The apple falls far from the tree
Matt Greer
There is a lot of juxtaposition of character between the father and son in the road. As Tyler said part of this is seen in the bravery of the two as well as strength etc. I also think that the most juxtaposition is shown through their feelings towards people, mostly good people. The son is nice, moral and helpful; he wants to do anything that he can to help anyone that needs it. The father on the other hand is not, he is rational and realistic, he sees that they are in a them or me situation and acts on that fact. The son doesn’t see that fact that if they help this person, him and his father could die. “And I’d give that little boy half my food. Stop it we cant. He was cying again.” (McCarthy, 86) His father only sees that someone is in trouble and his father has the means to help.
Juxtaposition is also seen in the behavior towards their situation. The son is not as naive as the father seems to think he is. He knows that they could die and he sees the evilness in the world. The son is trying to grow up as his situation requires that he does, but his father is trying to maintain his innocence “And we’re carrying the fire” (Page, 129). This is just one example of the father trying to keep the son innocent. There is of course no fire, this is just the fathers way of instilling hope into his child, by coming up with an imaginary reason that they can’t give up. He tries to shelter his son from the harshness of the world but his son wants to see it.
Juxtaposition is also seen in the mother and father of the boy. The mother feels that death is their only course of action. She doesn’t feel that the father will be able to look after them and that they will not last in the world. This I very different from the father point of view. He doesn’t know what is coming but all he knows is that he will keep his son safe and alive. Even after the suicide of his wife, he carries on in hopes of something better. I think that this juxtaposition reflects the attitudes of most of the other people that were in the world. The mothers actions seem to be similar to the majority of the ‘moral’ people in the world. Other than the father and son their doesn’t appear to be any good people left. Everyone that they have come into contact with has been murderers, thieves or cannibals. One would assume that they are perhaps the last of a dying breed.
