Deux ex machina = God is in the machine.
The Latin phrase 'Deux ex machina' means 'God is in the machine'. This is the idea that in novels, stories, narratives etc, a problem/situation is resolved through a sudden 'magic' solution. Applying this to The Road, when the boy's father dies on page 300-302, he encounters a family that seem to be the 'good guys' and promise to look after him now his father has gone. Personally, I believe that this act of luck applies to the saying 'deux ex machina' as we are given few details about this family, and for all we know, could be cannibals planning to eat the boy. However due to the change in narrative viewpoint, from the father to the son after the man's death, the family appear to be safe. This mirrors the boy's naive and relentless hope throughout the novel. The family could also be representative of the 'nuclear' family of 2.4 that is representative of the ideology of a perfect society, that isn't even present in our pre-apocalyptic 21st century world.
Superb post Steven. It does raise the question as to why the Man never seeks out company for him and the boy. They cannot be the only good guys surely?
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