Theft of their belongings. P.270-278.

This event in the novel is another example of desperation, as this man steals all of their belongings for his own sake of survival. We see how the man is willing to kill him in order to get their stuff back, although a few pages later he tells the boy that he wasn't going to shoot him. I personally see this as a reassureance for the boy about the fact that they are still the good guys. When the man talks about how making the theif strip off and give them his things is equal to him stealing the cart, it seems more like he is saying it to convince himself that what he is doing is okay, hiding the guilt in a way. The last line of this episode is one the sent shivers down my spine. 'But we did kill him.' coming from the little boy seems so contrasting because the boy is young and innocent, yet he's accusing his father and himself of killing somebody. However, there is some truth to this as, even though they didn't kill him directly, they deprived the man of food, clothing and warmth... Which will eventually lead to his death. They basically inderictly murdered him, and that is the cruel reality of it.

Getting to the shore. P.227-230.

This event in the novel is really disappointing for the reader, as the whole novel is about getting to the shore and we expect to feel some sort of relief when they do get there, but the shore seems exactly the same as the rest of the country. Dead and empty. The language used does not show any signs of comfort from arriving at their desired destination, this could be because McCarthy wants the reader to realise that there is no hope for them. The characters appear as disappointed as we are, because the man apologises to the boy because the sea is not blue. This shows how their expectations are not met and is a very important part of the novel as there is so much build up toward this moment, but when it comes we are not satisfied.

The baby on the spit. P.210-215.

This event in the novel is extremely disturbing and monstrous. It makes the reader question the extent some people will go to for survival. The people who were eating the baby clearly reproduced for this purpose only and that is alarming. It brings the reader to the dull reality that the boy and the man are the only trace left of humanity, as everyone else seems to be relating more to animals than people in this desperation. This episode is so unexpeced and shocking, it really proves a point to the reader about how determined some people are to survive. They also come across a man on a porch, who appears to have been dead for a long time, this puts questions in the readers head; how long has the world been in this state? We don't know much about the time/date in the novel, and according to an earlier quote from the novel, neither does the man. This leads us to believe that this has been going on for a very large amount of time.