Student Question

What are the events in "The Road" when the mother dies, the father dies, and the boy is taken in by the good family?

Quick answer:

The mother in "The Road" dies before the story begins, but her death is revealed about a fifth into the book. She commits suicide with a flake of obsidian to avoid the brutal future she fears. The father's death occurs at the story's end; he dies quietly, and the boy finds him cold and stiff in the morning. Shortly after, the boy is taken in by a kind family, marking the story's conclusion.

Expert Answers

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The problem with page numbers is that every version of the book is different, and so the page numbers don't correlate.  But I can try to help you pinpoint about where in the book each of these events is discussed, to help you try to narrow it down.  The father dying and the son being taken in by the kind man is very easy--look at the very, very end of the book.  They both happen right after each other, right before the book ends. The mentioning of his father's death goes as follows:

"He slept close to his father that night and held him but when he woke in the morning his father was cold and stiff."

Immediately after that even, not even 2 paragraphs later, the man comes to the boy.  He goes with the man, and is introduced to a woman:

"The woman when she saw him put her arms around him and held him."

So, he is adopted into a family.  Like I said, look for these at the very end of the book.

Technically, the mother dies before the book begins, but we aren't given that information until about 1/5 of the way through the book.  We learn that she would rather die than wait what she feels is inevitable:  the brutalization of her and her son at the hands of the barbarians.  The books states,

"She was gone and the coldness of it was her final gift.  She would do it with a flake of obsidian.  He'd taught her himself.  Sharper than steel."

So, apparently, she used a sharp flake of obsidian, or a very hard rock, to cut herself and die.  Very sad.  Look for that quote about 1/5 of the way in; sorry I can't be more specific.  The book doesn't have chapters, so I can't give you which chapter, either.  But I hope that helps a bit; good luck!

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