violent passage

They walked into the little clearing, the boy clutching his hand. They'd taken everything with them except whatever black thing was skewered over the coals. He was standing there checking the perimeter when the boy turned and buried his face against him. He looked quickly to see what had happened. What is it? he said. What is it? The boy shook his head. Oh Papa, he said. He turned and looked again. What the boy had seen was a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit. He bent and picked the boy up and started for the road with him, holding him close. I'm sorry, he whispered. I'm sorry. (276.1)

This is a passage in The Road that shows how violent the world becomes and how it really is. The Man and The Boy happen to come upon a campfire with a spit. On the spit there's the charred body of an infant. This is probably the most horrifying image in the book, but it's worth shifting our gaze to The Man's response. He picks up The Boy and carries him to the road. Then he apologizes to The Boy. They apologize both for how terrible the world can be and that they let down their guard, somehow allowing the kid to see the world at its worst.