Quotations

This is my child, he said. I wash a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job.

The genre suggested within this quote is horror. Washing "a dead man's brains" out of his young son's hair is a disgusting and horrific image. It infers a dangerous environment in which the man and child live; men are being shot at and killed. The "dead man's brains" is also a reference to low culture horror films, especially Dawn of the Dead (a zombie apocalypse film). The reference to low culture horror films are throughout The Road. For example, the basement scene in which the father and son come across emanciated bodies in a cellar is almost directly lifted from the original Dawn of the Dead film.
The use of the word "child", as opposed to son is highly revealing into the relationship the father and son have. "Child" is a cold, detatched word to use for his son. The man is distancing himself from his son, as he thinks that he will ultimately have to kill him with their last remaining bullet. The more he distances himself, the easier the killing and loss of his son will be. Be saying that it is "my" child, it indicates a single ownership. He is a single parent, and it is not "our" child.
By saing that cleaning the brains from his "child" is his "job", the man is giving a sense of responsibilty and even a sense of begrudgement.


Yes I am, he said. I am the one.

When the child says "I am the one.", he presents himself as old beyond his years. He has (barely) lived through a great deal, and in a terrible world full of death and fear. By saying that he is "the one", he shows a knowledge of responsibilty and duty that he holds and shouldn't have to at his age.


Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. Canned hams. Corned beef.

The list of food is all of the food the child and son have found in the bunker. There is a sense of disbelief as they discover more and more food. The pair have been near-death for a while and haven't eaten anything substantial for a while. Interestingly enough, all of the 'natural' food is grouped together. The artificial, man-made food is grouped separately using full tops.

Are we still the good guys, he said.

The boy asking such a question shows his age. When we are younger, we have a distinct sense of good versus bad, rather than feeling that a person could be bad and good at the same time. It also shows that boy is feeling guilt for they have done something that questions his and his dad's choices and morals.


We should go, Papa, he said. Yes, the man said. But he didn't.

The son calling his dad 'Papa' suggests that before the apocalypse, they came from a wealthy and privileged background. Also, the roles seem to have been reversed in this quote. The father would usually make the decisions and the son would choose to ignore or follow (in normal father/son relationships). The son is again showing a sense of responsibility by trying to make the decisions, and the father is showing an apatheticness, or weariness towards moving. The son saying 'Papa' shows an affection for the father that the man is not reciprocating. He simply says "yes", another example of distancing himself from his child.


The snow fell nor did it cease to fall.

This quote shows an endless towards the weather. Also, the snow is not white and pure; it is a grey sludge that falls due to whatever tragedy had occured to the world prior the book. The use of the word "cease" is interesting as the word stop could have been used. However, by using "cease", McCarthy presents us a relentless weather form as if it itself is almost doing it in spite of the pair.


Okay? Okay.

The father asking his son if he's okay emphasises his main goal of protecting his son. He also seems to be quite assertive, as the question "Okay?" isn't argued with, or contradicted. The son merely replies "Okay." Also, the father constantly checking that his son is okay seems to be a comfort of his own. He is depending on his son to be okay, even if he isn't. The speech isn't in speech marks, infering that this conversation is nothing out of the ordinary and is a regular occurence.


They sat on the edge of the tub and pulled their shoes on and them he handed the boy the pan and soap and he took the stove and the little bottle of gas and the pistol and wrapped in their blankets and they went back across the yard to the bunker.
This quote gives a sense of monotony, and a dragging out of the actions described. The pair do not wish to leave the bunker as it has been somthing of a temporary home for them. The word "and" is used frequently through the quote, suggesting a sense of time passing slowly. The pistol is the last thing that is said to be picked up, a symbol of safety for the man. It could also be taken as a symbol of the inevitability of death as the man will shoot his son if he needs to.