This is a recurring theme in the novel, how the boy wants to give what they have to others in order to help them, but how the father must refuse such help so that the two of them can survive. He feels guilt at leaving the man who's been struck by lightning behind. This section highlights the boy's strong sense of right and wrong. They take time to enjoy the waterfall together, the man floating the boy on his stomach and helping to push him around in the water, just as a father might have done before the world expired. The father is trying to keep the fire alive in his son by telling him stories of courage and justice. This is shown in how the boy makes him take some of the hot chocolate.Īs much as the world has changed, there still exists a strong, traditional bond between the man and his son. In this section we see that the boy feels a great deal of responsibility to keep his father alive, to make sure that his father is taking care of himself, too. She leaves in the dark night, and the next morning, the man and the boy set out. She can't bear to see her son raped, killed, and eaten, a future she believes is imminent no matter how much the man says he will protect them. She's leaving them both so that she can die alone. The man remembers the night she left, how she'd wished they'd all gone ahead and killed themselves, but she especially wished she'd killed their son. The boy says he wishes he was with his mom, that he wishes he were dead. He thinks back to the first day, how the clocks stopped at 1:17 and he filled the bathtub with water, all the electricity exhausted. He feels guilty for not keeping her memory alive. The man remembers his billfold, how he eventually left that behind in the road, along with his wife's picture. He wants to help the man, but his father explains that he's going to do and there's nothing they can do to prevent that. He's been struck by lightning, and they leave him there, the boy crying. They follow him, but his pace is slow, and soon the man sits on the road, not even daring to look up at the man and the boy as they pass. Ahead of them they see tracks and soon come upon a man, limping and ragged. They have to wait for the road to cool so that the macadam doesn't stick to their feet. That night in the woods, a storm breaks out, lightning flashing around them and setting fire to the trees. They camp in the truck cab and the next morning the man finds human bodies sprawled in the trailer. To get to the other side of it, they must slide the cart sideways beneath it. They come upon an overturned tractor-trailer that's been jackknifed there for years. They continue to follow the state roads of states that no longer exist, states that the boy has never known. He shows the boy their map, now a tattered piece of parchment they must piece together each time they want to look at it. The boy wants to stay at the waterfall, or at least follow the river, but the man says the river runs east and that they must continue south. To put the boy to sleep, the man tells him stories of courage and justice from the old world. They make camp near the waterfall and find some morels, out of which they make a meager dinner. The water is freezing, but the man and the boy go swimming in it anyway. A waterfall streams before them and the boy watches it in awe. The man has to drag the cart through sludge, and their continued descent takes days. The boy tells his father not to do that, not to go without so that the boy may have more. The boy watches his father, noticing that his father is pouring himself only water. Before setting out they have a small breakfast of crackers, tinned sausages, and hot chocolate. The man and the boy make camp in the mountain pass and then move on the next morning.
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