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The Consequences of Morality as seen in "The Road"

Sinead McLoughlin

Jas Sy

Ty Freires

Hamish De Jong

Ryan Bourdeau

Marta Fernandes

Date 1

"The mind is like an iceberg with one-seventh of its bulk above water." - Sigmund Freud

- Topic: Morality

- Proposal: Within Comrac MacCarthy’s "The Road," morality is an escape from a post-apocalyptic world

- Objective: To reveal meaning through Freudian theories of psychoanalysis

Introduction

- The components of the psychic apparatus (id, ego, superego), exemplify themselves through various moral dilemmas

- The post-apocalyptic society allows for psychological insight of the characters within

- Both the son and the father exhibit many traits from each of these mental concepts

Id, Ego, Superego

- Most everyone surrounding the father and son are driven by the id

- The id brings out an individuals darkest desires and ignores any and all moral reasoning

- This is due to the primal instinct brought out in a society where survival is unlikley

- Despair leaves people indifferent to "evil" as they no longer see a point in upkeeping the previous society

Id.

- The ego activley takes into consideration the id and the superego in order to dictate one's actions

- The ego can be clearly seen within the father; he makes all the major descisions

- The father and son constantly mediate between doing what is needed and what is moral; the son always wishes to be moral

- The father and son's consience serves as a barricade to immorality; they keep eachother sane

Ego.

- The superego finds refuge in morality within a disturbed enviornment

- The father constantly tries to follow his superego anytime possible; he uses this to keep him and his son sane

- The father uses his greif for the lost society as a moral compass

- The father and son are the "good guys" in a morraly corrupt world

Superego.

Symbolism

- Symbols are important to the psychoanalysis of the road

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fimage-vector%2Frevolver-gun-on-white-background-cartoon-1818236555&psig=AOvVaw1YXxt3_fqgldlm_xq2r79k&ust=1666717466812000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCOjv49Ss-foCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAN

- Symbolism is the use of images or words that help symbolize a secondary meaning

- Three major symbols; the road, carrying the fire and the pistol

Symbolism

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vectorstock.com%2Froyalty-free-vector%2Fhand-holding-a-torch-vector-13975444&psig=AOvVaw1PaSiH8Tzz-A4sXaBexFjr&ust=1666718475305000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCNDb27Kw-foCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marxist.com%2Fvideo-marxism-and-morality.htm&psig=AOvVaw1_8fkc4bFiYoG--TEtpZYH&ust=1666737117792000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCNih4PT1-foCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

- These symbols show; the mans protective nature and the mans morality

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.popsci.com%2Fhistory-future-roads-feature%2F&psig=AOvVaw1gFzL0R8awwuDrNbxMDMUu&ust=1666718548202000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCKjep9ew-foCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://149645218.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/symbolism.jpg

The Pistol

- The dads morality is guided through the society and his sense of protection in his own society

- The morality of choosing life over death

The Pistol

- The gun is the man’s second biggest obsession

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.istockphoto.com%2Fvectors%2Fsecure-gun-storing-rgb-color-icon-vector-id1299943828%3Fk%3D20%26m%3D1299943828%26s%3D612x612%26w%3D0%26h%3DuDdw26cHa0uThwWyRwyVHil6_hV1z65t5-JH_1jWQXM%3D&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.istockphoto.com%2Fillustrations%2Fcartoon-of-gun-rights&tbnid=fQMm0lHjR8lM-M&vet=12ahUKEwiyl-vLqfr6AhVvtXIEHY8tDlQQMygEegUIARDNAQ..i&docid=x3m_WQql-cGKRM&w=612&h=612&q=gun%20for%20protection%20cartoon&ved=2ahUKEwiyl-vLqfr6AhVvtXIEHY8tDlQQMygEegUIARDNAQ

https://thechurchco-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/2693/2020/08/aHROWOUVfYaKtd5oHLNFF6sIkUknHZjbRjZr9JHJ-1125x1125.jpg

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcmorfinance.com%2FPortals%2F0%2FWebSitesCreative_PostIt%2F695%2Ff7c44e29-1788-4ea3-8689-a10d18a21acf.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcmorfinance.com%2FBlog%2Ftag%2FFamily%2520Protection&tbnid=LOiwio1RdCtkGM&vet=12ahUKEwjF9Juiqfr6AhWFqnIEHX3YDHQQMygEegUIARDgAQ..i&docid=9ZR2s2Yil_tz_M&w=670&h=350&q=family%20protection&ved=2ahUKEwjF9Juiqfr6AhWFqnIEHX3YDHQQMygEegUIARDgAQ

Carrying The Fire

- The man commits to being a survivor

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ovsQgnflgivxhonWb6Dq9DE-FZo=/0x26:1500x1151/1200x800/filters:focal(0x26:1500x1151)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45707818/cannibalsinbrazil.0.0.jpg

Carrying The Fire

- The man encourages the boy to “carry the fire” whenever the boy feels like giving up and surrendering to death.

