 The sardonic blind man named Ely, who the man and boy encounter on the road, tells the father that, "There is no God and we are his prophets" [p. 170]. What does he mean by this? Why does the father say about his son, later in the same conversation, "What if I said that he's a god?" [p. 172]. Are we meant to see the son as a savior? Why is Ely the only character named in this novel? What does this mean and how does it affect your understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole?
Sam J. Miller
1/24/2020 02:33:02 pm
What the old man means by saying, “ There is no God and we are his prophets” (McCarthy 170) is he doesn’t believe in God anymore. God is using them to receive messages from him that are about the future upcoming events to others, but how it possible to tell the future to others. They are already living in the future without any warning which makes him feel that God doesn’t exist because they survived without any purpose since they used to believe in God. The man said to Ely that his son is God because the boy sees the good in the world. The boy doesn’t see any bad about others and he sees that everyone has the potential to be good. When the boy asked the man to help Ely the man refused to help, but the man sees right through the boy that there is goodness in the world because he sees his son as a savior to him. The man wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for his son because the boy is full of light and hasn’t given up on faith like Ely. Ely is the only character named in the novel because he could represent as a test from God. Maybe God was testing the man and the boy kindness of helping Ely. This effect the understanding of the novel by giving Ely a name ,but not the boy or the man.
Kazuo Ishiguro
1/26/2020 09:35:23 pm
I agree that the boy doesn’t see any bad in others to an extent. When they saw Ely, the boy immediately wanted to help and give him food. However, for the cannibals, the boy understands that they are not the “good guys,” because they harm people like him. Ely can be a test from God to test not only the boy’s kindness, but the man’s kindness. The boy persuaded him to give Ely food. The man could have simply walked right by him and not listened to the boy’s words, but he came down to his senses and understood Ely was not a threat.
Ling Ma
1/26/2020 10:58:48 pm
I agree that the boy brings out the good in the man, and causes him to find the good within other people even if it may appear as a challenge. Ely didn't expect the man and the boy to believe in a God because they survived without Gods help so there's no need to have his help at all. However the man believed without the help of God, their journey and will to live is in vain. That's why God sent his son Jesus, which is represented as the boy to lead his people (represented as the man) to the place where they need to be.
Naomi Alderman
1/27/2020 11:04:39 pm
I agree that in his ability to save his father's life, the young boy is a symbol of God (in a way). Just as religious people have faith in their God, the father places his faith in his son. He is alive because of him, he lives to serve him not only because that is his child but because he carries all the hope there is for the future.
Sophie Mackintosh
1/28/2020 11:12:15 am
I totally agree that the line signifies loss in faith and hope of something happening to save everyone from the fallen world. I also agree with the statement of the son because he represents to goodness of the world. Ely automatically assumed that the man and the boy were there to rob him so clearly there is very little goodness left in the world. The boy, although never exposed to a normal world where people are good, he naturally cares for people.
Bob Proehl
1/28/2020 11:11:07 pm
I find it interesting that you see the boy as a savior because he sees the good in the world despite how it has turned into a hell. I had not initially thought of it in that sense. The boy has a heart of gold and has compassion for anyone who seems desperate.
Kazuo Ishiguro
1/24/2020 05:13:18 pm
The blind man says this because he himself does not believe in God, but the people who are still considered the “good guys” are still representing God. I say this because the “good guys” know what is morally correct and that is not turning to cannibalism for food. The father says that his son is a god in that particular conversation because Ely states he doesn’t remember the last time he has seen a child. Therefore, in that world of nonexistence, it’s rare to have a child trailing along the journey. As the audience, I believe there are instances where we are swayed that the child is not a savior and is a burden to his father. The son cannot fend for himself and he still doesn’t fully comprehend what it means to survive. The father has to protect him because he took on that responsibility, yet again he still gets flashbacks of the child’s mother. However, the son can be seen as a savior sometimes because, without having a human being to care for, the father would have probably taken his own life because survival is hard.
