In a blog post I wrote a few weeks ago, when I was less familiar with The Road and the world it depicted, I asked a few questions that I could not fully answer. So now, I will try to answer them again.
My first question was about death, and why death is so unremarkable in this story. With the death of the father, I have gained much more insight into McCarthy's depiction of, and the characters' perspective on, death. While previously the dead were unknown, ignored, and helpless, the man is less so. His son cares for him, deeply, and always knows where he is -- and he cares for his son too, at least as much. He also struggles against his illness and his injuries, though mostly ineffectually. And in The Road, there are no hospitals, no doctors or medical machines. He is, for the most part, as helpless as the cannibals' victims or a starving dog. Whereas in our modern world, he could be helped, and put up a great struggle, so that his sickness could be stopped. There would be treatment options, if he was sufficiently privileged, and people would notice -- because they knew that they could act. In The Road, it's all he can do to stitch up a leg wound. No one can help him. No one could ever help him, even if they did notice. So why should they bother? In their eyes, they shouldn't.
My second question in that blog post was about the father's role in the world, as the protector. As he dies, he is unable to protect his son, and must rely, instead, on other good guys to help him. He has, essentially, no role in the world. His son still relies on him, though, for spiritual guidance, and talks to him in his mind. His role in the son's life is very similar, if somewhat smaller. So, his death has proved that his role can never change -- not that he'd want it to. Still, he can never be anyone else.
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