"Cold glaucoma dimming away the world"- when a person has glaucoma their iris clouds over, this is symbolic of the landscape within 'The Road' clouding over with ash, it also links to the grey dreary weather throughout.
"If he is not the word of God God never spoke"- religious references are mentioned throughout the novel. God sent Jesus to Earth to save humans, the only way the man believes that he can be saved is for the boy to lead him to his death, this makes the boy the word of God.
"Pilgrims in a fable"- This is an American novel symbolising the American Dream. Traditionally in order to achieve great things or for prospects to brighten a person would travel from the east of America to the west. This is similar to the pilgrimage that the man and boy make from North to South in search of the "good guys" and hope.
"He hadn't kept a calendar for years"- This shows the novel begins in media res as it is clear that the world has been in a post-apocalyptic state for a long period of time. It also reveals that time is no longer a necessary aspect of life which further distances the book from humanity as most people find themselves checking a clock or meeting deadlines multiple times in a day.
"grocery cart" "looking at a Coca-Cola" "billboards advertising motels"- The grocery cart is a key way of the man and the boy clinging to the pre-apocalyptic world. The references to Coca-Cola and advertisement billboards is a way of representing the consumerism and materialistic nature of America and showing how none of it is ultimately important. When the man and boy share the boy's first Coca-Cola it is a significant moment as in America it is a key part of a boys' life.
"knapsack" "motorcycle mirror that he used to watch the road behind them"- This links to the idea of danger as they're always watching the road behind them. This enables the genre to be planted in horror as suspense is built. An explicit link is shown from low culture movies as influences from films such as 'Dawn of the Dead', 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'.
"dialled the number of his fathers' house"- The man is reminiscent of his old life and foreshadows his visit to his old house. It also reinforces the father-son relationship that is portrayed and highlighted in the book.
"I'm right here. I know"- This is the first piece of dialogue, it sets out how all of the speech will be for the rest of the novel. It emphasises the strange nature of the relationship between the man and boy as the boy's simple reply shows that he is aware of his Dad's presence but never has the contact comfort that most children require. The simplistic nature of the vocabulary illustrates that the man and boy are only communicating with the bare necessity of what needs to be said , they don't attempts to alleviate the pain or horror of the situation by discussing feelings or supporting each other, it appears that each has accepted their fate.
"Cold and growing colder"- The book could be summarised in this sentence. The man and boy are barely surviving at the beginning of the book but as the narrative continues their prospects become bleaker and their hopes begin to fade. Upon the arrival of the coast the sea isn't blue, there are no "good guys" and their hopes of rescue have vanished. As the story progresses the weather begins to deteriorate, as does their situation.
"That and food. Always food."- Every aspect of the story is centred upon food. In each key event food is mentioned, as they pass others on the road the boy asks his Dad to share their food yet the man nearly always refuses, this could give insight into the profession that the man had before the apocalypse or just simply highlight the differences between the nature of the man and the boy.
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