Sam J. Miller
1/26/2020 01:22:58 pm
I agree that Ely is a foil to the boy because Ely has given up hope in the world. Ely thinks the world is better for everyone to die because there is no point in living in the world if everything around you is dying. The boy is different because he sees the positive about the world he lives in. The boy thinks that there is goodness in the world and he has hope that he will survive. I agree that the boy is a symbol of hope because the boy haven't lost faith in God even though everyone around him has.
Jesse Ball
1/26/2020 08:48:11 pm
I agree with you said about his son. Though it is not the nicest thing to say, it is the truth. If his son wasn't there he would either have enough food to fulfill himself, or probably would have killed himself to end the suffering. He is stuck with this child who can't fend for himself ; literally every second making sure the kid is ok before he can check on himself. It is also very true that the child is what has saved him from probably ending his life, to keep him moving forward for hopefully a good day in the future which is what the savior is said to do.
Emily St. John Mandel
1/26/2020 09:15:03 pm
I find it interesting that you explored the boy being a savior and a burden because in reality sometimes religion can be a savior and a burden. Recognizing the good and bad facets to this relationship emphasizes the boy’s importance to his father. The man never forgets or tries to slack off with his responsibility no matter how hard it gets and no matter how easy it seems to choose another way. Keeping faith in the boy is the man’s redeeming quality for all the sins he committed while on the road. Without this faith, the man would be just as bad as the roadagents.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin
1/27/2020 06:15:26 pm
I really like how you mentioned Ely as a foil to the boy that's something I didn't even think of. I would totally agree that Ely has given up hope of life and is only focused on how the world has no meaning. I also like how you made a reference to the protagonists being the good guys which I can definitely agree they are the closest people in the novel so far that continues to believe in god.
Emily St. John Mandel
1/24/2020 06:19:21 pm
When Ely says “There is no God and we are his prophets” be means that humans believe in a God, worship God, praise God, and spreads his existence even though he does not exist. This implies that Ely thinks the human race is foolish because they dedicate their energy to a being that cannot possibly perform miracles and protect them if this being does not exist. With this being said, there is nothing to save the world and their faith in this being is totally I vain. Ely has obviously not been as blessed as other people on the road and it seems like he attacks the man for believing in God.
Jesse Ball
1/26/2020 07:52:31 pm
I never thought of the priest Eli being an allusion for Ely, but it does make more sense. The priest Eli didn’t have full belief in the lord, and that’s why he lost all strength. Kind of like how Ely has lost all faith that there is any God to save him, and these people basically stuck in hell. In your response you say he hasn’t been blessed as much as the others on the road, my question is how? I mean in all honesty it seems like everybody in the road is everything besides blessed. They are all honestly trying to make it to the next day... alive. I guess they are blessed to be alive, but besides that I really don’t see any blessings
Kazuo Ishiguro
1/26/2020 09:35:58 pm
I agree that Ely thinks the human race is foolish because they keep believing in a being that has not given them hope thus far. The human race hasn't gotten signs from God because their world is absolutely nonexistent, yet people still try to have hope because that is their motivation for survival. As for the man, God is not his hope, his son is. His son is the only representation of God thus far because the father would’ve probably taken his own life if it wasn’t for the son he cared for so deeply. I also like your connection to a biblical allusion to showcase how Ely’s name has a purpose.
