A Psychological Perspective On The Young Survivor In Post-Apocalyptic World Of Cormac Mccarthy’s The Road

Abstract

This study explores the psychological development of a young survivor born after an Apocalypse in Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road (2006) to help understand children's psychology, and improve their mental health. Since majority of works have focused on the father’s resilience for continuing this odyssey, this study, however, focuses on the boy’s thinking patterns, the influence of his dead mother, dying father, and the blasted apocalyptic setting in shaping his behaviour. Investigating the boy’s innermost disturbances, grievances and apprehensions, the study steadily records the protagonist's moment and response with his father in the post-apocalyptic world. Keeping in view his changing behaviour and mental process, the study explores the negotiating space between his undertaken challenging journey, and growing morality. Melanie Klein’s findings in the field of psychoanalysis help in locating defence mechanisms of object-relation theory, paranoid-schizoid position, depressive position, projective identification and superego.  The study concludes: as the boy’s character develops, he credits his hereditary positive qualities and, in the crises, he emerges stronger than his parents. Besides impacting the concerned research society, education sector, mental health centres, children psychology, and child protection institutions, the study corresponds to Good health and well-being (UN’s SDG No.3), and Climate Action (UN’s SDG No.13).