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The man's dream about the creature
The man has a dream about a timeless creature. I believe the creature represents the death which they are trying to avoid. It is watching them, but has not yet made the kill. -
The man's dream about his bride
This dream suggests that the man was married, and the wife was probably the mother of the boy. Also, it makes the reader queston were is she and what happened to her? -
The visit to the man's childhood home
The man makes the boy go into the house even though he is clearly terrified of it. This is signifigant because it makes the reader wonder what memories are tied up with the house that would make the boy so scared. -
The river in the woods
They come upon a river and the man and the boy swam in it. The boy thinks it is a very good place, but the man says the waterfall will attract others. This helps to further make the reader want to know why the other people cannot be trusted. -
The truck blocking the bridge
The man and the boy come accross a bridge that crosses the river, but it is blocked by a truck. The truck is full on dead human bodies. The man doesn't tell the boy about them. Is he being too protective for his son? Maybe he should fully realize the dangers of this world. -
Man Hit By Lightning
The man and the boy come across a man that is obvioulsy hurt. The man tells the boy he was hit by lightning, and they could not help him. The boy is very upset by this because he wants to help the man and share his food with him. The man knows that they have no food or supplies to share. This shows that the boy is so good that he would set aside his own health for others. -
Man's Flashback to the Woman (his wife)
This is where we finally get a sense of who the woman is and what happened to her. The woman is the man's wife and the boy's mother. In the flashback, the man, the boy, and the wife are all in the woods after the apocolypse. The woman tells the man that she has given up and wants to die. She tells the man that the world is not worth living in and she would ratehr kill herself than get raped and cannibalized. The woman then proceeds to go off into the woods without saying good bye to the boy. -
The Truck People
While the man and the boy were walking, a truck came rambling up. They ran and hid in the wood while they waited for the truck to pass. The truck stopped because it has mechanical issues so one of the truck people walked into the woods to go pee. The truck man stumbled upon the man and the boy, and the man held a pistol to the truck man. The truck man lunged for the boy so the man shot the truck person. This is signifigant because it shows that the man is willing to kill someone for his boy. -
The Little Boy
While the man was scouting out a seemingly abandoned town, the boy sat waiting for him. While he was waiting, the boy saw another little boy in the distance and called out to him, but he ran away. The man didn't believe the boy and thought the child saw a hallucination from lack of food. This is signifigant because the boy did see another little boy, which we find out at the end of the novel. -
The Army and Prisoners
One morning, the man and the boy are woken up by an army of bad people marching past with their slaves and wagons. The man sees the slaves and the conditions they are going through. This is signifigant because this shows that there are many dangers on the road and the man needs to be cautious. Also, the man does not allow the boy to look. This might be protecting his innocence, but the man will not be around forever so is it for the greater good? -
Trapped People
The man and the boy come upon a house in a field. They enter because they are looking for food and are starving. The man finds a hatch and opens it to reveal people chained up. It is clear to see that these people are slowly being cannibalized. The man and the boy quickly exit the hatch, to only see the cannibals returning home. They run into the woods and hide and luckily escape them. This is signifigant because this shows how the low the morals of some humans have gone. -
Apple Orchard
The man finds a farm with fresh water and an old apple orchard. There are some edible apples on the ground and the man gathers them all up and returns to the boy. They were starving and really needed this food. The farm almost represents the garen of Eden from the Bible as it provides them of their needs. This food and water helps them to continue on their journey. -
Amazing Bunker
The man finds an underground bunker packed full of supplies. They stay there a few days eating and refueling their supplies. The amount of food in the bunker could sustain them for quite a while. Why did they leave? The man thinks it's dangerous to stay there in case they get discovered, but it is the same chance if they are on the road. The journey must be what is motivating the man to keep fighting to survive. -
Ely
They come upon and old man in the road named Ely. He is blind and has little supplies. The boy convinces the man to feed Ely and talk to him. Ely turns out to be a cruel, mean old man full of resentment for the world. This is signifigant because Ely represents Cormac McCarthy when he was faithless. This may be Cormac's way of telling his readers his views have changed. -
Stayed at Farmhouse
One day it began to storm very heavily. The man and the boy came upon a farmhouse and took refuge in it. They restocked thir supplies and found a wheelbarrow to carry their stuff. The man also found some food to eat there. Without this house stop, they could have died from the horrible condtions outside. -
Shipwrecked Ship
When the man and the boy reach the coast, they are met with disappointment. The sea is as gray as everything else in the world. Later they find a ship washed up on shore. The man swims onto it and finds many supplies for them. At this point in the novel, the man and the boy seem almost without a purpose. They reached the coast... now what? -
The Boy's Sickness
One morning, the boy becomes sick. The man knows it is serious since there is no medicaitons for him. He says multiple times how he must follow the boy if he dies. This is signifigant because it again verifies the fact that the boy is the man's only purpose of survival. -
Stranger Steals Cart
When the man and the boy walk down the beach, their stuff gets taken by another man. They go after the theif and catch up with him. They get their stuff back and make the theif give them his clothes. After they leave, the boy makes the man feel guilty about taking all his clothes because he will die without them. They go back calling for the thief, but end up leaving his clothes in the road., This is signifigant because it shows the goodness is still alive in the boy. -
Stranger With a Bow
As the man and the boy walk about town looking for anyone, the man gets shot by a man in a window. The man shoots the archer with a flare gun. The archer is not alone because the man sees an old woman with him. This is signifigant because later in the novel, boy goes to live with these people. It also shows that the man's idea of teaming up with other good guys was not likely because he does not trust anyone. How can the man meet good guys if he never gives anyone a chance! -
The Man Dies
The man finally has to stop because he gets too sick to continue. The man tells the boy he has to keep going on and that he will aways be with the boy. The man dies, leaving the boy to fend for himself in the world. -
The Boy and the People
The boy meets a man in the road as he is walking. The man tells the boy that he is carrying the fire and has a little boy and girl. The boy goes with this man and it turns out they are good guys.
