Light in a Dark World

            In The Road, the word light is used many times throughout the story. The word light is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible(Oxford Dictionary). After the catastrophe in the story almost everything that had once existed is destroyed, including light. The man and his son are continuously surrounded by darkness. They are not only surrounded by a literal darkness, but they are also surrounded by the darkness of some of the people living in the world. Light is necessary to build a fire, but it can also be seen as detrimental because if someone sees their fire, it will put their lives in danger. Light could also be referring to the colorful dreams that the father seems to encounter numerous times. As a reader, I saw the vivid dreams as full of color and life, but later on the father explains to the son that the dreams mean the exact opposite. The father says that when someone starts to have “nice” colorful dreams, they are starting to give up on life. This is a foreshadowing to the fact that the father is starting to give up on life evident by his colorful dreams. Light can be seen as a source of life, like a fire. It can also be seen as a source of evil, like the men who had dark hearts after the catastrophe occurred. Darkness has entered the world whether any one likes it or not and now it is up to the father’s son to carry the light for all mankind. That is why the father is so determined to stay alive. He knows that his son needs him and he wants to be able to protect and provide for his son.

            Light has many different meanings in this text. The most important form of light is one that cannot be seen by the human eye. The son is carrying the light, which is the hope, for the entire world. The light has been extinguished all over the world and it is now up to him to return it. The light helps the father and son survive on their journey and is therefore seen as their source of life. Ironically, the light also opens up their eyes to all of the darkness around them. They use a lighter to check what is in the basement and when they do, they are amazed to see many people living down there in the dark awaiting a cruel and nasty death. The son wants to help them, which again shows the light in him, but the father says no. This shows that the father has seen the light and darkness in the world and knows that if they try and save these people, they might lose their lives as well. If the reader does not pick up on these symbols of light, they might miss the meaning of the whole book. The author makes it very clear that the son is carrying the light. He also uses the light in many different contexts all throughout the book. The word light is a strong word that can have different meanings, but in this text the main reason light is used, is to show that the son is the hope for the now dying world.

References:

Oxford Dictionaries. 4 April 2011.

<http://oxforddictionaries.com/search?q=light&view=uk>