Another way in which the human spirit seems to be alive in McCarthy’s dystopian landscape lies in the absurd nature of the world that is presented. The father and son must “keep walking to survive”, despite the fact that where they are walking to or from is not always clear. As a result their efforts often seem pointless given the inevitability of their death at the hands of roaming bands of cannibals. However, what is clear is that they repeat the same routine every day, drawing parallels to the absurdity of life – this alludes to thee Greek Mythology figure Sisyphus whose existence consisted of rolling a boulder up a hill only for it to fall down on a daily basis. Mundane as it is like a nightmare, it is repetitive nonetheless it is through this repetition that the two characters manage to develop their close bond. It may be the case that the absurd of their journey is dehumanising yet it is through this cyclical process that McCarthy allows their humanity to shine through. In terms of ‘The Road’ the man and boy must walk, just as Sisyphus had to roll, however the absurdity of their existence is somewhat lesser than that of Winston from Nineteen Eighty Four.
Winston’s life is also presented as absurd. Orwell creates a world capable of inducing suicide. The narrative is filled with a nihilistic and soulless atmosphere, where there is no ‘God’ present, making the world seem like there is no meaning and no essence to life dehumanising the protagonist. This continues to the portrayal of the dangers of living in a totalitarianism society when has the main objective of control over its subjects to any extent emphasising the absurdity of life. Through oppression and stripping away basic human rights through extreme restriction making, Big Brother himself seems like an absurdist. Although there is no official law about it, it seems to be common knowledge what it is expected for them to do so they are not punished and placed in room 101. Orwell’s London becomes more absurd when there is no official rule to punish Winston, and therefore more dehumanising as it is difficult to tell what justice is if individuals can not be truthful on what you know is wrong and right, blurring the lines in terms of what the public know Big Brother is doing. Through the allusions to Everyman, where the Father in The Road, and Winston in Nineteen Eighty= four play as characters they also play a part of the Christian from the Pilgrims Progress, this is allude to the journeys and challenges presented to both of the men bringing another sense of optimism to themselves and to the reader. While this journey tends to out way the dangers and hardships they are going face on their way. McCarthy’s journey is a pilgrimage, the father and boy are searching for a place of hope, and it is a contrast with Winston. He is searching for truth in a society that is created through lies, and manufactured stories of the past.
Religion seems to be absent in The Road there is no god, but a slight biblical reference “There is no God, we’re his prophets” suggesting that he and the boy are meant to spread the knowledge of the last society. He said “if he is not the word of God, God never spoke”. McCarthy seems to use “taken them from this world”. So that we would think the prophets were taken from this world, and suggest a Religious war may have destroyed civilisation. Contrasted within Nineteen Eighty Four where religion is apparent and focused on the antagonist Big Brother as a god like figure although there is no formal religion. He seemingly has omnipotent and omniscient qualities that dehumanise those around him into fear of him as a substitute of patriotic feeling, as they know that “Big brother is watching you”. We see his use of power through the denial of the past and ever changing present that Winston has to work to keep the system working the way Big Brother wants it to. Thus creating a society with no memory framework, they can not be truly counted as real if they have no recollection events as they continue to change, they just go along with the next story because they have no way of thinking otherwise. This is familiar to how God can see everything and how it seems that they are continuously scrutinized this could dehumanise them as there is no sense of privacy, but in this society there is no way to avoid neither him nor can they get away from his followers. He also seems to be in a god like place as there is no way to tell where he is, or even if he exists at all. Although this could confuse the protagonists as they have their right to choose their own religion taken, so their individuality has been demolished and decided for them. Nevertheless it seems to give the impression of a very primitive religion based around human sacrifice, although the sacrifices themselves seem to be presented as punishment for those who are deemed evil under the acts of a powerful of the “saviour” represented furthermore dehumanising the protagonists as they have to choice but to be part of the sacrifice.
Echoes of atravism behaviour are present in The Road with to us with the flashbacks the father has, each provoking a different feeling like with the Coca Cola he remembers a time when he was happy and then tries to hand over these memories to his son. It provokes a nostalgic feeling in the father. He also recalls the time where he was close to his wife, he wanted to save her scent although remembering this is dangerous as it distracts him from the grim battle between life and death against the bands of cannibals. However the son doesn’t appreciate this as he was born into the post apocalyptic world and does not share the feelings of his father. It is also evident when they enter houses the son is cautious of the house when the father seems to assume that the one from his past is safe like in the memories, and how to the father it brings a sense of home, in spite of this it is still dehumanising as he is estranging himself from the new world it also dehumanised him to knows it is impossible for him to get back to these times.
The soulless nature in Nineteen Eighty Four suggests there is a lack of aspiration their lives are laid out for them; they have no spirit to do anything in a different way. Yet in spite of this experience Winston Smith offers hope to the reader through his actions, many of which present humanity in an optimistic light. For instance, there is “hope within the proles” as there are no restrictions as they are seen no better then animals, but they are free. Winston seems to be jealous when he watches the prole woman singing freely a song which was manufactured by the totalitarian world, making him have an ironic feel to it. In The Art of Fiction David Lodge suggests that Orwell’s novel should be read as prophetic as it was written for the future. This view adds weight to the argument that it is not just a book about stripping away humanity; if the reader sees it as prophetic then it would seem that Orwell is suggesting that the future might too hold hope, as well as the threat of inhumanity. Lodge remarks that
“Orwell draws on many recognizable features of life in “austerity” post-war Britain, as well as on reports of life in Eastern Europe, to create a depressing atmosphere of London”. Orwell’s vision is bleak is beyond question, but to suggest that there is no hint of humanity and decency in the text would be missing one of Orwell’s key themes that he apposes alongside the cautionary nature of the book.
Eventually, the worlds which Orwell and McCarthy create dehumanise the individuals from their societies in the protagonists eyes, therefore making them outcasts from their societies, the lack of justice present backs this, as they both have lost legal systems and punishments are not officially known, although in the Road justice as the new post apocalyptic society seems to be chaos. Winston is an outcast but no one else seems to care or even notices and therefore he is dehumanised although he does conform in the end, it is forced on him whereas the father and the son are outcasts within the Road as two of the few people left who are not dehumanized by the new apocalyptic society. They do not conform making them different as they try to hold on to the fathers past giving them aspects of atavism, and an outcast for it, these characters usually can not survive in the new society, Neither society is allowed privacy, someone is always looking into their lives whether they are a controlling leader or a cannibal
