McCarthy meets Darwin- The Road

Social darwinism is understood as the theory of social selection that attempts to justify the success of some social groups over others. This laissez faire based theory is also called 'survival of the fittest', meaning that only the best adapted survive in times of conflict. In McCarthy's The Road, there is a constant reminder of this theory. A clear example of this is the division between good guys and bad guys.

He (The Boy) sat there cowled in the blanket. After a while he looked up. Are we still the good guys? he said.

[The Man:] Yes. We're still the good guys.

[The Boy:] And we always will be.

[The Man:] Yes. We always will be.


[The Boy:] Okay. (McCarthy, 120)

This conversation between the boy and his father occurs after the conflict experienced with a man (road-rat), in which the father ends up killing him. The conversation above demonstrates the different kinds of groups living in the same environment. The bad guys portray a negative, yet dominating image of people, while the father and his son represent humbleness. In a devastated world such as the one they live in, it is only logical that this 'survival of the fittest' will emerge. In this case, the fittest is the one that can obtain more food supply. In order to do this, you have to become selfish. Only care about your survival, what you are going to eat. Take the cannibals for example, their life revolves around the saying “the end justifies the means”. This is exactly what separates the social groups in The Road. There are the ones who don't mind killing and eating humans as long as they get fed, and there are the ones who won't let go of their beliefs and will not even consider hurting an innocent one. The problem is, when it comes down to the end of the world, which one is more useful?