Binary Opposition Analysis: The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Novel)

Sorry, I know I went a little crazy with the pictures, but it's weird to see a face for the man and the boy. Plus the shopping cart sign kind of "geeks" me out... Anyways...

We all know what The Road by Cormac McCarthy is about... a man and boy, father and son, struggling to survive in a post apocalyptic world. On a more inferential level, The Road is about hope, morals, and all of that other good stuff.

Binary Opposition Analysis:

-the old world vs the new world : Throughout the text, the man has dreams, essentially flashbacks, to the old world- his childhood, times when he wife was alive, etc. These are then contrasted with the new world when the man is awoken from such dreams, reinforcing the reality of his harsh environment and cruel and unrelenting life for him and his son that he so desperately tries to preserve.

-the man vs the boy : this is a pinnacle opposition within the text. The man and the boy are constantly in moral opposition of each other. The boy doesn't want to eat the food found in the cellar because it is not theirs. The boy wants to offer the old man food. The boy doesn't want to leave the man that tried to rob them naked and alone, etc. This opposition is unique because it seems to keep the boy lave but the man human. If the man did not take some of the actions required to protect his son, then the boy would most likely be dead. However, if the boy did not pressure the man to help the old man, then the man would have lost a part of his humanity. The man also represents a product of the new world, whereas the boy, inversely, represents all that of the old world.

-death vs survival : death and survival are uniquely contrasted because it is assumed that the death of the man would lead to the same for the boy. Thus, death and survival are codependent upon one another. That being said, this opposition comes to a pinnacle at the conclusion of the novel when the man dies and the boy is left to survive on his own. The survival of the boy is called into question, since he no longer has the man for safety and guidance.

-monster vs moral/good vs bad : at points along the road, the man and the boy come across instances of cannibalism and other horrendous acts (baby-bar-b-que anyone?). The man himself kills another with a gun and leaves a man naked and stranded, however, he deems these actions to be moral since they were done to protect his son. That being said, others may have killed people and eaten them for their own survival, but the man still considers this to be over the line. When the boy asks if they are the good guys, the man always replies that they are in fact, and that the men he has had to kill or the men that tried to capture them are the bad guys.

Implications:

There are many implications of The Road, too many to recount them all. Some of the main ones, in my opinion, are that of the need for hope and morality. The man has hope for the boy's survival and opportunity for more in life than he has received thus far, therefore, the man survives himself. Meanwhile, the boy presents opportunities for the man to remain human and show others morality in his actions, allowing for more than their physical bodies to persevere. The man and the boy's interactions, and at times, opposition with each other is what establishes these two key notions within the novel. Interestingly, Psychoanalysis can also be applied. One of the main theories of psychoanalysis focuses on Freud's and his concept of the Superego, the Id vs the Ego, a binary opposition in itself. The Superego consists of the morality of society of which is impressed upon oneself by their parents, similar to the knowledge and morality of the past world that the boy has gained from his father. The Id represents the innate instincts of a being that are often impulsive, similar to many of the actions taken by the man to protect his son. Thus, the Ego–the mediator between the internal Id and external Superego–represents not only the boy’s morality conflicting with that of his father’s, but also the fantasy of the past conflicting with the reality of the present or the old world conflicting with the new.... all binary oppositions. Considering both the boy and the man were essential to each other’s survival (representing father vs son, immoral vs moral, etc) exemplifies the importance and need for conflict that leads to the most balanced approach in life, even if that happens to be surviving along the road. 

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Vintage International, 2006. Print.