Change.

There is no need for an apocalypse to go through change. The world does not have to end to see that people and things are not as what they used to be. Time changes everything, and as it goes by we change even more.

As I read, "Everything as it once had been save faded and weathered" (Pg. 8) I had a sudden flashback. And it was my return to school after being away for while. Everything changed, no one was the same. Social groups changed, people had different interests, the school changed some policies but most importantly I changed. I perceived everything differently and realized how even if everything was different, I couldn't just stick to the past. I had to bear with the change and embrace it. Just as the boy and his dad did. They did not expect change, but they followed the road to survive. They lost many things, saw everything destroyed, everything they knew perished and became only a memory, but they have founds ways to overcome the present, and live up to it. The characters focus on their relationship, give importance to their love and appreciation, and that is what keeps them going.

Even if everything is gone, there is always something that remains the same. That will overcome the change with you and help you throughout the journey. Whether it's motivation, a person or even a dream that is what really matters, not the perished past that is now way behind us.

In a way we can relate this to Gatsby, he lost everything. And was stuck with the memory of his past, not realizing that there were other things that really mattered, and focused on superficial things that led him back to try to relive his past. The change was his death, how everything he believed to be true, perished into the memories of his past.