The Man's Struggle for Hope

The man's internal battle against despair, clinging to the idea of the boy as his warrant.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Child as Warrant

The Faith The First Light Sitting in the ashen dawn, the man watches the boy sleep. He says to himself: 'If he is not the word of God God never spoke.' This is his creed, the only thing that keeps him going. The Dream of the Cave The man dreams of the child leading him through a cave to a black lake with a blind creature. The dream haunts him, but he wakes to the reality of the road. The Decision to Move South They are moving south because there will be no surviving another winter. The man knows the odds are against them, but the boy is his reason to continue.

Questioning God

The Anguished Prayer The Morning Alone Before dawn, the man walks out into the woods, coughing. He kneels in the ashes and whispers: 'Are you there? Will I see you at the last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered. Oh God.' The Memory of the Wife He recalls his wife, her suicide, and her accusation that he is not a survivor but walking dead. He thinks of the photograph he left in the road. The memory is a source of pain. The Right Dreams He mistrusts pleasant dreams, believing the right dreams for a man in peril are dreams of peril. He tries to stay awake, to keep his mind sharp, but the call of languor and death is strong.

The Fire and the Fire

The Code The Promise After the man shoots the roadagent, he tells the boy that they are still the good guys, that they carry the fire. The boy asks what that means, and the man says it means they are the ones who keep trying, who don't give up. The Ritual They build a fire, and the man washes the dead man's brains out of the boy's hair. He says: 'This is my child. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.' He constructs ceremonies out of the air. The Nightmare of the Trees In a cedar wood, trees fall around them in a storm. The man holds the boy, telling him it will be all right. The boy asks if he is going to die, and the man says not yet. The fire is their only light.

The Last Resolve

The Doubt The Sick Man As the man grows weaker, he begins to doubt. He lies in the woods, coughing blood. The boy watches him, scared. The man thinks about death and the old man Ely's words: 'There is no God and we are his prophets.' The Conversation with the Boy The boy asks if he is going to die. The man says not yet, but he knows he is lying. He thinks about the flaregun and the pistol. He is ready to die, but he wants the boy to survive. The Final Gift He gives the boy his whole heart, tells him to carry the fire. He says the boy is the best guy. He dies in the night, alone, but the boy carries on.

first morning

early in the journey

mid-journey, after the encounter with the roadagents

near the end, before the coast