Question 7 (post 6)

7. If every book is an author's attempt to answer one of life's questions, what question is McCarthy and/or Kerouac attempting to answer? Explain.
In his novel The Road Cormac McCarthy is trying to answer the question: What keeps us living when nothing is left? It is clear the father and the son have almost nothing to live for; they have almost no chance for survival or any future that would entail some form of happiness. Yet they continue to live, even when death seems so comfortable. There is even times when the child wants to die. The boy and son have many encounters and conversations with life, death and the motivation to live.
One of these encounters is with a man who calls himself Ely. When the boy sees the man walking on the road he offers him food. Their conversation is as follows:
“How do you live?
I just keep going.”(pg. 168).
“Do you wish you would die?
No. But I might wish I had died. When you’re alive you’ve always got that ahead of you.
Or you might wish you’d never been born.
Well. Beggars can’t be choosers.” (pg. 169).

This quote perfectly encapsulates The Road’s general philosophy when it comes to death: its unavoidable and a constant threat, yet it does not scare people.