The Narrative of Postmodern Ethics in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road

Abstract

The Road has been called a “post-apocalyptic novel”, reflecting the ethical elements in the novel. From the perspective of rhetorical narratology, the rhetorical devices Cormac McCarthy used helped convey his postmodern ethics, which was uncertain and full of dilemmas. Firstly, McCarthy reversed the Grail motif and Abraham archetype in The Road, questioning the certainty of universal ethics and absolute faith based on the requirements of modernity with the Christian tradition. Besides, McCarthy used impersonal, debating dialogues to reveal ethical dilemmas, making both sides speak, then set neutral plots without favoring either side, which showed the ambiguity and difficulty of the ethical choices and guided the readers to reflect from both sides. Meanwhile, McCarthy portrayed the protagonists with both clarity and ambiguity, making the readers sympathetic but still make independent ethical judgement. He also portrayed clear faces of the passers-by to convey the theme of the Other, so as to make the readers feel the responsibility they had to strangers. By seeing the Other and making choices independently in moral dilemmas, individuals attain postmodern moral subjectivity.