The other Mr. McCarthy.

I find that one of the most prevalent themes in The Road has been the relationship between father and son.  In one of Mr. McCarthy's interviews he said that most of the conversations in the book were taken from real conversations he had had with is son.  He seems to have a very strong uncompromising moral basis, and believes in luck, but is an atheist.  Though he seems to be a very kind man, he apparently is very pessimistic, not even in a depressing way.  In his conversations with his brother, who is very dear to him, they in more cases than not, talk about the end of humanity.  They do this completely in a complacent way, though, and not in a way which is at all spiteful, or sad.  Back to Cormac McCarthy's underlying theme of father and son.  He has great respect for his son, who he treats as an adult.  He has let his son direct a movie even.  I believe that though the book is Man vs. Man and Man vs. Nature a part of the book is Man vs. Self, because much of the book is about how the man only lives for his son, and to help his son, and now that it is clear that the man is dying, he is trying to teach his son the final things he will have to know, before he dies.