Good vs. Bad

I find that in McCarthy's The Road, the descriptions he gives and the metaphors he uses to portray the scene are wonderful- specifically the diction and imagery used to give the mood and description. On the first two pages of McCarthy's novel, he introduces the environment that will be continued throughout the story. The imagery of darkness give a depressive mood- I imagine an entirely grey world- more like the moon than the earth. Describing the sky as "Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before" shows that the future seems only to get worse. The entire first paragraph is dark and black- the father's "stinking robes", traveling with his son "like pilgrims in a fable swallowed up and lost among the inward parts of some granitic beast". At first the world McCarthy is introducing us to is lonesome and hopeless- but the use of the word "pilgrim" shows us that the father and son are good, and that they have a goal and hope for themselves.

The second paragraph, however, is more of a white color than a darker one. Speaking about the father's dream of a creature, it is described as having "eyes dead white", "pale and naked and translucent", and having "alabaster bones". All of these things are of light color, in contrast with destroyed reality. Talking it over with others, none of us could decide what the creature represented- the good guys or the bad guys. We all agreed that we got a sorrowful and lonesome feeling from the creature, but the words and descriptions used can be construed as a creature with a wild nature. Made from the earth, the creature could represent the land that represents the bad guys- burned, destroyed, and unhelpful to people.  Also, it has a "dripping mouth", and stares into the light with sightless and white eyes. These are all elements that an animal would have- perhaps even the cannibals within the novel- and the creature seems to be blind to the light. Light is often a good and holy thing- perhaps the creature does not understand the 'fire' that the boy carries with him and the morality it represents. Also, it has a "brain that pulsed in a dull glass bell", which kind of shows that it isn't too smart. However, the words "pale and naked and translucent" can have a double meaning: it could be sickly and unhuman, but also innocent and defenseless- not something of a cannibal at all.

I have been going back and forth between the idea that the creature represents the good guys or the bad guys. What do you think?

I quite appreciate the diction and imagery used to create and show the scene- however it also has its drawbacks. Although the writing contains a lot of inner meaning- fascinating and descriptive- there lacks a connection with the character. The writing style seems impartial and separate from the reader (which has its own advantages and meanings as well), which causes the reader to not be as engrossed in the novel. Although we are exposed  and empathize with the father and boy and the world that they live in, we, as readers (or at least I) do not feel as much. This in itself has its own purpose (like showing how the father and boy must live and survive by living without as much emotion and ignoring some things, and stressing the importance of different things), but takes away the things that draw a reader in. There is not as much suspense, mystery, or intrigue. Despite all this, I find it a very good book- I just had to learn how to read it before I could entirely enjoy it. As the story progressed, I learned how to read it and how to take it all in. Different from the books I usually read, I still like the plot and the themes that McCarthy has done.