The Ignition of Life

After the dad killed one of the "bad guys", his son becomes distant and depressed. Also, tension builts up among them, as shown through the following:

Take me with you, the boy said. He looked as if he was going to cry.
No. I want you to wait here.
Please, Papa.
Stop it. I want you to do what I say. Take the gun.
I dont want the gun.
I didnt ask you if you wanted it. Take it." (pg 70)

They continue the journey, but as soon as they realize that their food and items were stolen and that the only things left from the man were his guts, they decided to camp in a bridge. While they were camping, the father decides to collect wood and start a fire. The way McCarthy describes the shape and vitality of the fire makes it appear as a symbol of life and hope:

He took the lighter from his pocket and struck the wheel with his thumb. He used gasoline in the lighter and it burned with a frail blue flame and he bent and set the tinder alight and watched the fire climb upward through the wicker of limbs. He piled on more wood and bent and blew
gently at the base of the little blaze and arranged the wood with his hands, shaping
the fire just so." (pg 72)

Some pages ahead, the fire also plays an important role in the story. When the characters are sleeping in the abandoned city and they hear a dog barking, both of them felt scared, hungry and disoriented. In that moment, fire is shown as a symbol of power and a protecting shield:

We're going to be okay, arent we Papa?
Yes. We are.
And nothing bad is going to happen to us.
That's right.
Because we're carrying the fire.
Yes. Because we're carrying the fire." (pg 83)

The element of fire can also be seen to an exception of the monochromatic life both characters are living. The dazzling colors of the flames and the warmth they produce reminds them that they are still alive and they have a purpose to fight for. Their discontent with their lifestyle is reflected in the following phrase:

The names of things slowly following those things into oblivion. Colors. The names of birds.
Things to eat. Finally the names of things one believed to be true. More fragile than
he would have thought. How much was gone already?" (pg 88)