Symbolism.

1. Look at this list and for each one, first explore its literal importance in the text and then its possible symbolic meanings. Do the meanings vary or change in the course of the book?
Water, cleaning and washing- Keeping humanity, washing away all wrong (when the man washes the brains out the boys hair)
The mountain- Their journey of survival resmbles climing a mountain as it is hard. The mountain looks down on them but is always in the distance as though it is God watching but unable to be reached. Could the mountain or the trees be the narrator?
The sea- The sea is their hope, all the way through the novel they hope the sea will be blue, it allows them to realise there is not hope as it is colourlesss like everywhere else.
The colour grey (gray American spelling) Ash- The world is flimsy, dull and burnt. Everywhere is colourless, humanity is also gray.
Fire- The fire is the only light in the world, it helps them survive, the man and the boy are carrying the fire because they are the good guys. The trees are on fire at one point this suggests that the good guys that are carrying the fire will prove to be destructive and show signs of evil further into the book.
Sight/sightlessness- The world has lost sight of itself, it has changed. The man looks at his map but nowhere looks the same, he is sightless. 'cold glaucoma' humanity is blind to what it used to be like and everything is now savage.
Seeds- seeds are a sort of metaphor for new life however within the novel o new life will begin, life that does start is doomed (baby on the spit). vegetation cannot grow as teh land is dead. Hope.
can -The cans represent all that is keeping them alive, it is a basic food we all have access to and yet in the road they are few and far between, They are also a sign of hope. Like the man and the boy cans last a long time however will inevetably be used up and end.
2. Add any other metaphors or symbols that you have noticed during your reading.
Light- the symbol of any light left wihin the dead world.