Father And Son

One of the most important themes in The Road is the importance of the relationship between a father and his son. Throughout the story, the father and his child are traveling by themselves in a dangerous world. They have no other friends and the only thing they can depend on is on each other. The father in the novel has a strong feeling of protection towards his son. He believes that the child is his only reason to live for. An example of their close bond is when the narrator says: "That the boy was all that stood between him and death" (McCarthy 29). The fact that the father only lives for his son, portrays the strenght of the bond between them.

Another interesting aspect of their relationship is that even though the father is usually the one who takes care of his kid, in the novel the child also looks after his father. For example, in a section, the father gave all of the last hot cocoa to his son, but the kid, watching after his dad made him divide the hot cocoa for the two of them, stating: "I have to watch you all the time" (McCarthy 34). The son worrying for his father illustrates the fondness they each have for the other one. Since usually only the dad takes care of his son, the fact that they boy takes care of his father is very interesting. Because they only have each other, they both understand that it is vital for their survival for both of them to take care of the other.