The Little Boy (Spoiler)

[sfl315]

Throughout the novel the boy is always questioning his father about a little boy that he believed he had seen in one of the destroyed towns.  I had read and believe that the woman that the boy found at the end of the story was the man's wife.  Was the little boy he had always spoken of her son?  What is his symbolism?

[-Jake-]

I also wondered if the little boy that was mentioned at the end of the book was the same as the "lost little boy" that the father and son saw in the abandoned town, but I couldn't place any significance on it other than it showing that the group had been following the father and son for quite some time. I'm not sure if I believe that they were following them for that long though.

[Eldanogrande]

I don't think the little boy was the same as the one at the end.  Months separated the events and the family would have tracked down the boy and man before they did. I think the little boy was a child of a family hiding in the town that avoided the man and boy. Remember the man felt like he was being watched, and they saw smoke and heard a dog. Later he said the "good guys" were hiding from each other.

I don't believe the boy was symbolic of anything, though in the heart-wrenching dialogue at the end, the boy was clearly talking about himself when asking about the little boy.  He was fearful of what would happen after his father died.  Who will find him. Empathy for others often reflects your own fears. That does not diminish the sincerity of the empathy, but it reveals a lot about a person.