ESSAY TOPICS
1. From the very beginning of The Road, the author
does not give the father and son names, he gives them
the generic labels of "the man or father" and "the boy or
son." Part 1) Why did the author choose not to give
his characters names?
Part 2) How do the characters'
basic names of "the man" and "the boy" affect the way
the reader relates to them?
Part 3) How would the
reader view the text if the characters had been given
names?
2. Examine the theme of overprotection in the book and
how it pertains to the father and son's relationship. Is
the father's overprotection justified or needless?
3. Describe the theme of survival, citing examples from
the text of the different types of survival. Who is more
disposed to surviving against the elements -- the father
or the son? What motivates the father to survive versus
the son
4. Analyze the father's psychological state and how it
pertains to the story. How does his mental state affect
the decisions that he makes? Are these decisions helping
or hurting himself and his son?
5. In The Road, the cities are deserted or destroyed,
plant life is gone, animals have disappeared. Something
catastrophic has happened to the world. Examine the
conflict of Person vs. Nature, citing examples from the
text that demonstrate how the characters are up against
the forces of nature.
6. The man and the boy isolate themselves in The Road
by hiding in the woods, and they are constantly on the
lookout for others while they travel. Analyze the theme
of isolation in the novel, and explain how this isolation
affects the son, citing examples from the text.
7. The father always puts the son's needs before his
own, as he wants so desperately for his son to have a
better life. Examine the theme of love in the The
Road.
Part 1) What does having unconditional love
mean?
Part 2) How does his love for his son cause him
to make rash decisions?
Part 3) Compare the father's
love for his son to the son's love for his father.
8. Although the landscape and destruction are
mentioned, the author never explains what caused the
devastation. Explore the cause of this devastation, refer
to the clues that are provided to the reader. * How
does the landscape suggest an epidemic -- could it be
environmental, caused by man through war, or both?
*
Why is it difficult to truly assess the situation of the
world, and how is the father an unreliable witness?
*
How does not explaining the disaster add to the
paranoia and confusion that the reader feels from the
father?
9. The father insists that there are good and bad guys in
the world, leading the reader to believe a "bad" group of
people are responsible for the destruction. How are good
people set apart from bad people in the story? What are
the major characteristics that good people have that bad
people don't? How does the father distinguish between
the good and bad people?
10. Examine the theme of repetition of problems and
how it sets the tone for the book. How does the
repetition of these problems create a bleak feeling
throughout the book? How does this repetition help
make their situation seem hopeless? Cite examples from
the text.
11. Examine the concept of trust and mistrust in the
The Road, also explaining how it affects the son. The
father's mistrust of others does keep them safe;
however, does it also hold them back? Has the father's
mistrust of others made the son naïve about their
current situation? How has the father's mistrust of
others made the son unhappy?
12. The setting in The Road is vital to the whole tone of
the story. Analyze the use of setting in The Road. Part
1) How did Cormac McCarthy describe his setting? Part
2) How is the setting almost considered a character in
the story? Part 3) Compare the setting of this novel to
another novel -- was the setting simple or complex?
13. Explore the theme of death in The Road. How are
the father and son dealing with the thought of death?
How does the son's view of death compare to the
father's? Is the son naive about death?
14. Explore the use of foreshadowing in the novel and
analyze how it affects the story. How has this technique
affected the plot of the story? Cite examples from the
text to support your argument.
15. Analyze the theme of fear, particularly the father's
fear of the boy growing up. Cite examples from the text
that demonstrate the father's fears. Why is the father so
fearful of the son growing up?
16. Examine the use of description in The Road. Discuss
how the author uses narration, dialogue, and imagery to
bring his novel to life, citing examples from the text.
Compare the description in this novel to another novel
the class has read.
17. Analyze the symbol of innocence and how it pertains
to the son in The Road. Why is the son's innocence so
important to the father? Why wouldn't he rather have
his son toughen up? Is the son's innocence a symbol of
what has been lost in the world?
18. Examine the theme of reliance in The Road.
Part 1)
What does reliance mean? What are some examples of
reliance from the book? Part 2) What does the father
rely on the son for? Part 3) Discuss how reliance can
be a good and bad thing.
19. Analyze the theme of extinction or "the end of the
world." How has near extinction caused humans to act in
The Road? Would people really react this way? What are
signs that the earth has been mistreated? Are there any
signs that the earth is healing itself?
20. Examine the theme of hope throughout the novel:
hope for a better world, hope that there are still good
people out there. Give some examples from the text
that demonstrate the father and son's hope. How is the
story ended with a hint of hope? How can hope for a
better tomorrow encourage someone through a hard
time?