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.