To Bukowski,

Your accounts of what human nature will drive us to do are chilling yet in our times, nearly 40 years laters, easy to relate to. People today live in fear that our destructive nature will lead to some nuke war that the human race will be unable to rebuild from.
You mention a world in so much debt that future generations will suffer and be unable to recover from and the way our government is handling our money, I see this as a possibility. Corrupt people find ways to get a lot of money, by embezzlement or fraud, and leave the poor suffering and very bad off.
In the line, "Radiated robot men will stalk each other,"I see this as a warning to how technology will change us to the point were we lose our humanity. Other people will say this is ridiculous, but technology has been moving at an incredibly alarming rate and at some point people will see it fit to transplant their technology into them to be more productive or efficient. Of course, the prospects for more revenue don't let us slow down and this ties into how human nature (greed) will bring our demise.

Sincerely, Derian E. Avalos

A Father's Love in a Barren Wasteland

In 'The Road', the world has met its demise due to some unexplained, catastrophic event. We experience this horrific world through a boy and his father, both of which remain unnamed. They are going south to some unspecified location, hoping to find warmth.

The world we see if filled with death, fire and evil but the boy has become accustomed to it and despite it all, the father tries to make the boy's life as normal as possible, he reads to the boy and although they are strapped for resources, he leaves the light on as requested by the boy. The father also tries to make new experiences for the boy, which when the boy grows up may be seen as highlights of  his life, such as the moment when his father gave him a Coke or when they both dived into the waterfall. Through some dreams, we also see that the child's mother left them, convinced that the father wouldn't leave the boy. The boy's mother was right, we learn from the man that his main purpose for living is the boy, keeping him alive and being a part of his life. 

In our lives, I think it's very easy to take for granted what our parents have to offer for us: unconditional love and support. Some parents have a hard letting their own kids grow and hold them back from some experiences, which might be for the better. Otherwise, we might grow up getting it all poured on at once and become very overwhelmed. Although, I would say that ignorance is (often) bliss and it's sometimes for the better to not know how bad the world. If you try to look at these things from the eyes of a parent, you want to do the best to preserve some of that ignorance in your child.

The boy's relationship with his dad is heartwarming but it's a bad place for a child to grow up and have to experience things as though they were normal.