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Motifs
Definition of Pathos
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Pages 246-287
Explanation and Analysis—Death, at Last:
The Road reaches a stirring moment when the man nears the end of his life. As he lays dying by the campsite, the boy returns with plywood and crouches down beside him in a touching exchange marked by pathos:
Just take me with you. Please.
I cant.
Please, Papa.
I cant. I cant hold my son dead in my arms. I thought I could but I cant.
You said you wouldn’t ever leave me.
I know. I’m sorry. You have my whole heart. You always did. You’re the best guy. You always were. If I’m not here you can still talk to me. You can talk to me and I’ll talk to you. You’ll see.
Will I hear you?
Yes. You will. You have to make it like talk that you imagine. And you’ll hear me. You have to practice.
Just don’t give up. Okay?
The dialogue builds an emotional intensity through its understated simplicity. Platitudes like “you’re the best guy” may seem to fall far short of this death scene, but this failure only works to emphasize the pain of loss. The short, clipped sentences underscore an ache that language and words can no longer articulate.
At the novel’s emotional climax, this scene captures the paralyzing helplessness experienced by both father and son—the man is unable to kill the child he loves, the boy is forced to watch his father leave him behind. Father and son can only hang onto the belief that talking to the sky will keep them connected.
The man’s death is partly an ironic reversal of the father’s initial promises, in which he pledges to kill himself if the boy dies before him. But more than that, this moment enacts failure in multiple senses. Not only do father and son struggle to find the right words, but the exchange marks a refusal to act according to their previous plans. In admitting that he “can’t” take the boy with him, the father scraps his initial plans to kill his son when he himself dies. Throughout the journey, he has stared at the “beloved skull” of his son and wondered whether he could “do it” when the time came. Now suddenly brought down to his last breaths, he cannot pull the trigger. In these final moments shared between father and son, inability—to find words, to follow through, and to kill—may also amount to the ultimate expression of love.
Related Themes:
