Okay

The child and his father. Or the father and his son? I take a look at many of the books I’ve read in the last couple of years, and find a particular aspect in all of these: every single one develops a relationship between two central characters. The relationship can be dialectic, antagonistic, foil, nemesis, alter ego, etc. I can remember many names, many characters, and many different stories: La Maga and Oliveira, Don Quixote and Sancho, Kurt Vonnegut and Billy Pilgrim, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, Charles and Emma Bovary, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, and finally, the father and his child. But then, which of the types I mentioned does this relationship fit in?

We have the child, being naïve, innocent, and feeling emptiness in his heart due to the absence of his mother. And we have the man, having a strong belief in God, faithful, valiant, and owner of an unnamable love for his son to the extent that he becomes paranoid. If so then what? As the only two central figures, the father and son become dialectic, just as La Maga and Oliveira, but in this case, real love is going on: “What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die, too. SO you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you. Okay” (McCarthy, 11). Even though the topic of death is recurrent in this relationship, we are never quite sure of who is the one who fears death. First of all, we have the child wanting to die in order to be with his mother, but at the same time, is afraid of encountering death in a harsh manner. On the other hand, the father isn’t afraid of death, he will even die in order to protect his son and keeps the last round of bullets in his pistol to avoid his child of dying in a unforgiving manner. But about death I might talk in a future entry, due to the fact is a broader topic…

For now I concentrate with the child and his father, or the father and his son? It sounds as if both are equally important, and the focus of the reader remains equal throughout the book. We can argue that Sancho, eventually, is as important as Don Quixote in Cervantes’ novel, then, is the child the foil of his father? Honestly, this little naïve guy reminds me of Sancho himself, as he escorts his father through the perils of the road, even though he only preoccupies his father rather than protecting him. And even though he doubts of his destiny, he never doubts of his father: “And we’re carrying the fire. And we’re carrying the fire. Yes. Okay” (McCarthy, 129). This line repeats throughout their relationship, serving like the inspiration motto, hope, the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, in this case, the road. And with the recurrence of the child’s “Okay” we might extract his faith towards his dad, and his desire not to take his contrary. Complete allegiance. Then, is it the child and his father, or the father and his son? I don’t know yet. Okay. Okay.