Post 1, Question 6: Other remarks?

Despite the darkness and the ashen landscape of this world McCarthy describes in his novel, the author is able to show pessimism and optimism at the same time. There is light and there is darkness in this world. McCarthy wants the audience to think beyond what is written through the pages of "The Road". People are able to decide whether they want to have hope and love in their lives, or live a life full of sadness and solitude. I feel thatMcCarthy wants the audience to realize that not everything is black and white. If you pay close attention, there is some color around, just waiting for the reader to find it. Like in the novel, the father and the son at times had no other choice but to starve themselves. But knowing someone is beside you and you realize you are not alone, that is enough for someone to keep on going. the father seemed to live for his son, not for himself. Knowing his son needs him, had helped him realize that as the parent, he has to be strong for his child and for himself. His wife shot herself, probably because she could not take it no more. This book can relate to people's lives in this world, like how some commit suicide in order to escape from their pain and misery and believing that that the after life is the only option left for them. In this novel, some people would choose to kill themselves in order to not be caught. I think the hardest decision the father had ever made was when he gave his son the weapon to kill himself if they we're ever caught. It was heart breaking for me to read that and then realize that the father wouldn't want for his son ton keep living an unhappy life if people had found them. After knowing that one person, your inspiration, had just killed themselves, what would life mean to the father afterwards? What would he had lived for? After all they went through and living for that one person and protect them in every way possible. Going back to the "pessimism and optimism" thought, there are people who believe that there are bad things in such situations and people that believe in positive things. But for a pessimist, you could be pretty optimistic. Despite the horror and darkness in this novel, there is the idea of having hope. It is up to us, though to decide the choices we'll make in our lives and how we want to view this life.