Post- Apocalyptic literature 

The road begins in media res, therefore describing a post- apocalyptic narrative. Cormac illuminates specific narratives within the novel. A few of these narratives are listed below:

1. Mythologising of the past

'There is a lake a mile from his uncle's farm where he and his uncle used to go in the fall for firewood'- This quote is when the man and boy visit the uncles old house and he is reminiscing the happy memories he experienced with his uncle. 
'In dreams his pale bride came to him out of a green and leafy canopy...she wore a dress of gauze and her dark hair..'- The man us remembering his wife with fond romantic memories, describing her beauty with colour imagery. However, these memories change as the story progresses at the man remembers events that were more recent and those memories are dark and ones that make the man want to forget her rather than remember her. Although he does describe her final action of killing herself as, 'her final gift', because although she left the boy and man behind, because of the cruel manner in which she did it, made it easier for them to move on.
'They walked through the diningroom'- The man has travelled back to his fathers old house where he grew up, and is showing and telling the boy all about the happy memories he had in that house. However, he is telling them in a way that portrays the boy may never experience the joys of a happy family, care free childhood that he had. 
'Perhaps the last can of coke in the world'- The can of coke symbolises an artifact from a former civilisation, a mysterious object that was once a common product in the mans early life, is now a delicacy to the boy, which also symbolises the generation gap between the characters. The world the characters are living in and the situations they are facing, are making them look to the past more because if momentarily makes them forget about the horrors they are seeing and cant escape from.

• The thoughts and actions of survivors are what counts.

'Raised the lever to stop the tub and the turned on both taps as far as they would go'- From the beginning of the story we are aware that the man has survival instincts. When the clocks and electricity stops he immediately fills the bath up with water. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the water stopped running and they would be in danger of dehydration. 
'the thief, bent over the loaded cart...when he saw the pistol he stepped back...I'm going to leave you the way you left us.'- The man had no choice but to leave the man where he stood. He took his clothes and shoes and left him naked in the road, because, like the man said, that was how the thief had left them. He had taken everything so the man took everything of his. The man knew the thief was going to die and so did the boy, but he could not help him. The thief was an outcast from one of the commones, and had his fingers cut off which could only mean that he was a a monster that they couldn't trust, which subsequently mean the man couldn't trust him either.  
'Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it'- Those who were trying to survive in this decaying, desolate world we 'borrowing time'. This quote describes the characters lives, because although they were alive, they shouldn't be. An apocalypse had happened, whipping out most of the human race, so why were they alive? why had God let them live? They were borrowing time from those who hadn't survived. 
The man and the women's attitude and actions towards the situation they found themselves in early on in the story  were completely opposite. As soon as the clocks and electricity stopped, the man immediately filled the bath with water because he knew something bad was approaching, however the women still was unaware about what was happening. The man clearly has survival skills and instincts which is a complete juxtaposition to the women failure attitude, 'we are not survivors, I will get killed raped and eaten, and so will the boy'. This is subsequently why the women kills himself and why the man refuses to give up.

• Marauding gangs of bandits.

'The reptilian calculations in those cold and shifting eyes'- This 'roadrat' was the first contact with another human being the characters had had for almost a year. Although the road rat is not a gang, he is a bandit who was willing to kill of kidnap the boy to get what he wanted. The world they live in is not safe, not even from the human race themselves. People are turning against each other in order to survive. This character of the road rat and this scene in particular is also where the reader may start to question the morals of the man, because he shoots the road rat in the head. Many may argue that he was just protecting his son, but was there not another way, or is he turning into someone like the road rat? Is he really a better human being or is he the same. 

The boy and man come across an approaching party of people, who seem to be holding clubs and walking in bio hazard suits and a truck just following behind, the man attempts to find some information about the people but the man he speaks to does not believe he will shoot him and lunges for the boy, 'the confrontation comes to a nasty climax when the man dives for the boy'. He soon found out that the people in hazard suits were in fact children. This is a perfect example of the of the loss of humanity that has occurred within the human race. 

'Huddled against the back wall were naked people, male and female, trying to hide, shielding their faces with their hands'- The man and boy come across a house when they have run out of food and are desperate for supplies so they enter this house, which they know is highly dangerous but they are almost at the brink of starvation. The house has signs of occupation and when they go down into the cellar to see human livestock they realise they have come across a gang who are eating their way through a store of human beings. Pure cannibalism portraying the human race has reached breaking point. This, and many other gangs like this one have no mercy, the man and boy are not safe in this house.