32 Powerful The Road Quotes From Cormac McCarthy

‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy is a post-apocalyptic novel that was released in 2006.

The book is about the journey of a father and a son who are looking for a way to survive in a destroyed world. ‘The Road’ won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007 and was adapted into a film in 2009.

Many themes are at play throughout the story of ‘The Road,’ especially focusing on faith, survival, dreams, and the concept of death. On reading about the post-apocalyptic world present in the book, we can imagine the consequences that we may face if things go wrong in our own world. Did you know that the novel is actually based on a conversation between McCarthy and John Francis, an American environmentalist? We think this makes it all the more meaningful.

If you find ‘The Road’ quotes insightful, check out these Cormac Mccarthy quotes and 'The Road Less Traveled' quotes too.
 

Here are some quotes from the book that makes us understand the thoughts of the man and his son who are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

1. “He said the right dreams for a man in peril were dreams of peril and all else was the call of languor and of death.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

2. “And the dreams so rich in color. How else would death call you?”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

3. “We used to talk about death, she said. We don't any more. Why is that?”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

4. “Death is not a lover.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

5. “When your dreams are of some world that never was or of some world that never will be and you are happy again then you will have given up.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

6. “I don't have good dreams anyway. They're always about something bad happening. You said that was okay because good dreams are not a good sign.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

7. “A forest fire was making its way along the tinderbox ridges above them, flaring and shimmering against the overcast like the northern lights.”  

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

8. “A person who had no one would be well advised to cobble together a passable ghost.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

9. “In the nights in their thousands to dream the dreams of a child's imaginings, worlds rich or fearful such as might offer themselves but never the one to be.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

10. “The man squatted and looked at him. 'I’m scared,' he said. 'Do you understand? I’m scared.'”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

11. “Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

‘The Road’ tells a heartwrenching story of a boy and his father. Even in the post-apocalyptic world, they find their moments of love. So, here are some instances where Cormac McCarthy has shown the love between the characters in his book.

12. “They slept huddled together in the rank quilts in the dark and the cold. He held the boy close to him… the boy was all that stood between him and death.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

13. “They went on. In the nights sometimes now he’d wake in the black and freezing waste out of softly colored worlds of human love, the songs of birds, the sun.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

14. “He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

15. “This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They don't give up.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

16. “When he went back to the fire he knelt and smoothed her hair as she slept and he said if he were God he would have made the world just so and no different.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

17. “'Are you okay?' he said. The boy nodded. Then they set out along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other’s world entire.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

18. “Maybe there's a father and his little boy and they're sitting on the beach.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

19. “He folded everything into a pile. God it was cold. He bent and kissed the boy on his forehead. 'Stop worrying,' he said. 'Just keep a lookout.'”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

20. "Boy: Are they gone, Papa?

Father: Yes, they're gone.

Boy: Did you see them?

Father: Yes.

Boy: Were they the bad guys?

Father: Yes, they were the bad guys."

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

21. “There is no God and we are his prophets.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

The novel tells us a story of human life on earth and what happens when things start to fall apart. With discussion of God, prophets, good guys, bad guys, and more, the book takes readers on a philosophical journey into a dystopian world with help of the boy and the man. If you are looking for a 'The Road' study guide, these quotes from the man and his son might be a good place to start studying.

22. “He thought each memory recalled must do some violence to its origins.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

23. “People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn't believe in that. Tomorrow wasn’t getting ready for them. It didn't even know they were there.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

24. “You think I won't kill you but you're wrong. But what I'd rather do is take you up this road a mile or so and then turn you loose. That's all the head start we need. You won't find us. You won't even know which way we went.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

25. “But you think I might lie to you about dying.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

26. “He bent and picked the boy up and started for the road with him, holding him close. 'I’m sorry,' he whispered. 'I’m sorry.'”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

27. “He pulled the boy closer. 'Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever,' he said.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

28. “You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

29. “In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

30. “The boy looked after her and then he looked at me and then he looked at the dog and he began to cry and to beg for the dog's life and I promised I would not hurt the dog. A trellis of a dog with the hide stretched over it. The next day it was gone.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

31. “In what direction did lost men veer? Perhaps it changed with hemispheres.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

32. “Dark of the invisible moon. The nights now only slightly less black. By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp.”

‒ Cormac McCarthy, ‘The Road’.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 'The Road' quotes by Cormac McCarthy, then why not take a look at these funny dad quotes or [family first quotes] for more related quotes to share with friends and family members?