Thursday, January 24, 2013

Cavemen Who Obviously Made Bad Life Choices.

      Too many people are saying that they hated the ending of The Road. Well, for me at least, hating the ending isn't enough. I hate the entire book. Something about the constant bleakness and lack of light in both a metaphorical and literal sense reminded me too much of winter, which is also bleak and lacking in light. During this process of pondering, I am always reminded that "oh yeah, it's winter outside right now!", and then I am lost in a pool of depression. You know, there is this theory that humans almost always become more depressed in the winter because - naturally - our ancestors spent the entire season hibernating. This means that it is in our DNA to hibernate just like all other sensible mammals who know how to make good life choices.We are all sad because we should be hibernating, too. But we aren't. Instead we're blogging at 11:40 pm and eating cheerios because we have to. So, to whatever caveman thousands of years ago who said to himself "LOL hey we should try to stay awake all winter #YOLO"...I have three words for you: bad life choice. It is only now, in 2013, that we have finally realized that any idea preceding the phrase "YOLO" is usually a bad life choice. Our entire species has made a bad life choice.

    There is, however, one aspect of The Road that I really did like: the ending. Sure the dad dies. But hey, the dad wanted to die. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the need to protect his son. The way that I see it, the son's presence on earth didn't make the father's wish to live any bigger than it already was. Rather, it gave him a sense of duty and obligation; because he loved his son he had to look out for him. When the father dies, he is torn from his misery and hopefully gets to be reunited with everybody that he has lost. The father has also accomplished his goal. For the entire novel, the father had one thing in mind: his son's safety. Some may argue that reaching the coast was his main goal. I think that he knew within at least 50 miles of the coast that nothing in the atmosphere would be any different - the sky would not be lighter, the ash would not disappear, and civilization would still be wrecked. When the father dies, his son is taken into safe and loving hands with a family that looks after him and has faith. Henceforth, the goal of the entire novel has been accomplished. High five on that one, Cormac McCarthy!

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