Environment - The Road - Blog Entry 5

"The boy lay with his head in the man's lap. After a while he said: They're going to
kill those people, arent they?
Yes.
Why do they have to do that?
I dont know.
Are they going to eat them?
I dont know.
They're going to eat them, arent they?
Yes.
And we couldnt help them because then they'd eat us too.
Yes.
And that's why we couldnt help them.
Yes.
Okay.
They passed through towns that warned people away with messages scrawled on the
billboards. The billboards had been whited out with thin coats of paint in order to
write on them and through the paint could be seen a pale palimpsest of
advertisements for goods which no longer existed. They sat by the side of the road
and ate the last of the apples.
What is it? the man said.
Nothing.
We'll find something to eat. We always do.
The boy didnt answer. The man watched him.
That's not it, is it?
It's okay.
Tell me.
The boy looked away down the road.
I want you to tell me. It's okay.
He shook his head.
Look at me, the man said.
He turned and looked. He looked like he'd been crying.
Just tell me.
We wouldnt ever eat anybody, would we?
No. Of course not.
Even if we were starving?" (65)


This passage astounds me. The boy, who was born into this world of charred remains and death and survival of the fittest, still manages to care for life other than his own. I think this symbolizes the care for life humans should respect and uphold. No matter how dark things seem to get, the boy shows worry for those in need. The boy he spotted in the small village. He offered to feed the dog that followed him home half of the food he had. Now the people locked in the cellar by the cannibals are burdening him. He knows what will happen to them, but he wishes he could help them.