Fear And Degeneration In Cormac Mccarthy's Novel The Road

The Road (2006),the latest novel written by Cormac McCarthy (1933- ) who is a famous contemporary writer, has drawn wide attention of the' academic circle. Published in 2006, it won Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in the same year, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007. Based on text analysis, this thesis analyzes the theme of fear and degeneration in the novel, revealing the social dilemma and spiritual crisis of human society, thus reflecting humanity itself: the redemption of humanity and cherish of goodness and hope are the tangible path to get out of dilemma and crisis.Some scholars argue that The Road is a post-apocalyptic fiction about doomsday.Indeed, this science fiction is permeated with fear, continuing the themes of violence,degeneration and evil that McCarthy has always focused on. Fabricating a doomsday,McCarthy alludes to realistic fear and moral degeneration, manifesting his deep concern and creative reflection on social reality. However,in McCarthy's description of the doomsday, the author finds that McCarthy abandons the former violence where brutality and massacre are the main themes,but turns to the salvation,goodness and hope in human nature. The novel describes that a father and a son take a journey in the world that had witnessed the catastrophe, and yet remain a place to be the hope of survival.This thesis mainly focuses on the changes of McCarthy's thinking that The Road,his transformation, reflects, as well as the challenges American culture met in the twenty-first century. The thesis firstly analyzes the origins of the post-apocalyptic in the novel via combining the American religious culture and the social condition: one is"Doomsday Theory" in Revelations and the other is serious consequences from science and technology as well as social unrest; secondly, through the characters' fear towards nature, others and survival in the novel, this thesis demonstrates human survival crisis, and dissects degeneration under the shadow of fear from three aspects: the absence of God,lack of trust and cannibalism, to epitomize human moral crisis. Finally, through the discussion of how the protagonists manage to overcome fear and resist degeneration,McCarthy attempts to explore the direction for people to avoid social dilemma and spiritual crisis, enlightening people on the same boat to insist on salvation, goodness and hope for future. All in all, McCarthy's concern for human condition and mental state, as well as the understanding of human nature, is inspiring and of practical significance.