God and Morality in The Road

He realizes that if he faces reality he is likely to despair entirely, so he turns his wife's accusation into a rallying cry. Facing the truth means giving up, so he urges himself not to face the truth.
             The man struggles to motivate the child as well as himself. He sometimes invokes the notion of carrying the fire in order to reassure the child. It is because they are carrying the fire, he says, that nothing bad will happen to them (83). What does it mean to carry the fire? Throughout much of the story, the two are literally carrying fire, or at least the means to produce it. Fire sustains them; it keeps them warm and cooks their food. It allows them to play cards and allows the man to read to the child at night. Fire is the foundation of civilization. Of course, fire is also the primary implement of the destruction of civilization in The Road. Perhaps to carry the fire is to carry the seeds of civilization. If civilization is to return to the world, it will be through the efforts of "good guys " like the.
             Cormac McCarthy Journal Fall 2010.
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             man and the child. At the very least, the two struggle to maintain civilization between themselves.
             Carrying the fire is not easy. In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humanity. As punishment for the theft, Prometheus is tied to a rock. Each day, a giant eagle eats his liver. But Prometheus does not die. Instead, his liver re- grows and is eaten again the following day. Because Prometheus carried the fire to humanity, his days are filled with suffering. This is not unlike the situation of the man and the child.
             Just before he dies, the man tells the child that he has been the one carrying the fire the entire time: "It's inside you. It was always there. I can see it " (279). The man says this to try to convince the child not to give up, to keep going down the road. Perhaps the notion of carrying the fire is just a crude myth adopted by the two to keep themselves going, and the man tries to use the myth to inspire the child not to give up after he dies.