Survival Backpack

1. Winter Clothing (Jacket, Pants, Shirts) - In the world of The Road it is constantly cold. The worst feeling is waking up with cold feet or going to sleep with cold feet or being cold overall everyday. Also, since there is no medicine, hospitals, or doctors it would be beneficial to avoid getting a cold. A thermal shirt like an Under Amour, a heavy winter jacket, and snow pants. 

2. Hiking Boots - The boy and the man walk long distances everyday. Hiking boots would allow them to travel more comfortably and if they step in water their feet will not get cold. The world is also destroyed so there is no such thing as sidewalks and the roads are all destroyed. Walking down an avenue will be similar to walking on a hiking trial. 

3. First Aid Kit - The man and the boy avoid getting even the smallest cuts because they don't have any medicine to treat themselves. The only thing worse than getting killed is dying from a sickness that you can't do anything about. A small cut could lead to an infection, which leads to a fever, and with their lack of water supplies the fever would rise and they could die. Band-aids, Neosporin, gauze, antiseptic, aspirin, Advil, hydrogen peroxide, breathing barriers, instant cold packs, scissors, roll bandages, and an oral thermometer all in abundance; enough to fill a small suit case. 

4. Water filter - You can go a week without food, but no more than three days without water. The man and the boy drink whenever they can find fresh water. I, personally, would not survive a day in the world of The Road because I would not be able to drink from a stream without getting skeevy about it. A filter would ensure that anything I take in will not harm me. Drinking bad water or eating rotten food is a quick way to ensure your own death. 

5. Flashlight that never runs out of battery - There is constant darkness throughout the novel. Even when it is day time it is ashy and gloomy. The man and the boy have to stop traveling once it gets too dark to see and it delays them from reaching the ocean. I still am afraid of the dark so pitch black night skies would not serve me well in the world of The Road.

6. Sleeping bag (water resistant/keeps heat in) - The sleeping bag would help keeping the heat in and give something comfortable to sleep on instead of sleeping with tarp. You can literally sweat/sleep a cold away. A good night's sleep would help to motivate me to travel even further per day in order to reach the sea. 

7. Swiss Army Knife - Its small and convenient. It carries tweezers, a small screw driver, scissors, and multiple things that look a knife just styled differently. The knife can be used to skin an animal if they catch one. Its the number one tool sold to most hikers and campers because it can be used in several different situations. Swiss Army Knife

8. A weapon (preferably a gun) - Although killing someone is always a last minute solution, all bets are off when it comes to the blood clots. Being eaten alive is not the way I want to go. A gun allows for protection from a distance. There wouldn't have to be any close combat and a gun is overall understood as a warning to back off. When the boy and the man encounter the cannibals that have people locked away as their food supply, they have to get away quickly because that could be how they end up if they are caught. 

9. An unlimited supply of matches - The matches can be used to start a small fire to cook and warm up food. Along with the flashlight, the matches can be used to light a torch for some light; a literal translation of the boys idea of carrying the fire.

10. Freeze Dried Food - Food is scarce in the world of The Road, and hunger leads people to become cannibals or to die of hunger. The man and the boy don't have a stable food supply or food source. It is a constant struggle of finding food and water everyday. Freeze dried food can last anywhere from 25-30 years before going bad.  

Apocalyptical Poetry - The Road

The world of The Road is barren, silent, godless. It is unknown of what caused the Earth to be ashy, smoky and cold, but it is hinted to be the cause of a super volcano. The world in which the man and the boy live in is similar to that describe in Edwin Muir's poem The Horses.

In the poem there was a seven days war that put the world to sleep. Horses had arrived later at night during the first day. There is no light anymore; there is no way to communicate with each other; there is no hope; there is nothing but fear. There are dead bodies piled up. A plane fell into the sea and after that nothing. Over the radios there is nothing but silence, and even if they spoke they would not listen. In The Road the man and the boy are their own pack. There are two kinds of groups present in the novel: the good guys and the blood clots. There are no relationships built because everyone is afraid of getting killed and it is the ultimate test of the survival of the fittest. The man and the boy experience gruesome scenes of dead bodies, ashes, and a sky that will never be blue again. They live in constant fear, fear of dying and losing the only hope they both have: each other.

Throughout the book there is this constant message of passing on the fire. The man and the boy are hoping to reach the ocean. Along the way they hope to find the other good guys that won't eat them or each other. It is hope that drives them into finding the strength to go on each day. The man depends on the boy because he is represents innocence and good. The boy cares for the other child they find on their journey and worries if they will have enough to eat. The boy on the other hand needs his father for protection and love. What does it take for someone to lose their humanity? The people in the poem are ready to start anew and not bring back anything of the old world. They will start over using methods of farming used by their grandparents. And the horses show up once again. "We had sold our horses in our father's time/To buy new tractors." The horses represent hope and are a god sent. The horses pull their plows and borne their loads. The people in the poem reflect on how the horses were thought of to be owned and used, but they have come to be their new beginning.