Communality and the Individual in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road

• Authors: Tazbir, Jędrzej

Abstracts

EN

The subject of the article is the analysis of the notion of communality in the relation between the two protagonists of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Traversing the post-apocalyptic landscape populated mostly by wretched savages harbouring ill intent towards other human beings, the heroes ostensibly seek a place where establishing a sustainable society composed of the “good guys” can still be possible. However, while for the young son this goal implies the necessity of maintaining a sense of openness and hospitality towards the other, for the father it is the matter of day-to-day survival that takes precedence, which leads to repeated instances of withdrawing help from destitute survivors and avoiding human contact. The boy objects to this behavior, despite being wholly dependent on his father, as his sense of responsibility seems innate and unconditional. The man, on the other hand, gradually recognizes that he was so profoundly afflicted by the experience of losing his world that he cannot overcome his radical pessimism and distrust of the other. Therefore, when the man arrives at the end of his life, he comes to understand that it is only without him at his side that the son can enter a larger community.

Keywords

EN

postapocalypse; hospitality; the other; individual; American literature

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Analyses/Rereadings/Theories: A Journal Devoted to Literature, Film and Theatre
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 1

Dates

published

2016

Contributors

author

Tazbir, Jędrzej

other

University of Łódź

other

Jędrzej Tazbir has defended his BA and MA theses at the University of Łódź. The broadly considered English-language prose represents his main field of interest and scholarly work, with the emphasis on the American novel beginning from the modernist era. In reading and analyzing literary texts he is inclined to search for philosophical and psychological themes. Additionally interested in translation

Identifiers

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/11089/21773