We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

The Road Sections 111-120 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Section 111

  • They go back to the iron bridge and make camp under it. Even though The Boy is scared, The Man leaves him to gather some wood for a fire.

Section 112

  • The Man gathers wood and lights a fire.

Section 113

  • The Man gathers more wood. He can see their fire from a distance, but he thinks no one can see it from the main road.

Section 114

  • They take inventory: binoculars, some gasoline, some water, pliers, spoons, and five tins of food.
  • They eat a can of corn.

Section 115

  • After they eat, The Man takes The Boy down to the water and washes the roadrat's blood and brains out of The Boy's hair.

Section 116

  • The Boy doesn't seem to be doing so well. The Man makes a bed for him in the sand and dries his hair.
  • The Man thinks some lofty thoughts: "All of this like some ancient anointing" (116.1).

Section 117

  • The Man wakes up and gets some more firewood. The Boy is still asleep but The Man runs his hands through his hair and thinks some vague, religious thoughts like: "Golden chalice, good to house a god" (117.1).

Section 118

  • The Man puts some more wood on the fire. He thinks about the roadrat: "My brother at last" (118.1).
  • When he wakes up, he makes a can of beets. The Boy watches him.

Section 119

  • There's new snow on the road. Luckily, no footprints or tracks anywhere.
  • They head down the road.

Section 120

  • That night they camp in a ravine and eat their last tin of food.
  • The Man has to assure The Boy that the roadrat was one of "the bad guys" and that they're "still the good guys" (120.5, 120.8).