The Road

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below-bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. At one point in the novel, the man realizes that he is functionally an alien to his son.

• Why is there a fundamental disconnect between the man and the boy? (introductory paragraph)
• How has the apocalypse changed the boy’s upbringing in relation to the father, and how has that shaped him as a person? Provide specific evidence from the text.
• What is the novel trying to say about fatherhood? (conclusion)

2. The man and the boy argue over what they owe to other people they encounter in the world.

• What is the boy’s stance on what people owe to each other? (introductory paragraph)
• How does this put him into conflict with his father? Please provide evidence from the text.
• With whom does this novel ultimately side? (conclusion)

3. When the man and the boy encounter people burned in the road, the boy says he doesn’t need to look away, because he’s seen that and worse before. Later, he says he’s sorry he said that.

• What does his remorse say about his understanding of the cruelty of the world? (introductory paragraph)
• In what ways does this moment represent growth for the boy? How does this show that he’s maturing without necessarily becoming jaded like his father? Provide specific evidence from the text, including the boy’s previous response to encounters with tragic violence.
• What does this say about the boy’s worldview? (conclusion)

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The boy and the man frequently refer to their sense of mission as “carrying the fire.” What does that mean to the two, and how do their underlying motivations for repeating this phrase differ from each other? Is their hope a false hope or not? How does their understanding of this idea change over the course of the novel as they move further south and the man gets closer to his own death?

2. The man’s oncoming death puts him in a difficult position: he has promised himself to protect the boy, but he sees the end of that protection coming soon. As a result, he decides he will end the boy’s life with his own, but when the time comes, he has a change of heart. How is this a book about the fundamental problem of fatherhood and the anxieties of being a parent? What is the book trying to say about what it means to be a father? It may be worth considering that McCarthy dedicates this book to his son and credits him as an unofficial co-author of the book.

3. The man’s wife chose to end her life rather than continue on, and Ely makes the case that the world will be a better place when life is gone. On the other hand, the man and the boy keep struggling to survive, despite both of their doubts that doing so serves any purpose. Analyze the different philosophical approaches to the meaning of life under such extreme circumstances, and think about the novel’s ultimately hopeful ending. Which stance is the novel asserting, and why?