We aren't just made with the sense of good though. We are also made with the courage to persevere when times are tough. Many times throughout the story the boy wanted to give up, but the man wouldn't allow him. "Okay. This is what the good guys do. They keep trying. They don't give up (McCarthy 137). That's what they did. They persevered and survived for years with no resources. .
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Sometimes in life, it is not always the older and wiser teaching the life lessons. You notice that in the book the boy is the one sometimes showing the man the right decision. One example that truly stood out was when a stranger had stolen their cart with everything they had in it including their food, blankets, and cooking items. Walking down the road they tracked him down and the boy's father held the man at gunpoint. .
"Take your clothes off.
What?.
Take them off. Every goddamned stitch.
Come on. Don't do this.
I'll kill you where you stand.
Don't do this, man.
I won't tell you again. " (McCarthy 256).
They end up leaving the stranger in the cold with nothing to die. The boy being his good hearted self tells his father to go back and put out some clothes for the man.
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"What do you want to do?.
Just help him, Papa. Just help him.
The man looked back up the road.
He was just hungry, Papa. He is going to die. " (McCarthy 259).
The boy teaches his father that no matter your circumstances, it is always best to do the right thing, even if others don't do it to you. .
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On the flip side of this, there are many people throughout the book that don't have views as the little boy and his father. There are people in this post apocalyptic world that hunt for other humans, searching for people instead of food. People that will go behind your back to steal everything you have. They do this because in this world they are scared; scared of dying of hunger, scared of being killed by others.