Ling Ma
1/26/2020 10:44:30 pm
As a reader I never thought to make a connection between Ely in the novel and Eli in the bible. Eli was a prophet of God, and as a prophet it was his job to deliver God's message to his people. It's ironic that Eli is delivering the message that, "There is no God and we are his prophets" even though he doesn't believe in God. With all that's going Ely has lost all hope and has gotten rid of the idea that God exists. However to Ely's surprise. the man believes that his child is a savior that's going to guide him to the light. It's interesting to see the man and his son still find a way to have faith and continue on this rough and challenging journey.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin
1/27/2020 06:19:43 pm
I really like your take on the quote by Ely that the people are still the prophets even though there is no God necessarily. Ely definitely has some resentment towards people who still believe in God in such a horrid landscape and we can definitely see that in his interaction with the man and child.I also like how you mentioned that we the reader are supposed to see the boy as savior to the man and I think that McCarthy definitely makes us feel a certain type of way in order to empathize with the boy and man
Ling Ma
1/24/2020 11:34:48 pm
When the man and the boy encountered Ely and he said "There is no God and we are his prophets" Ely in other words is saying that that he no longer believes in the existence of a higher power, and it surprises him that people around him are so quick to follow God's plan and be his "messengers" similar to the role of a prophet.
Sam J. Miller
1/26/2020 01:35:15 pm
I didn't think about higher power, but it makes sense. I agree that Ely means that there is no existence of a higher power. I also agree with that the boy is a savior in the novel and it's interesting that you said that the man is following the boy's light to get to the promised land. I haven't thought of that and that would make Ely darkness since Ely foils the boy in the novel. Ely represents the darkness in the world because he has lost faith in God and the boy hasn't lost faith in God which makes him light.
Naomi Alderman
1/27/2020 10:57:35 pm
I agree with you point that the man views his son as a higher power and in a way his savior. Though he is aware that his son is not a literal celestial being, he views him as someone who has similar characteristics to a religious figure (like Jesus) due to his ways. And like Jesus, he spreads the word of God through maintaining morals that exceed that of his father. In this way he is superior to what's left of humanity and is best fit to lead them if necessary.
Sophie Mackintosh
1/28/2020 11:19:20 am
I completely agree. Ely no longer believes that there is someone at a higher power that is looking over them. There is no longer someone to guide or protect them. I also think that the lack of God shows how humanity has turned from being compassionate to being selfish and cruel.
Bob Proehl
1/28/2020 11:15:45 pm
I do not necessarily believe that purposefully not giving the protagonists names was due to dehumanizing them, rather to focus on their journey and relationship. Ely was given a "name," though not his actual name, likely to give the man and the boy, as well as the readers, something to remember about him. It is quite interesting that he is the only one who has a name in the novel, likely to highlight the significance of his character. 1/25/2020 12:04:35 pm
Prophets in biblical terms are usually men appointed by God to tell his people that he is coming, or warn them of anything to come in there days on Earth. Ely calling themselves prophets implies to us the reader that they are going to be the people to tell the others there is no God in this world they are living in, and that they should stop waiting for him to come. I think we are to think that the child is the savior because very much like Christ he sees the best in a situation of people who have lost hope. Ely is the only person in the novel who has a name because he is the only one who knows the real truth that nothing is going change from this predicament they are in. They are stuck, and there is no savior coming to save them. This affects my understanding of the book to mean that this a lost cause kind of book. There will be no happy ending, or even a smile to remember in this book; just an endless road leading to nowhere, but pain and suffering.
Rob Hart
1/28/2020 08:27:24 pm
I find your perspective quite interesting particularly because it infers resignment even in the presence of a Prophet. The more pondering I do, the more I realize that even the Little Prophet himself wants to leave his given world. In the very first part of the novel the Boy was quoted saying that he wanted to die. And if your God wants out, it’s most definitely a sign to worry about.
