I need help on the book "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy?

Well... the boy and his father are obviously survivors of some apocolyptic event. The reader never discovers what this event was.

A major theme to the book is hope. Why keep on? Why did the father not kill his son and then himself? Why did they keep scrounging for food? The father could only hope that somehow, some way if he tried and looked hard enough his son could survive. He hoped his son could one day know the world as it was.

The last paragraph of the book pretty much concludes that its not possible though. Where there were once fish in the stream, there never will be again. What man did to the world, cannot be undone.

Cormac McCarthy is an amazing storyteller and it really shows in this book. It is tragic, it is endearing, it is a warning.

The book is very interpretable. The primary question of the book, as hinted by the great answer above me, is "Why do we live?" or "What's the purpose?" The father struggles with those questions several times, blatantly in the book, and the message that we need other people in our lives is very clear. But I think the answer above me covered that aspect well, so here's a few other questions the book raises.

There is a question of innocence and right vs wrong that comes up frequently. There is very little reason for the boy to feel such strong empathy for his fellow man, they've been killing and eating each other since he was born, and observed behavior is more formative than learned behavior from his father. So why does the boy know 'old world' ethics? One could make the case that people are born with the knowledge of good and evil, and support with the actions of the boy. Then say that society trains people to ignore the voice and prove it with the actions of the man, and the other survivors.

Another, more far reaching interpretation is of religious nature. Some believe the boy might represent the future, a young god (as stated by the man when they dine with old guy). His vision of the boy in the village is foreshadowing for sure, but could also be prophecy. That's pretty easy to run with.

Then there's the blatant observation of the book that we need community or other people to give life meaning and purpose. Oft stated by the man that the boy is his reason, his charge.

And the fish, while above me isn't wrong, can also send a message that there is hope for the future. The description of the markings on their back is a nod at their evolution, about how well they've adapted through time to survive in their environment, and that people will adapt to their new environment as well.

And that raises another, constant question in McCarthy's work which is about the role of man in regards to nature and whether we've made a mistake by changing it so drastically.

Surely now you see how interpretable the novel is, it's brilliant, it really is, and with a little thought and reading you'll draw out the metaphore for you, it'll slap you in the face.

I have never read The Road and don’t know much about it, but these sites may help you.

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/road/r...

http://www.ptc.edu/brewington/Road_Study_Guide_10_...

http://www.enotes.com/road-mccarthy/