[The Boy:] Do you think we should thank the people?
[The Man:] The people?
[The Boy:] The people who gave us all this.
[The Man:] Well. Yes, I guess we could do that.
[The Boy:] Will you do it?
[The Man:] Why dont you?
[The Boy:] I dont know how.
[The Man:] Yes you do. You know how to say thank you.
The boy stared at his plate. He seemed lost. The man was about to speak when he said: Dear people, thank you for all this food and stuff. We know that you saved it for yourself and if you were here we wouldnt eat it no matter how hungry we were and we're sorry that you didnt get to eat it and we hope that you're safe in heaven with God.
He looked up. Is that okay? he said.
[The Man:] Yes. I think that's okay. (218.13-218.23)
This is yet another example of The Boy's pretty simple code of behavior: Don't steal from other people. But we also want to point out how The Boy begins his prayer with the words "Dear people" instead of "Dear Lord." How linked are compassion and faith for The Boy? Does a belief in God push him to compassion, or does compassion push him to faith?
He's gone, he said. Come on.
He's not gone, the boy said. He looked up. His face streaked with soot. He's not.
[The Man:] What do you want to do?
[The Boy:] Just help him, Papa. Just help him.
The man looked back up the road.
[The Boy:] He was just hungry, Papa. He's going to die.
[The Man:] He's going to die anyway.
[The Boy:] He's so scared, Papa.
The man squatted and looked at him. I'm scared, he said. Do you understand? I'm scared.
The boy didn't answer. He just sat there with his head bowed, sobbing.
[The Man:] You're not the one who has to worry about everything.
The boy said something but he couldnt understand him. What? he said.
[The Boy] looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one. (356.3-356.15)
Some critics blasted this exchange between The Boy and The Man as hokey. We can see why: "I am the one" is a cliché straight out of The Matrix. That said, we do think The Boy has a point. He is the one who keeps tabs on how they treat people on the road. Sure, The Man scavenges food and warm clothes and builds fires to keep them warm. And, in that sense, The Man does have "to worry about everything." But food isn't everything, as this novel reminds us. Kindness and compassion count, too.
[The Man:] Do you want me to tell you a story?
[The Boy:] No.
[The Man:] Why not?
The boy looked at him and looked away.
[The Man:] Why not?
[The Boy:] Those stories are not true.
[The Man:] They dont have to be true. They're stories.
[The Boy:] Yes. But in the stories we're always helping people and we dont help people. (367.5-367.12)
Ouch, the Boy really calls his dad out here. It seems like The Man has been telling stories about how they help people on the road. (Do the terms "carrying the fire" and "good guys" originate in these stories?) But in actuality, as The Boy points out, they rarely do anything to help people. We wonder, though, if The Boy isn't being too hard on The Man and himself. Isn't it enough that they don't harm other people? Isn't that an accomplishment in itself? Do you think The Boy sometimes seems more naive than compassionate? Are these two terms synonymous in The Road?