Symbolism in the novel - The road itself
‘The Road’ can be seen as a metaphor for the journey of life in that on the very first page of the novel we are given the metaphor that the man and boy are ‘pilgrims in a fable swallowed up and lost among the inward parts of some granitic beast’ The reference to pilgrims suggests they are on a journey of moral significance, to revert themselves and humanity back to some sort of civilization after the apocalypse, perhaps.
This could also link to ‘The Road’ being a metaphor for the journey of birth to death as we encounter many characters who either die on the road, look as though it is inevitable that they will die on the road or are born on the road. The road rat is killed on the road, the lightning struck man and thief almost certainly die on the road after the man and boy encounter them, the man dies on the road and the boy is born on the road. The baby on the spit is born and dies on the road in its brief lifetime.
In American culture a road is often seen as a symbol of the pioneering spirit. This can be seen in ‘The Road’ by the man and boy as they always have a goal to reach, the shore or to the south where they will find ‘the good guys’.
In literacy, journeys often contain challenges and dangers and in ‘The Road’ the man and boy face many challenges and dangers such as the road rat, the cellar, and ultimately the survival of the boy after the man dies. It seems the more they continue their journey on the road the more dangers they encounter and the more challenging these dangers become, physically and emotionally for the man and boy. For instance, when the thief steals the man and boy’s belongings it is emotionally challenging for the man to make a stand against the thief because the boy begs him not to, and in the end the man returns the thief’s belongings to the road because the boy was ‘crying’.
The road can also be seen as a metaphor for trials of humanity as the man and boy face many morally questioning situations as they travel along the road. For instance, should the man shoot the road rat? The fact that the ‘bad guys’ have turned to cannibalism shows that they have descended from humanity and the man’s increasing hostile actions throughout the novel may be interpreted as him falling from humanity. The boy on the other hand seems to represent hope and that humanity will rise again, even though the other characters on the road make this prospect bleak. It can be also said that, even before the novel has begun humanity itself has disintegrated because of the apocalypse which is assumed to be a nuclear war because of all the ‘ash’ and burning.