Colson Whitehead
1/29/2020 03:02:18 pm
This is a very interesting perspective because you mentioned something that not many people would consider. You mentioned that prophets are people who are appointed by God to send his message and in a sense, imply that Ely must also be a prophet. The statement that really resonated with me was when you compared the book’s potential ending to being “a road leading to nowhere, but pain and suffering”. I agree that the direction that this book is headed is depressing, but the ending of the book does mention that the boy gets adopted by a family who loves him. Ely’s significance in the novel has taught me that we shouldn’t lose all faith during times of devastation because the small ounce of hope, will somehow reign victorious.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin
1/26/2020 08:01:27 pm
In this moment, there’s a paradoxical relationship between the old mans statement that there’s no god but they’re prophets. In order to be a prophet you have to spread the word of god but without a god to believe in a prophet is nothing but a common man. I think that the blind man is saying that they’re all just wandering common folk with no purpose , ie a prophet with no god. The mans rebuttal is focusing on the idea that the boy is the future of the man and to him he is the god that he need to continue forward. The man without the boy is a prophet without a god but with the boy he has the ability to go on. Ely has a name because of his role as a friend more than an enemy to our protagonist. And because his name is a play on Eli , a blind man of biblical reference , it makes sense that he has a connection to prophets
Emily St. John Mandel
1/26/2020 09:08:36 pm
In my opinion, it is an interesting take to say that the man is the prophet and the boy is God. Throughout the book, the man seems to praise the boy on multiple occasions citing him as his only reason to live and to not give up. This could mean that the boy is the man’s good because the boy is the sole reason and purpose for the man’s survival. I also like how you included the biblical reference to draw parallels because in the Bible Eli believed, but he still suffered at the hands of god because his belief was not strong enough.
Naomi Alderman
1/27/2020 10:52:09 pm
Rob Hart
1/28/2020 08:48:45 pm
While writing my explanation I realized that I barely have a grasp on the difference between God and Jesus. But while reading yours I came to realize the distinction between the omnipotent God and the kind-hearted “down to earth” Jesus is quite important. And through that distinction, it really brings out a deeper understanding of the phrase “There is God” impling Jesus as a Prophet( who is technically a Prophet in the eyes of muslims).
Sophie Mackintosh
1/28/2020 11:08:41 am
I personally thought that Ely saying "There is no God and we are his prophets" [p. 170] was pretty insignificant. I think that it clarifies how there is no belief in God but there isn't a HUGE deeper meaning. I did think that on the next page when Ely states that the boy is either an angel or God holds more meaning. It shows that the boy represents innocence and pureness throughout the ash ridden world. I thought that this was very important because from what we have seen, all people have turned into raging cannibals during this dark time which shows how humans may be born with the instinct of selfishness. The boy shows the opposite of this because although he knows no normal world or natural kindness, he automatically cares for everyone he sees.
Colson Whitehead
1/29/2020 03:28:02 pm
I disagree with Ely being considered insignificant. If Ely were insignificant, then why is he the only person in the novel whose real name is mentioned? Perhaps Ely’s aggression may be deemed as typical because everyone shares the same reality of living in a dystopian society. However, Ely’s does hold significance because readers are able to feel the survivor's pain and hoplessles through Ely’s words.
Rob Hart
1/28/2020 08:14:33 pm
“There is no God and we are his prophets” refers to the idea that all hope is lost in the world, and yet they are still carrying on a message of hope that no longer has meaning. In a world so burdened by the loss of life that continues to persist, it seems as if the Man and the Boy nonsensically persist because their world shows no sign of hope. Even if the Boy is a God fit for his Chaotic World, how long is his reign going to last? The world is turning to ash everywhere.
Name
1/28/2020 09:56:21 pm
Ely's presence allows the reader to see the current attitude of man against the promise of the future in the young boy. Even though Ely could have easily been a threat to him and the man, the boy still wanted to help. Ely is a biblical reference from the book of Samuel. Ely in the Bible said to Samuel that gods threat will be carried out on his family and “god will do as he judges best”. quite possibly this Ely, who shouldn’t have been alive, served the purpose to tell the boy reality. Although Ely doesn’t believe in a god he wants to believe in hope.
Bob Proehl
1/28/2020 11:06:34 pm
What Ely meant by "There is no God and we are his prophets" (McCarthy 170) is likely that he has lost all of his faith in God. This refers to atheism. He has accepted the fact that we, as humans, are just pawns to religion.
Colson Whitehead
1/29/2020 05:30:36 pm
Although “The Road” focuses on a dystopian world, McCarthy’s references to religion adds depth to the purpose of the story. Comments are closed.
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