The Road Sections 201-210 Quotes
The Road Sections 201-210 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
Citations follow this format: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote 1
While the boy slept he sat on the bunk and by the light of the lantern he whittled fake bullets from a treebranch with his knife, fitting them carefully into the empty bores of the cylinder and then whittling again. He shaped the ends with the knife and sanded them smooth with salt and he stained them with soot until they were the color of lead. When he had all five of them done he fitted them to the bores and snapped the cylinder shut and turned the gun and looked at it. Even this close the gun looked as if it were loaded and he laid it by and got up to feel the legs of the jeans steaming above the heater. (222.1)
When The Man needs to be cunning, he can do it. Usually he's just clever, but every so often he throws a little deception into the mix. In this passage, The Man whittles fake bullets (and even stains them!) so that other people on the road will think he's got a fully loaded revolver. Not that there's anything wrong with cunning, especially since The Boy's life is at risk. It simply adds another incredibly useful skill to The Man's already long resume.
He pulled one of the boxes down and clawed it open and held up a can of peaches. [The Man:] It's here because someone thought it might be needed.
[The Boy:] But they didnt get to use it.
[The Man:] No. They didnt.
[The Boy:] They died.
[The Man:] Yes.
[The Boy:] Is it okay for us to take it?
[The Man:] Yes. It is. They would want us to. Just like we would want them to. (210.3-210.9)
This passage outlines another principle in their code of ethics: Don't take things from people unless they can't use them. It really is quite amazing that The Boy, even though he's near starvation, makes sure he does right by other people. Come to think of it, if there's a weak point in his character, it's that he's too conscientious. He seems almost unbelievably saintly at times.