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:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Vintage edition of The Road published in 2008.
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 Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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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)
