Finding the cellar. P.112-121.

Finding the cellar is such a disturbing event in the book that it becomes one of the most memorable. When the man and the boy first find the house we expect them to find food in the cellar. We are lead to believe that the cellar is locked so as to keep people who are struggling to maintain themselves from breaking in and steel the food of whoever the house belongs to, however it is a shocking revelation when the man breaks into the cellar and finds all these naked, mutilated people. We, as readers, are forced to feel the panic and shock that the man and the boy must feel about coming across such a horrible discovery. The man loses his lighter in his desperation to escape before it is too late, this shows just how much danger they are in as the lighter is a vital peice of equipment and he knows that they need it to survive. We doubt the safety of the man and the boy as he hands him the pistol and explains to him how to end his life with it, this shows that the man has lost hope in survival, and leads the reader to do the same. 'I was going to run. To try and lead them away. But I can't leave you.' is an example of how the man would sacrifice himself for the boy. If the man tried to distract them, he would be captured and subjected to torture like the people in the cellar, whereas the boy would end his life and after a split second, his pain would be over. He says he can't leave the boy, this helps the reader to understand just how helpless and innocent the boy is. He needs protecting, and the man will protect him til the very end.