Breaks: A Character Analysis

From the start of the novel characters are introduced after the end of the world. In what seems to be the onset of winter death has already been introduced as a character. October, autumn, winter trailing behind, things dieing off and going dormant. The season of death has arrived as father and son wake to another grey day after a long, cold, dark night. Living in a world that is “barren, silent, godless” (4), a man awakes from a curious dream filled with more darkness to rest his hand over his son and check his breathing. They rise for the day in a repetitive trance of wake up, stay alive, sleep, repeat. They walk along the long road with nothing more than a shopping cart of items and a watchful eye. One step in front of another. Breaks