is wrong
behavior or the degree to which something is considered to be good or bad. It can be
devastating living in a post-apocalyptic period since one is deprived all the basic
necessities and these situations affect the manner in which the person thinks and
consequently how he behaves. The novel portrays two themes of the good versus evil
and civilization has influenced the ethical standards that anyone should emulate. The
survivors of the dying world seem the ones representing the positive life or rather
choosing the good path of life. The path chosen by anyone tends to determine
morality and it indicate ones senses. The father has been on the limelight of guiding
the son through the right path. He encourages his son never to give up as he tells him
that he is the one with fire that will light his entire life by saying “It’s insider you. It
was always there, I can see it” (McCarthy 145). This is demonstrated when they two
finds a house with humans ready to be eaten and the son asks his father “We wouldn't
ever eat anybody, would we? Even If we were starving” (McCarthy 65). In response
to this, the father replies “No. We wouldn’t. No matter what”(McCarthy 65)
Psychoanalytic theory notes that the way a person thinks or acts is influenced by
external factors especially the surrounding which defines the character and morals of
a a person. Despite the father and the son going for days without food, they are not
ready to give up their sense of humanity and turn into cannibals.

Notably, the environment is forcing people to choose the kind of life that they
want to live. The boy seems to be so good and he is ready to retain this behavior no
matter the challenge. In fact, he has equipped himself with instruments that will scare
anybody with ill mind. This is demonstrated when the boy acknowledges that “And
we’re carrying the fire” (McCarthy 66) which shows that the two have weapons to
fight any enemy that may come their way. Clearly, the boy is the ambassador of good
moral behavior as he has unwavering principles and it is clear that he is not willing to
entertain anyone who will lead him to become bad boy. The boy has a helping hand as
he is sympathetic with the man who was struck by lightning. He says “He’s been
struck by lightning. Can’t we help him? Papa?”(McCarthy 25). This shows that the
boy understands the essence of helping others. The boy tries to avoid as much as
possible anything that may make him a bad boy and he is see rejecting the gun that is
offered to him by his father in several instances throughout the novel. For instance, he
would say “I don’t want the gun” (McCarthy 36), this is despite his father asking him
to take the gun. The son is aware that the gun has the potential of killing. There are
characteristics that have been used in the novel to distinguish between the good and
the bad boys. Some of the rules that define good morals as listed by Wielenberg are;
“Don’t eat people, don’t steal, don’t lie, Keep your promises, Help others and Never
give up” (Wielenberg 4). These are some of the principles that the man tries to teach
his son by doing what is right despite other people having abandoned morality.
As stated earlier, the novel does not only present the good part of life, but there
are some people who have chosen the bad things which constitute immorality. While
the world changes, a person is left to make up his mind and choose the path the best
fits in. This is where the psychoanalytical theory comes in as a person, through his
conscious mind chooses the path that his feelings, thoughts and desires lead him. The

aspect of bad morals have been portrayed through the concept of cannibalism which is
associated with ultimate evil and the emergency of post-humanism and how people no
longer value humanity. Cannibalism has been the root cause of all evils that are
depicted in the novel. For the fear of being eaten by their fellow human beings, some
people opt to commit suicide so that they do not witness the barbaric practice. For
instance, after the destruction of the country, the man and his wife and son remain
homeless and hopeless but since the woman is fearful to protect her child she says
“Sooner or later they will catch us and the will kill us. They will rape me. They will
rape him. They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you won’t face it”
(McCarthy 27). It is evident that cannibalism is a culture that should be abolished and
it should be forgotten long time ago. While the gun is given to the boy so that he can
protect himself from the cannibals, it is however used in other immoral activities such
as “suicide, self-defense as well as killing for food” (Wielenberg 7). The novel also
portrays the people who are striving to have moral values but they are terribly failing
and due to this, they do not care for the morality of other people. For instance,
Sanchez notes that the “dystopian immorality is first introduced in the translucent
monster than haunts the fathers dream” (n.p). There are invisible demons who are
constantly attacking the man and with the aim of driving him to the world of
immorality.
It seems that immorality outweighs morality though the father and his boy are
tirelessly fighting for morals. We are all faced with situations whereby you are
required to make good decisions but the decision you are about to make is influenced
by external factors and you end up doing the wrong thing. While we strive to uphold
morality in our lives, we are faced by many unavoidable circumstances that see us
making bad decisions. From the novel, there is a very thin line that separates good

from evil and the majority seems to be on the evil side as depicted by the many
cannibals attacking the few good people, represented by the father and son. The
goodness of many people have been lost into the majority of bad people thus creating
an immoral society.

Works cited
Sanchez, Carla. M. “Survival and Morality in Cormac McCarthy's The Road:
Exploring Aquinian Grace and the Boy as Messiah”.2015. Accessed from
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1031/survival-and-morality-in-cormac-
mccarthys-the-road-exploring-aquinian-grace-and-the-boy-as-messiah
Wielenberg, Erik J. "God, Morality, and Meaning in Cormac McCarthy's" The
Road"." The Cormac McCarthy Journal 8.1 (2010): 1-19. Accessed from
http://kmckean.myteachersite.com/teacher/files/documents/god,%20morality,%20and
%20meaning.pdf
McCarthy, Cormac. The road. Pan Macmillan, 2009. Accesed from
https://epdf.tips/cormac-mccarthy-the-
road0f57fa64e6e4f343e75afc8b080c76ec35970.html
Nass, Martin L. "The superego and moral development in the theories of Freud
and Piaget." The psychoanalytic study of the child 21.1 (1966): 51-68. Accessed from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/00797308.1966.11823252?
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