Trust No One

In the novel, the boy and the man are continuing walking on the road when they notice a set of tracks in the road.  In The Road it states, “He squatted and studied them.  Someone had come out of the woods in the night and continued down the melted roadway.  Who is it? said the boy.  I dont know.  Who is anybody?” (McCarthy 49).  They continue to follow him when the father realizes that the man was struck by lightning.  The boy wants to help the man but the father says there is nothing they can do for him.  This is important for the boy to understand because no one can be trusted.  If the father dies before the boy, he must know not to trust anyone.  Also, the father and son are trying to survive with barely any food and materials so an ill person will only slow them down.  I also believe the boy wants to help the man because if he is struck by lightning or sick he will want someone to help him.  He does not like the idea of every man for himself.

The statement, “Who is anybody?” raises a lot of questions.  In this world, there may not be an “anybody” much longer.  Soon everyone may either be dead or one of the blood cults.  Each time the boy and the father come across a house or town they have no idea who is living in it.  This question is hard to answer when you do not know what other beings or life forms there are in the world.  So when the boy asks his father, he cannot give an answer because he does not know who or what they will encounter next.