Blanket/s
The blanket is a metaphor that holds multiple meanings within the narrative. It was a metaphor for lack, poverty, and suffering for the author-artist as a child. They were so poor growing up that he had to share a bed and a single blanket with his younger brother. The blanket would often be a point of contention for the two of them as they would end up fighting over it when nights were cold and its very presence was a nuisance to them when summer came around as it was too hot. The blanket would taken on a different metaphorical meaning when he enters into a romantic relationship with Raina. She gives Craig a quilt that she makes herself from bits and pieces of cloth of various patterns but each carefully selected because of a symbolic meaning attached to it. The effort she puts into making the quilt and her deliberate care in selecting the pieces of cloth used turn it from a metaphor for care and love.
Snow
The snow, like the blanket is also a multifaceted metaphor. Snow was metaphoric for joy and youthful innocence, especially when Craig was a child as it cushioned their falls when they tripped. It is also a fond reminder of his visit with Raina as he visited her during the winter school break. Snow was also a metaphor for freedom as and it allowed Craig and his brother momentary respite from their stifling house, the rigid family rules, and the rigors of school.
Mud
Mud is a metaphor for change, unwelcome change. After the snow began to melt everything became muddy. Unlike snow which was white and pure mud stained everything into an ugly shade of brown. It got caked on boots and made movement difficult. Mud is also metaphorical of what became of Craig and Raina’s relationship. What was once a pure and beautiful thing had now become a trite farce of a relationship.
The Human Body
Growing up in a highly conservative religious environment, sex and sexuality were highly taboo topics that were never discussed openly. If it was discussed at all it was often accompanied by a heavy dose of moralizing and guilt, as a result Craig grows up with a sense of detachment—maybe even a bit of hatred—for his own body as he has learned to associate it with sin and death. The human body therefore is treated as a metaphor for sin, frailty, and guilt.
Religion
The author-artist makes it very clear that he is not against Jesus or what He represents. He does however take great issue with the Bible and the ideas conveyed through it as he feels it to be an extremely divisive and hurtful book. After years of adherence to the tenets of Christianity the author-artist comes to a conclusion: religion is a dead-end that seems to produce nothing but hate, guilt, and confusion. Religion is a metaphor for everything that the author-artist has come to dislike: hypocrisy, legalism and meaningless ritual.
