"They came upon themselves in a mirror and he almost raised the pistol. It's us, Papa, the boy whispered. It's us" (McCarthy, 132)
Humanity has become so disparate from what we once knew that people don't know themselves when they look in the mirror. The mirror and appearance is only useful if you care about what face you show to the world, which is a part of civilization that doesn't exist anymore. The boy and his father barely have time to keep themselves alive; they don't have time to worry about their hair, clothing, and smell. This world is all about survival, nothing else.
This section, like others in the book, shows McCarthy's stylized writing. Dialogue is wrapped within the paragraph; without the quotation marks, it shows in a post apocalyptic world, nothing is neat and confined like in a normal world. The world is confusing and the characters don't know which way is up, nor do the readers.
This is the first time the characters have stumbled upon a picture of themselves in the book. Not everything about the characters is visible- "we carry the flame". It's hard to tell which character is good or bad based upon appearance alone. The good characters "carry the flame", which doesn't shine through to the mirror. Upon seeing themselves, if it were possible, outside of the mirror, they probably would have attacked themselves too. They're so on guard, everyone could be a potential threat, because they can't afford to trust anyone.
The Road isn't actually a fantasy or science fiction novel, per se, but in another genre entirely- post apocalyptic. This passage shows how the world has disintegrated around them and even something as commonplace as a mirror in our times is seldom seen or used in their times. Mirrors are less useful than, say, canned pears. When the world has ended, what use do mirrors really have?
It's not cool so much as sad they don't recognize themselves in the mirror. Then again, they don't really have an opportunity to look for their reflections, nor is it really important anymore.
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I'm not sure there are enough works for "post-apocalyptic" to be an entire genre. Think of Barnes & Noble. If not merely in the fiction section, where would you put The Road? I like your attention to the fact that "nothing is neat and confined" in this book, which may be an element of fantasy, where boundaries are blurred...
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