- The man demonstartes his moral code to refrain from murder and cannibalism

- The text shows the boy’s purity in a post-apocalyptic world

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/4fdbb25ddc8eade864bfa0d09c2f2f6090b00e94/c=0-0-2982-1685/local/-/media/2017/12/21/USATODAY/USATODAY/636494468549309135-AXX-MOTHER-TERESA-XX.jpg

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.istockphoto.com%2Fvectors%2Ffire-vector-isolated-vector-id1251567184%3Fk%3D20%26m%3D1251567184%26s%3D612x612%26w%3D0%26h%3DPrK1JP3169ScdjB5Sop4T8tz3J1lOSNpas75F8RM28o%3D&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.istockphoto.com%2Fillustrations%2Ffire&tbnid=MIX-wYKrJktrpM&vet=12ahUKEwiowJjAqvr6AhXwqnIEHea_DrwQMygDegUIARDoAQ..i&docid=6GKGAEiT4LLHQM&w=612&h=612&q=fire&ved=2ahUKEwiowJjAqvr6AhXwqnIEHea_DrwQMygDegUIARDoAQ

The Road

- Morality is demonstrated through perseverance

- Morality is not just a moment in time it changes based on inputs, hardships and experiences.

- The man’s morality changes because of the input, hardships and experiences faced while travelling the road.

-The man's morality develops through his perseverance in his struggles.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pluggedin.com%2Fmovie-reviews%2Froad%2F&psig=AOvVaw1m9f61jYi30mN_Z9l7SiIM&ust=1666737908383000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCLCDuOb4-foCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehumanfront.com%2Fassets%2FEthics%2FOrigins_Of_Morality%2F0-eat_survive_reproduce_colour.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehumanfront.com%2Forigins-of-morality%2F&tbnid=p-8LGjUEksMKMM&vet=12ahUKEwik7eeJq_r6AhVxrHIEHT0DBywQMyhWegQIARBz..i&docid=UL_5vbvLsaiiYM&w=750&h=422&q=morality&ved=2ahUKEwik7eeJq_r6AhVxrHIEHT0DBywQMyhWegQIARBz

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.squarespace-cdn.com%2Fcontent%2Fv1%2F53737ff4e4b0f28da14b569a%2F1626739215206-1X2HQXET9M20G31OT58K%2Fcarsonmorality.JPG&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.carsonlaw.ca%2Fourblog%2Fmoralityclause&tbnid=295GMkW1-oIj2M&vet=12ahUKEwik7eeJq_r6AhVxrHIEHT0DBywQMygIegUIARCfAQ..i&docid=p5kGongc8EsobM&w=400&h=350&q=morality&ved=2ahUKEwik7eeJq_r6AhVxrHIEHT0DBywQMygIegUIARCfAQ

Freudian Stages of Development

- The complications in Freud’s proposed stages of development influence the morals of the characters due to resulting behaviours.

- Can be observed in the Man, the group of cannibals and the Boy.

Sigmund Freud

(Image credit: Everett - Art / Shutterstock.com)

The Man's Anal Fixation

- The Man's inability to move past the anal stage of development results in an anal fixation that constructs his obsessive behaviours

- observed in his obsession with protecting his son and with survival.

- these behaviours influence his morality as a character and ultimately prove him to be an moral character

Anal Fixation

(the Man)

The Anal Fixation of The Cannibals

Anal Fixation (Cannibals)

- The inability of the group of cannibals to move past their anal stage of development leads to a fixation that results in controlling and obsessive behaviours.

- observed in their constant need for control and obsession with survival.

- the behaviours resulting from their anal fixation reveal the cannibals as immoral characters.

The Boy's Fixation on Adulthood

- Due to his circumstances, the Boy is unable to move through the normal stages of development and is instead forced into adulthood.

- This is observed in his behaviour that reflects that of an adult: protective and caretaking behaviours.

- These behaviours reveal the Boy as a morally good character.

