IB: Literature

Elisabeth Khojasteh, 5VD

Extract from The Road p.136-138

He found pieces of flint or chert in a ditch but in the end it was easier to rake the pliers down
the side of a rock at the bottom of which he'd made a small pile of tinder soaked in gas. Two
more days. Then three. They were starving right enough. The country was looted,
ransacked, ravaged. Rifled of every crumb. The nights were blinding cold and casket black
and the long reach of the morning had a terrible silence to it. Like a dawn before battle. The
boy candlecolored skin was all but translucent. With his great staring eyes he’d the look of an
alien.

He was beginning to think that death was finally upon them and that they should find
someplace to hide where they would not be found. There were times when he sat watching
the boy sleep that he would begin to sob uncontrollably but it wasn't about death. He wasnt
sure what it was about but he thought it was about beauty or about goodness. Things that
he'd no longer any way to think about at all. They squatted it in a bleak wood and drank
ditchwater strained through a rag. He’d seen the boy in a dream laid out upon a coolingboard
and woke in horror. What he could bear in the waking world he could not by night and he sat
awake for fear the dream would return.

They scrabbled through the chared ruins of houses they would not have entered before. A
corpse floating in the blackwater of a basement among the trash and rusting ductwork. He
stood in a livingroom partly burned and opened to the sky. The waterbuckled board sloping
away into the yard. Soggy volumes in the bookcase. He took one down and opened it and
then put it back. Everything damp. Rotting. In a drawer he found a candle. No way to light it.
He put it in his pocket. He walked out in the grey light and stood and he saw for a brief
moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth.
Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum
of the universe. And somewhere two haunted animals trembling like groundfoxes in their
cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow with.

Extract from an article in WHO: Depression

Symptoms and patterns

During a depressive episode, the person experiences depressed mood (feeling sad, irritable,
empty) or a loss of pleasure or interest in activities, for most of the day, nearly every day, for
at least two weeks. Several other symptoms are also present, which may include poor
concentration, feelings of excessive guilt or low self-worth, hopelessness about the future,
thoughts about dying or suicide, disrupted sleep, changes in appetite or weight, and feeling
especially tired or low in energy. 
In some cultural contexts, some people may express their mood changes more readily in the
form of bodily symptoms (e.g. pain, fatigue, weakness).  Yet, these physical symptoms are
not due to another medical condition. During a depressive episode, the person experiences
significant difficulty in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, and/or other
important areas of functioning. A depressive episode can be categorised as mild, moderate,
 IB: Literature
Elisabeth Khojasteh, 5VD

or severe depending on the number and severity of symptoms, as well as the impact on the
individual’s functioning. 

There are different patterns of mood disorders including:

 single episode depressive disorder, meaning the person’s first and only episode);
 recurrent depressive disorder, meaning the person has a history of at least two
depressive episodes; and
 bipolar disorder, meaning that depressive episodes alternate with periods of manic
symptoms, which include euphoria or irritability, increased activity or energy, and
other symptoms such as increased talkativeness, racing thoughts, increased self-
esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and impulsive reckless behaviour.  

 Contributing factors and prevention

Depression results from a complex interaction of social, psychological, and biological factors.
People who have gone through adverse life events (unemployment, bereavement, traumatic
events) are more likely to develop depression. Depression can, in turn, lead to more stress
and dysfunction and worsen the affected person’s life situation and the depression
itself.There are interrelationships between depression and physical health. For example,
cardiovascular disease can lead to depression and vice versa.
 IB: Literature
Elisabeth Khojasteh, 5VD

