Carts Moving Along The Road= Humans Coping With Existance

As I read McCarthy’s novel I couldn’t forget Mr. Tangen’s words: “ this is a pretty easy book, you’ll read it fast.” And so far I couldn’t agree more, however, the novel has various interesting elements such as strong symbolism. The kid walking with his dad in a post-apocalyptic scenario isn’t my favorite plot to read. Despite this, McCarthy has strong character development throughout his novel and is able to use symbols to portray stronger ideas aside from a stereotypical theme.

The evident symbol in the novel is the road itself but asides from this I consider the kid’s cart to be as important. It is a more “subtle” incorporation to his text and yet reflects a deeper idea. The cart is a symbol of humanity, if the road is our life then the cart represents ourselves. McCarthy says, “One of the

front wheels of the cart had gone wonky. What to do about it? Nothing” (pg 7). This quote shows the harsh situation the boy and his dad had to face in McCarthy’s novel. The cart has one of the wheels “wonky” representing their inability to move smoothly through the road, or in their particular case: life. The cart is the only possession they have throughout the novel and it is an agent of assistance or destruction. The boy and his dad carry the cart everywhere, and they deposit their goods and the gun. Portraying how humanity has both benign and negative aspects as they live. Despite the cart’s damaged condition the boy is able to fix it. This shows how sometimes we (humans) encounter adverse situations in our road (life) and must fix our cart (step up) in order to continue moving. An example of this is the boys reaction when he is able to repair the cart and enjoy life for a short period of time. The omniscient narrator states, “It was the first that he'd seen the boy smile in a long time” (pg 9).