Social Representation of the Revenge of Nature in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006)

Abstract

This article examines the revenge of nature in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (2006). Characters exploit and abuse nature through nuclear weapons and bombs. Nature proves to be an active agent that takes its revenge on society. This article follows an eco-critical approach so as to examine this theme. Nature has a negative impact on society since it influences social relations in a post-apocalyptic world. This study investigates the representation of social relations in the novel after the nuclear disaster. It focuses on the mother’s suicide and the presence of the father and his son in a postapocalyptic world. The man and his child do not have friends and stay in desolate places because of the fear of the presence of other people. They are also afraid of cannibals, gangs of criminals and thieves; this is why they cannot trust anyone and do not have any social relations.