Happy Past With Coca-Cola

             Although there are many events that occur in The Road, the Coca-Cola scene was one that impacted me the most as the reader. A father and son are on a journey to the south, which is their only option to survive. As they are walking, which they constantly do to live, they come across an abandoned supermarket. As usual in this run down society, everything is old and deteriorating. Somehow, a miracle occurs and the father finds a can of Coca-Cola in an old vending machine.
       
          By the door were two soft drink machines that had been tilted over into the floor and opened with a prybar. Coins everywhere in the ash. He sat and ran his hand around in the works of the gutted machines and in the second one it closed over a cold metal cylinder. He withdrew his hand slowly and sat looking at the Coca-Cola (McCarthy 23).

            Is it a coincidence that they came across this one last can of Coca-Cola? The father gave his son the last can of soda. The boy was never exposed to such drinks and did not know what it was. As usual, the boy listened to the father when he was told to drink it. This scene stood out to me, as the reader, because I can relate to the feeling of taking my first sip of Coca-Cola. At first it is strange because of the fizzing and bubbling, but one you get past that, the amazing flavor hits you.

          This scene especially stuck out to me because the father wanted the boy to drink all of it. This last can of Coca-Cola could symbolize happiness and hope. The father could have wanted the boy to experience happiness, but it could also represent the father's past. This could possibly be a way for the father to give something back to his son because the boy had not been able to settle in one place since he was a young child. It is possible that this represents hope because somehow they got the very last can of the soda. Maybe it is a symbol that there is hope and that life  will get better for them from that moment forward.

Will it get better for this father and son?

Could the Coca-Cola scene foreshadow a new and happy future or could it be the father's way of giving the boy happiness before they die?