The boy has lost all innocence. After experiencing the true horrors of the road, the boy begins to mature. This is seen when the boy tells his father that he threw the flute away, when they find the bunker, and, most importantly, after they leave the bunker. This change in character is a result of what happened on the road and could change the course of this boy’s life.
When the boy throws his flute away, the text seems to bring no real meaning to this passage, but if read into has a big impact on the story. “What happened to your flute? I threw it away. You threw it away? Yes. Okay” (McCarthy 159). The flute represents the boy as a child and his innocence objectified. Now that the flute, or his innocence, is gone, the boy can mature and begin to become independent.
The boy has lost all innocence
A more vivid showing of this is when the boy follows his dad into the bunker. Although it took some time to convince him, it seemed like a more mature decision than ones previously made by the boy. This is important because this is the first sign of the boys growth and the start of his journey as a mature adult.
The most vital information in context to the boy’s lost innocence is his decisions and language after his stay at the bunker. “What are our long term goals? he said” (McCarthy 160). This shows that the boy has begun to think about their future and survival. “The boy is going ahead with a broom and clearing the way of sticks and branches” (McCarthy 156). This passage also shows that he is thinking about the future, and planning ahead, in this case to not break the cart.
After the loss of the flute, and the boy’s innocence, the boy begins to change, and becomes more mature. This can help him in the long term, more importantly the short term, because in The Road, tomorrow is never promised. The boy now seems to understand that, and will now be able to grow independently.
I like the paragraph about after the boy and his father leave the bunker, but all of my transitions could have been more fluent.