The Redemptive Heart of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road

Steven Frye, Professor of American Literature at California State University, Bakersfield, explores the undercurrents of hope and love flowing beneath catastrophe in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This Pulitzer-winning novel lays bare the resilience of the human heart amid the collapse of civilization. A father and son trudge a ruined landscape where survival means connecting with each other, relying on each other, and clinging to a remembrance of the good. In so doing, they “carry the fire” to a future unknown and trust in a transcendence barely glimpsed. Less than a year removed from the death of McCarthy, Dr. Frye brings decades of reflection to this conversation about an author who still points us to the awful beauty beyond. The discussion is organized by Books & Bridges — a community institute of ideas and conversation. Our mission is to facilitate discussion on the best of human thought. We explore the wisdoms of the world and apply them to modern life. We have no political, religious or ideological affiliation. In a society divided by uncivil discourse, the beauty of the humanities—novels, history, philosophy, poetry, ethics and epics—lifts us to our better angels.