The Boy as the Christ Figure
I will present academic arguments about monomyth by Joseph Campbell, who considers all stories to be of the same origin and therefore relatable to any audience. Whereas God and Jesus exist in the Gospel's, In The Road, this relationship is demonstrated through the Boy as the Christ figure. The Man and the Boy alternate in the "Hero's Journey" (an extension of the monomyth). The call to action is represented by the call of the ocean, the supernatural element represented by the apocolypic setting. The mentor/teacher relationship is twofold in McCarthy's work: The Man teaches his charge about survival in unsurvivable conditions, while the Boy teaches the Man about innate goodness. Sickness and heathens act as complications, and the Father experiences revelation and transformation upon realizing his son is the Christ figure in which he is faithful to. At the end of the narrative the Boy keeps his promise to his father through remembrance, hence fulfilling the journey of the hero.
“God’s own firedrake” (McCarthy, 31)- The Man referring to the Boy
"[The] story reflects that aspiration toward goodness. He puts the burden of purity on its child. The child questions his father's sometimes dubious actions. The father, on the other hand, is desperate to protect his charge." (Dansby)
“He held the boy close to him. So thin. My heart, he said. My heart… the boy was all that stood between him and death” (McCarthy, 29)
"It may not be much to go on – that maybe some children are born with the instinct not to eat other humans in extremis, but that is where McCarthy places his hope." (Adams)
"The Christ figure isn't the thin wounded guy with the beard. The bearded man is us -- the best of us, flawed but true. The worst of us in "The Road" commit heinous crimes against man, zombies without the excuse of tainted blood. The boy, the one in the oversize sock hat that sits on his head like a halo: He's the one." (Dansby)
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The Man
The Man initially doubts God due to the horrific circumstances of the natural world and the suicide of his wife. Despite this, he comes to believe the Boy is the image of God on Earth, through which he is given a chance of redemption by protecting. Decoste notes the difference in the Man and the Boy as comparable to the Old and New Testament: whereas the Man considers "an eye for an eye" to be suitable revenge for thief's, the Boy preaches New Testament forgiveness and humility. Many scholars note the similarities between the Man and the Boy, to the biblical Abraham and Issac. As Nisly notes "in the Genesis account, the father and son are also described as carrying the fire as they go off alone for the sacrifice of Isaac." (see Symbols) The Man acts as a protector of the Christ, simultaneously learning from his wisdom acting as his disciple.
The Boy
The Boy is linked to the image of Jesus in the novel and film, of which New Testament compassion is illustrated. As Pudney points out, his goodness is emphasized by his ability of sight in the darkness, correlating to theological metaphors of vision exhibited in both the Old Testament and The New Testament. The Boy is the pinnacle of morality in the Godless landscape of The Road. As Dansby asserts, McCarthy believes that goodness is innate which is best views through the Boy. Rather than seeking to emulate "the good guys" in the mythic tales of hero's his father teachers him, The Boy embodies their characteristics. Humble, forgiving, and compassionate, The Boy seeks to help those him around them despite their attitudes toward him. He convinces his father to feed an old blind man, and rebukes the Man when he leaves a thief naked and desolate, who later recognizes the Boy as "sobering" (The son is the messenger of God, his voice), indicative of his wise nature. The Boy is a savoir to his fathers morality, and to those who crosses his path.
Ely—Elijah
The only named character in McCarthy's work, Ely— better known as his biblical counterpart Elijah— is a precursor to a revealing important theological convictions the man holds. Ely, similar to Elijah, is a prophet. Where Elijah foretold the coming of the Christ, Ely foretold the apocalypse. When he encounters the Boy he recognizes him as an angel from God, revealing the Mans belief that to him, the Boy is a God. Ely denies the existence of God, and is a nihilist. He declares "There is no God; and we are his prophets" indicative of his belief that since there is so much atrocity in the world God either doesn't exist or has turned his back on humanity. He preaches this message to anyone he encounters on The Road. The fate of Ely, abandoned alone in the ashes represents to McCarthy what happens to those who deny the existence of God. Whereas Ely is doomed to loneliness, the Man through his faith in The Boy, learns from his innate wisdom, and becomes a better person as a result.