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Flashback to the Man's Nightmare
The man describes one of his nightmares at the very beginning of the book. He talks about the boy leading him into an abandon cave. When they look around, the spot a translucent creature with dead eyes. The creature stands before a black, ancient lake before leaping away from the man and the son. This is a significant event because the creature in the man's dream is the symbollic figure of the world they live in. -
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From the Beginning to the End
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Coca Cola
The man and boy find an old supermarket in an abandonded city. Inside the supermarket, there is a coke machine that had the last coke can in the world. The man gave the coke to the boy as a treat. This event symbolizes the forgotten world and what it used to be like. -
The Woman
The man has a flash back about a woman who was his wife during the apocalypse. The man's wife decides to kill herself, leaving the man and the son to fend for themselves. The man's flash back introduces the reader to the man's terrible past. -
Discovering Where the Man Grew Up
The man comes upon the house that he grew up in. The boy is very frightened of this house because he is afraid that someone might be inside. This is a very important moment for the man because he reflects upon the happiest memories from his childhood. This event shows how the world was before the apocalypse. -
The Waterfall
They come upon a waterfall and the man and boy swim together, and the man teaches the boy how to float. It's a touching moment that exposes the lessons the father might have taught the boy in the old world. Moments like this one at the waterfall prove the bond between fathers and sons still exist in this new world. -
The Man Struck by Lightening
While walking on the road, the man and the boy pass a man who has been struck by lightening. This is a very important point in the novel because the man tells the boy that they have to leave him. The boy then questions the father if they truly are "the good guys". The interaction between the man struck by lightening and the man and the boy show how morals are changing in this ruined world. -
The Survivors
A truck full of survivors comes upon the man and the boy, who hide in the woods. The truck breaks down and one of the men finds them in the woods. The bad man grabs the boy, and the boy's father shoots the man in the head and both escape into the woods. The boy wants to know if they are still the good guys, despite his father's committing a murder. Now the pistol has only one bullet left, and the man knows that this bullet is for his son should the time come. -
The Victims of Cannibalism
The man and the boy come across a grand white house while searching for food. There are suspicious items in the house, such as piles of blankets and clothes and shoes and a bell attached to a string. He finds a door in the floor of a pantry, and breaks the lock. The boy becomes frightened and repeatedly asks if they can leave. In the basement, the man and boy find naked people who are being kept alive for others to eat. This event represents the dark and evil practices the new world has adopted. -
Safe Haven
They come upon another house, and the man feels something strange under his feet as he walks from the house to the shed. He digs and finds a plywood door in the ground. What they discover is a bunker, full of supplies and canned food, cots to sleep on, water, and a chemical toilet. It is a brief sanctuary from the world above. The man realizes that he'd been ready to die, but they would live. This is hard for the man to accept. The man and boy stay in the bunker for days, eating and sleeping. -
Ely
The man and the boy are traveling along the road when they run into a strange old man named Ely. The boy can see that Ely is starving, so he convinces the man to let Ely eat with them. The man agrees, but tells his son that Ely can't stay with them for long. The next day as they prepare to part ways, the boy gives Ely some food to take with him. -
The Boy's Nightmare
The boy has a nightmare and says that the man did not wake up. This is the foreshadowing of the man's death. -
The Baby Eaters
There are people following the man and the son: three men and a pregnant woman. The man and boy hide and let the group pass. Later, the man and boy come upon their camp and discover the baby skewered over a fire. This illustrates how desperate people are to survive in this world. -
Reaching the Coast
This is one of the climaxes in the book. The man and boy have been traveling for months just to reach the coast. The boy swims in the ocean, however he is very disappointed that their situation is not getting any better. Even though they reached the coast, they are still alone, cold, and starving. -
The Thief
When the man and the boy return to their camping ground, all of their belongings are gone. The man and boy frantically retrace the steps of the thief. When they find the thief, the man makes the thief take off all of his clothes and shoes. Then they leave the thief by himself and return to the shore. The boy cries and once again questions if they really are the good guys. The incident makes the reader question if morals should still apply in the apocalyptic world. -
The Death of the Man
After the man is shot with the arrow, his condition worsens. The man knows that he will die soon and stops in the woods by the road. The man tells the boy to go on, to leave him, but the boy refuses. Eventually, the man dies. The book then switches to the point of view of the boy. When the man dies, it symbolizes the leaving of the old world. -
Carrying the Fire
The boy walks out to the road and sees a man carrying a shotgun. The man invites the boy to come along with them. The man says that he's one of the good guys and that he's carrying the fire, too. He also says that they've got a little boy with them and a little girl, too. Eventually, the boy decides to go with the new family. This shows that the father was watching over the boy and that the boy can now begin a new journey.
