Theme
After being completely done with the entire book, there are definitely some themes that jump out at me. Although I had to make it through the horribly sad ending of The Man telling The Boy to carry on without him, it was at that moment where the biggest theme in my opinion was brought into it's full light. When The Man was in the midst of dying, he tells The Boy "You have to carry the fire" (278). The mention of carrying the fire has been brought up dozens of times throughout this novel, but it was at this moment where I fully understood it.
Carrying the fire is clearly not actually carrying a fire with you. So, what is it? Well, I have interpreted it as carrying your hope, morals, and will to carry on. Especially in this insanely depressing setting of The Road, the will to carry on is extremely important. There have been many times throughout the novel where both The Man and The Boy faced times where it seemed easier to just die then continue. In fact another theme of the book is death. It seemed like every other page mentioned death. The idea of killing themselves is a huge part of The Road because it is much easier to just end it all then go through all of the hardships that the world will bring upon them. In fact, the mother of The Boy did kill herself. The Man and The Boy would always mention that they and the other good guys are carrying the fire to remind themselves that they must keep moving and remember who they are. Without it they could fall into the trap of becoming fetus eating cannibals (yes that actually happened). To me, the most important part of dialogue between the two characters is as said, at the man's deathbed. The man says to the boy:
"...You have to carry the fire"
"I dont know how to"
"Yes you do"
"Is it real? The fire?"
"Yes it is"
"Where is it? I dont know where it is"
Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it" (278-279)
The most important line being where The Man tells The Boy that it has always been with him. From the beginning The Boy has always been kind and willing to help others. The Man wants him to stay true to himself and not become something he is not. He wants him to keep fighting. In the setting of the apocalyptic world, and even in today's society it is important to carry the fire.
In today's world, it is very easy to lose your true identity. In society, money plays such a huge part in everyone's lives, and getting lost in it seems like one of the most common area's where people lose who they really are. Becoming greedy can ruin a persons values because all they care about now is the money. Another example of people losing their morals is when they get control. Right now, the first thing that pops into my mind when thinking about control is Macbeth. At the beginning of the play he was portrayed to be brave and an overall good person. That persona quickly changed however once the opportunity for power came about. Once he grabbed the throne he just went into a downward spiral by killing his best friend Banquo and murdering Macduff's whole family. Macbeth clearly wasn't carrying his fire with him. He had the sense of continuing on and pursuing his dreams, but all his morals were just tossed out the window.
The theme of carrying the fire with you can be used anywhere and in any society. No matter what, arguably the most important thing that a person can have is their values. Without them, who are you? Just your values can set you up for a successful life, or for a failure. Hopefully those core values that you are carrying are good because it wouldn't be the best to be carrying around horrible values. But if those are what make you who you are, then go for it. You wouldn't be you without them. Remember, always carry the fire with you, even if you can't see it.
Carrying the fire is clearly not actually carrying a fire with you. So, what is it? Well, I have interpreted it as carrying your hope, morals, and will to carry on. Especially in this insanely depressing setting of The Road, the will to carry on is extremely important. There have been many times throughout the novel where both The Man and The Boy faced times where it seemed easier to just die then continue. In fact another theme of the book is death. It seemed like every other page mentioned death. The idea of killing themselves is a huge part of The Road because it is much easier to just end it all then go through all of the hardships that the world will bring upon them. In fact, the mother of The Boy did kill herself. The Man and The Boy would always mention that they and the other good guys are carrying the fire to remind themselves that they must keep moving and remember who they are. Without it they could fall into the trap of becoming fetus eating cannibals (yes that actually happened). To me, the most important part of dialogue between the two characters is as said, at the man's deathbed. The man says to the boy:
"...You have to carry the fire"
"I dont know how to"
"Yes you do"
"Is it real? The fire?"
"Yes it is"
"Where is it? I dont know where it is"
Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it" (278-279)
The most important line being where The Man tells The Boy that it has always been with him. From the beginning The Boy has always been kind and willing to help others. The Man wants him to stay true to himself and not become something he is not. He wants him to keep fighting. In the setting of the apocalyptic world, and even in today's society it is important to carry the fire.
In today's world, it is very easy to lose your true identity. In society, money plays such a huge part in everyone's lives, and getting lost in it seems like one of the most common area's where people lose who they really are. Becoming greedy can ruin a persons values because all they care about now is the money. Another example of people losing their morals is when they get control. Right now, the first thing that pops into my mind when thinking about control is Macbeth. At the beginning of the play he was portrayed to be brave and an overall good person. That persona quickly changed however once the opportunity for power came about. Once he grabbed the throne he just went into a downward spiral by killing his best friend Banquo and murdering Macduff's whole family. Macbeth clearly wasn't carrying his fire with him. He had the sense of continuing on and pursuing his dreams, but all his morals were just tossed out the window.
The theme of carrying the fire with you can be used anywhere and in any society. No matter what, arguably the most important thing that a person can have is their values. Without them, who are you? Just your values can set you up for a successful life, or for a failure. Hopefully those core values that you are carrying are good because it wouldn't be the best to be carrying around horrible values. But if those are what make you who you are, then go for it. You wouldn't be you without them. Remember, always carry the fire with you, even if you can't see it.
Nice job linking the main ideas to both current events and to Macbeth.
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