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An outcast from a commune who steals the man and boy’s cart and supplies while they are exploring the beach. They catch up with him, and the man makes the thief strip off his clothes at gunpoint. Despite the boy’s protests, they then leave the thief shivering in the road with no chance of survival.
The Thief Quotes in The Road
The The Road quotes below are all either spoken by The Thief or refer to The Thief. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Pages 246-287 Quotes
He was just hungry, Papa. He’s going to die.
He’s going to die anyway.
He’s so scared, Papa.
The man squatted and looked at him. I’m scared, he said. Do you understand? I’m scared.
The boy didn’t answer. He just sat there with his head bowed, sobbing.
You’re not the one who has to worry about everything.
The boy said something but he couldnt understand him. What? he said.
He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
At the end of the novel the Man truly compromises his moral principles for the "greater good" of survival. He and the Boy have their possessions stolen by a Thief. They track him down, and he threatens them with a knife. The Man points his gun at the Thief and forces him to surrender his possessions, including his clothes and shoes. The Boy begins to cry as they walk away from the Thief, pointing out that the Man has surely killed the Thief, since the Thief won't be able to survive for long without food, clothing, shoes.The conversation between the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omn
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The Thief Character Timeline in The Road
The timeline below shows where the character The Thief appears in The Road. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 246-287
...soon he starts coughing and has to slow down. In the evening they overtake the thief, who turns and wields a butcher knife at them. He is an outcast of a...
(full context)
The boy starts crying and begs the man not to kill the thief, but the man tells the thief to take off his clothes and shoes. He makes...
(full context)
...to stop crying, but the boy can’t. The boy begs the man to help the thief, because “he’s so scared.” The man says that he’s scared too, and he’s the one...
(full context)
