On page 161 the boy and father are walking down the road when they spot a figure in the road ahead of them. They continued walking until they overtook the traveler and saw that it was a very old man. The old man saw them and replied by saying that he had nothing for them to rob. The father and boy continue telling the man that they do not want to take any of his things, but the old man is delusional. The boy insists in helping the old man by giving him something to eat and eventually the father gives in. The old man agreed to sit down and eat but he was skeptical of the two and the whole world for that manner.
The father tried questioning the old man while they ate, but the old man gave untrue answers and was perplexed at simple questions. When the father asked when the last time he had eaten the old man simply replied by saying, "I don't know." The old man told the two that his name was Ely; however, he eventually tells them that it is not his actual name, and will not tell the father or boy what his name really is for safety precautions. Then the old man's dialect takes a curve and he suddenly starts becoming philosophical by explaining that there is no God and that he knew something like the boy and father coming would happen eventually. The old man gives his two cents on life and how he thinks everything will be better once everyone is gone. In the morning the boy and father negotiate how much food they should leave him and once they leave boy said he feels bad because he knows that the old man is going to die.
The boy and father set out for the road again, and after some time they sit to eat a meal. The father tries turning the valve for gas on the stove and realizes the valve was left on by the boy. The father doesn't tell the boy it was his fault but the boy understands he left it open and tells the father it's the his (The Boy's) fault. Much time passes in these pages which mainly depict scenery. Eventually the boy and father come up to a town where four people meet them at the entrance asking them what they have on them. The father then pulls the pistol out and the people let them by, and the boy and father continue on their journey. A few days later the father and son feel as though someone is following them so they camp out to see if their suspicions are right. They camp through the night and the father spots 4 figures walking, 3 men and 1 pregnant women. They watch them pass and the next morning set out again only to see a smoke from a fire down a ways in the woods. The boy and father agree to check out the fire, and to the boys shock he discovers a charred beheaded human infant. The sight pierces him as he becomes speechless, and as the days continue the boy appears to have lost a lot of his innocence.
This section of the book was very peculiar. I felt that the old man provided a different view point of the world which was kind of interesting. A quote from the man that I liked was, "People are always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn't believe in that. Tomorrow wasn't getting ready for them. It didn't even know they were there." This pessimistic view on life made me think about time, and also how everyone is guided by the concept that there is always tomorrow. I'd say even though the old man was very delusional he himself was also very intellectual and practical. Another thing I noticed in the section is the growing change of the boy. As the boy continues on his journey down the road he is constantly changing due to the images he sees. The boy starts out very innocent and occurrences such as almost being killed by a scavenger, seeing the rotting people in the basement, and seeing the charred baby in the stew pot has greatly impacted the way he sees life.
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