Fixation on Adulthood

(the Boy)

Dreams & Condensation in The Road

Dreams

- The father’s recurrent dreams are a manifestation of his unconscious desire to restore a society that is now gone, and the virtues which were lost upon the destruction of civilization.

- His utopian wishes are condensed into the figure of his late wife, who frequently appears in his dreams.

Condensation

- Psychoanalytic theory aims to study the symbolic nature that lies within dreams.

- The process of merging a series of ideas/concepts to one specific motif. It consists of the combination of several themes into one single figure.

Condensation

For instance...

For instance....

- “flowering wood where birds [flow] before them”

- Within his fantasies, the father recaptures the essence of his being prior to the apocalypse, when safety, love, and stability were present in his life.

- These virtues are only achieved through the presence of the mother, and she becomes a representation of all that he has lost.

- Thus, the protagonist unconsciously evokes his late wife when he is most in peril, in an attempt to find comfort within the morals and values which he strives to restore.

Unconsious Wishes

The Three key aspects on unconsious wishes displayed within The Road are Infantile Behaviour, Sublimation and Condensation

They all represent the morality of both the father and his son

Unconsious Wishes

I.B.

Infantile Behaviour is an intense sensory experience found in children through high pleasure points possibly resulting in a partly "adult" behaviour

-The child choosing the lantern over the gun is a direct representation of his morality overcoming him and protecting his innocence as a child

-The Coca Cola is a sensory aspect that fulfills the child's desires of experiencing the world of the past

Infantile Behaviour

Sublimation

Sublimation is the representation of a symbol or desire, into a more acceptable and understandable manner

-Continuing with the Coca Cola, it is also a representation of sublimation, allowing for a more clear and acceptable representation for the child to further understand the old world.

-The Contrast Between the warm and the cold are a subtle representation of the father and son on their battle against the world.

Sublimation

Condensation

The Shoes

The ability for one element in the story, to have many meanings, ideas, feelings, actions, or people.

The Shoes in the story have many meanings, meanings of salvation, history, destination, hope, resilience, weakness, dignity and more.

Condensation

Warm and Cold

- The contrast between warm and cold continues its meaning through into Condensation, showing the cold truth and the warm intention.

Dignity & Weakness

The shoes represent Dignity and when the father goes swimming, and removes them, he is left exposed, without dignity (Representing the escape from reality leaving him void of dignity)

Dignity & Weakness

Weakness is shown by the man that was struck lightning and his shoes “bound up with wire”, and “roadtar”(McCarthy 50). This interaction will greatly stain the shoes, and will question their strength. The Shoes represent a damaged man, that cannot be fixed and is caged up in agony as the shoes are in wire.

History

-History of the fathers past life, through his flashback memories with the shoes on the, “warm painted boards”(McCarthy, 13). The shoes acting as himself, when he too was in the warm past without worry, and was able to relax and enjoy the warmth of the sun.

History

-The shoes also convey the history of their journey down the moral test of the road through the "muddy shoes"(McCarthy 89)

Others

The father "worried about their shoes"(McCarthy 17), as they were their protection from the world, keeping them safe and sound

The shoes also represent the characters and their resiliency. Shown through “Hot black mastic sucking at their shoes”(McCarthy 48), it represents the world around the father and son, attempting to scold their morality and form them to their current society, in which they combat it, and keep walking.

The shoes also represent Protection, strength, damage and hope

Other

The Boy's Mental Journey

  • The boy learns to understand his father's morals by journeying on the road
  • The journey highlights the rise and fall of the Odepial Complex

The Oedipal Complex

Key Understanding Points

  • Story Begins: Only the Man and his Son
  • Mother's Suicide - SHE ABANDONS THEM
  • The boy loses a parental figure :(

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/monopoly-board.html

Title

Stage One: Antagonism

  • The boy tries to assert dominance through his silence
  • Does not hate his mom for leaving
  • Does hate his father
  • his father wants to keep him from his mom

STAGE 1

Stage Two: Compromise

  • An attempt is made
  • The boy learns to negotiate with his father
  • He choses to stand his ground (like his father does)
  • There is still signs of weaponised silence BUT THERE'S GROWTH!
  • He is beginning to understand his dad

STAGE 2

Stage Three: Maturity

STAGE 3

  • The boy doesn't like the fact that his father is dying but he does not go mute
  • He matures and adopts characteristics and values of his father
  • He no longer hates his father, instead treating him as a role model
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