Ethical Dilemmas In Mccarthy's The Road

In the scholarly article “McCarthy's The Road and Ethical Choice in a Post-Apocalyptic World,” Jingjing Guo talks discuss the ethical dilemmas that emerge throughout the story. Gou begins by giving a brief summary of the story. He goes into depth on how the world has in a way turned back in time since there is no society. Since the “enigmatic catastrophe set off a severely cold winter that has choked the land with a ubiquitous gray ash,” the world has gone back to its primitive state where the main and only concern is food and survival. He continues to state that with this destruction, society no longer exists which in turn collapses civilization as a whole. Guo states that if civilized behavior is a mark of society then “civilization collapses …show more content…
“The stories of moral goodness shape the boy's ethical vision, making him a boy of moral nobility "superior even to the father who had first inculcated these values in his son".” Guo also expresses that the boy believes he is only surviving because of a “fire” that he and the man are carrying. This fire is seen as a moral goodness which allows them to not give into to immoral acts. Guo also introduces how the degradation of traditions and how it affects how the man and the boy act now. He expresses that things like colors and names are no longer important therefore they are becoming extinct but the man tries his best to pass them along to the boy in order for him to carry it into the …show more content…
The article refers to the horrors that occur throughout the story but in that reality those actions are necessary for survival. Guo does an excellent job in analyzing the story and finding underlying reasoning’s behind the actions of the characters. He describes how in a way the world has gone back to its primitive state and I agree. The scenario in which the man and the boy are living in has little to no connection to the real world today. There are only a few objects that remind them of what used to be. There are no homes, buildings, stores, factories, or food which is basically how earth was before we started being innovative. Guo also talks about how if what they’re doing is considered ethical. Personally I think that given these extreme circumstances, doing whatever is necessary for survival seems ethical to me. He also explains how the man kept the boy alive in order for the boy to take the morals and past experiences shared to him by the man to the future. I also agree with this because it seems to me that the man did these things in order for the boy to take it with him to the new world if a new one is created. Guo also expresses that “the fire” is a symbol for moral goodness and it’s the reason for them surviving. I agree with this because throughout the story, the man repeatedly states to the boy that they are not like those violent cannibals