Depression is Not Easy to Spot

One of the themes discussed in the book is depression. Although Cormac McCarthy
did not specify that the man had depression, were the symptoms pretty clear.
Nowadays a lot of people suffer from depression, especially in the current generation
where social media is present. A lot of refugees have experienced depression as
well, namely about 40% of all refugees. (Refugeehealth, 2021) Last year, the World
Health Organization has published an informative article about depression. It
becomes clear that in both extracts of “WHO” and “The Road” similar symptoms of
depression were shown. Firstly, during a depressive episode people can experience
strong negative emotions. Secondly, the father in “The road” feels empty and sees no
point in life, except for his boy. Thirdly, depression is usually caused by adverse life
events. The causes and effects of depression described in the article of WHO,
represents the father in “The road”.
Depressive episodes can cause for people to feel gloomy, irritable and to lose
pleasure in any activity. In the beginning Cormac starts off describing the ambience
from the man’s point of view. He mentions that the nights are blinding cold and that
the morning had a terrible silence to it. (McCarthy, 2010, p.136) The way he
experiences places is connected to his emotions. Everybody experiences life in a
different way and this subsidiary of the emotions. In this case it is visible that the man
feels gloomy and has a lack of happiness, which is mentioned as a symptom for a
depressive episode in the article. (WHO, 2021) Furthermore, the extract in “The
Road” mentions that the man sometimes sat down and cried uncontrollably when
looking at the boy. Crying uncontrollably is one of the symptoms for depression. As
previously indicated, emotions are tied with the thoughts and thoughts are tied with
dreams. Later in the extract the man experiences a dream where his son is laid out
upon a cooling board. In terror the man wakes up from his dream and sat for the rest
of the night awake, frightened to go back to his nightmare. (McCarthy, 2010, p.137)
Other symptoms mentioned in the article of WHO are thoughts about dying and
having a disrupted sleep schedule. (WHO, 2021)
The father in “The Road” experiences a loss of will to live and an empty
feeling. A symptom and an effect of depression is for people to not see the reason to
live, feeling hopeless and create therefore suicidal thoughts. The man describes his
absolute truth of the world as a crushing black vacuum and having borrowed time
and eyes which to sorrow with. (McCarthy, 2010, p.138) This description shows the
reader that the man has lost hope in the world and feels that the only thing he can do
is cry about it. Eventually he will die because time is borrowed according to him.
WHO states that people experiencing depression, have the feeling of hopelessness
in the future. (WHO, 2021) Additionally, the man describes the world as darkness
that is implacable. (McCarthy, 2010, p.138) Looking at the meaning at a deeper level,
readers can soon see that the implacable darkness can be linked with hopelessness.
As light is usually linked to hope. The overall mood of this extract gives a strong
 IB: Literature
Elisabeth Khojasteh, 5VD

emotion of hopelessness, just by reading how the world is described and in which
situation the man lives in.
Due to adverse life events, there is a possibility people can experience
depression. The road takes place in a post-apocalyptic world which is of course an
adverse life event. The apocalypse caused so much trauma for the man and this
made him more likely to experience depression, as stated in the article. (WHO, 2021)
The situation shown in the chosen extract of “The Road” shows the horrific life he has
to live. The man mentions a corpse floating in a basement among trash. (McCarthy,
2010, p.138) These kinds of situations lead up to more trauma, which eventually
adds up to the depression and increases the stress in his life. The article also states
that the physical body can be damaged due to depression. (WHO, 2021) Although
the chosen extract does not describe any problems with the man his physical health,
later in the book it does. The man suffers from an illness and coughs blood
throughout the book a lot. This could be an effect of depression, but is not
necessarily the reason for it.
In conclusion the man shows almost every symptom and effect of depression
according to the article of WHO. Depression is not easy to spot, so it is important that
people look out for each other to decrease the rate of depression. Firstly, depression
causes for depressive episodes. Secondly, the father experiences hopelessness and
has suicidal thoughts. Thirdly, due to the apocalypse, the man experiences
depression. The chosen extract states the symptoms of depression of the man.
 IB: Literature
Elisabeth Khojasteh, 5VD

References:

Citation generator. Citation Machine, a Chegg service. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2022,
from https://www.citationmachine.net/apa

Guerrier, S. (2010). The road. BBC Books.

Refugee health ta. Refugee Health TA. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2022, from
https://refugeehealthta.org/physical-mental-health/mental-health/

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Depression. World Health Organization. Retrieved

February 13, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression