The inevitability of loss of innocence as humans grow up has been proven throughout generations. The boy in Cormac McCarthy’s novel titled The Road demonstrates loss of innocence as he witnesses the harshness and gruesome brutality of a post-apocalyptic reality. The boy’s character shift is proven as he throws away his flute and wonders if they have any hope of surviving, and this signifies his understanding that he will never truly be able to live in this previous world along with the father slowly losing hold of his son.
First, the boy is obviously innocent at the start of the novel as he is naive and described as a being from another world. “seemed some sad and solitary changeling child announcing the arrival of a traveling spectacle in shire and village who does not know that behind him the players have all been carried off by the wolves”(McCarthy 78). As he plays his flute, the boy is compared to a ‘child announcing the arrival of a traveling spectate in shire and village’ with the use of a simile which further implies that he is completely new and unaware of the past. The fact that he does not know that ‘the players have all been carried off by wolves’ also proves that he does not fathom the fact that many have died and he is truly one of the lone survivors that does not know of a previous world. This relates to the theme of innocence. The boy plays a flute while not comprehending the horrific differences between the world he knows and what used to be.
“The man who had shielded him from the disasters slowly loses grip of his son as he begins comprehending this reality”
Later on, the boy mentions that he threw away this flute and begins to demonstrate a loss of innocence. As he talks to his father about a crane being able to see light, the man asks his son where his flute is. “If you were a crow could you fly up high enough to see the sun? Yes you could. I thought so. That would be really neat. Yes it would. Are you ready? Yes. He stopped. What happened to your flute? I threw it away”(McCarthy 159). The boy wonders if a crow could reach the sun and shows first signs of understanding. Symbolism is used as the crow signifies hope and something from a past world. It emphasizes the fact that the boy could only dream of such things as he will never be able to live a “normal life”. The Fact that the boy throws away his flute(another thing from the past world) demonstrates that he does not want to hold on to anything that is meaningless and understands that the crow flying ‘up high enough to see the sun’ is only fantasy. This relates to the theme of loss of innocence as the boy begins to understand and accept the fact that he will never be able to enjoy all that has previously existed in a world he was never truly a part of. The man who had shielded him from the disasters slowly loses grip of his son as he begins comprehending this reality.
In essence, the boy loses innocence as he throws away his flute and demonstrates understanding of the fact that he will never be able to enjoy the realities of a past world. Could this foreshadow death as the man slowly loses hold of his son?
This is the second to last essay of the year so I think this sums up a lot of the progress I have made this year and is definitely an improvement. The quotes I pulled are strong as we discussed a lot about the passages during class and the only thing I believe i should have done better is using stylistic devices better.
I like this essay its very specific and the conclusion question gives outcome. I like these quotes.
I like this essay, although it was difficult to write in the amount of time we were given it really shows the type of writer you are by completing an in class essay and having no structural errors.