Fire - Annotation

    Fire is a huge part of The Road. “He’d come down with a fever and they lay in the woods like fugitives. Nowhere to build a fire. Nowhere safe. The boy sat in the leaves watching him. His eyes brimming. Are you going to die, Papa? he said. Are you going to die” (186)? The father and son have to make sure no one sees them because they do not want to take a chance in getting hurt. The definition of brim, figuratively, is, being possessed by or fill of feelings or thoughts. The father probably has a million of ideas going through his head about what is going to happen next. Meanwhile, they are cold and the father is sick and his son thinks he might die soon.
    According to the Oxford Dictionary, fire is, “combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke.” Fire symbolizes many things; controlled force, food, creating civilization, light in darkness, security, defense and a difference between good and bad. Fire enables them to eat warm food and drink coffee. The effect of this language changes the reader’s thoughts. Most of us nowadays can go to a fire place, turn on the gas, put a match in it and get some fire wood and the fire will start right away. We do not have to do what the father and son are doing. We use it for warmth while they use it for security, food and so they will not freeze all the time. It represents the historical period because the time back then was very different, especially in their world since basically everything was destroyed. They do not have warm shelter that they can rely on to go home to every night with a thermostat.
    This device of fire brings security to the text. It makes them feel somewhat secure knowing that they will not freeze to death or go more hungry than they already are. Although when the fuel runs out, the little boy believes it to be all his fault and feels terrible even though his father does not blame him. This passage is essential because it really makes not only them worry about their own future, but it also makes us worry about them. A place to build a fire where no one can see is a reoccurring aspect in this novel.

"Oxford Dictionaries ." Oxford University Press, 2011. Web. <http://english.oxforddictionaries.com /definition/fire?region=us>.