Ely

 

The character of Ely is extremely significant. He is the only character that is given a name throughout the whole novel, which sets him apart from the other characters. Through Ely the boy's compassion and love is revealed as he begs his father to give the man food and not kill him, this is essential to the novel as it reveals that despite the obvious downfall of humanity surrounding the boy he is still able to retain human qualities.




Ely can be seen to have a close likeness to the character of Elijah, a prophet from the old testament of the bible. In the book of  Ecclesiasticus the prophet Elijah is described as "a fire and his word burnt like a torch", Elijah is the only man in the bible that goes to heaven without actually dying, he is carried to heaven in a chariot of fire, once again reiterating the importance of fire. This coincides nicely with the theme throughout the novel of fire and carrying the fire. The raining fire of Elijah is different to the metaphorical fire mentioned by the boy and the man. This difference represents the change in the spiritual path of mankind.




Ely's age and duration of travel is unknown in the book. When he is asked how long he has been travelling he simply replies "I have always been on the road". This makes it possible for one to argue that Ely is the prophet Elijah that has changed considerably from the Elijah represented in the old testament. Ely esoterically states that "there is no God and we are his prophets" whereas Elijah of the old testament rained fire upon those who denied the existence of God. This transformation could be bought about by the transformation of God. The old testament God was involved and rained justice upon his subjects however the new testament God simply plays an invisible hand in the lives of humans. Ely feels abandoned by the altered God, the abandonment is similar to the world created in The Road that too has been seemingly abandoned  by God. Ely represents the religious journey, path and God of the past whilst being a reminder of a physically present God and playing the role of a relic. Thus highlighting the religious and spiritual aspect of 'The Road'.