The challenge of adaptation
In order to become who he needs to be to survive a new environment, Roy has to endure painful self-adjustments. He is challenged by his community, symbolized by the bully who picks on him. This is a striking irony, because a community is typically for support and mutual encouragement, but not to newcomers. Yet, who needs help more than a newcomer? People are wired to crave normalcy, and Roy brings a new vibe to a status quo—but it isn't like he loves change either. He is overwhelmed by change. The conflict between him and community is well-defined.
The weak bully
Roy is in the middle of following his adventurous spirit when, out of nowhere, he is attacked by a bully who is so weak, he has to assert his dominance on other people in order to feel powerful. Roy easily defeats the boy because, whereas Dana's motivations are clouded by guilt, Roy is focused on a goal, and he doesn't feel bad about hurting Dana because it is literally self-defense (Dana is choking him). In terms of the plot, this is also ironic because this novel is clearly not about learning to face the bully, because he settles that score almost instantly.
Beatrice and the boy
There is some archetypal storytelling at play when Roy gets close to finding the shoeless boy. Beatrice is an advocate for order, and she knows that if the boy is caught, the order of the culture will overwhelm the brother who is a wild spirit. In her sense of order, she knows that her wild brother must be free in nature. She stops Roy from containing him. In a way, her ironic opposition serves Roy symbolically, because there is something wild in him that he should not attempt to control.
The dog bit hero
Although Mullet has been bitten by dogs, he is still an advocate for nature. Notice that the dogs that bit him were raised by humans, but still it is ironic that he should advocate for animals knowing the damage that animal nature can mean. He doesn't care. He clearly views the human relationship to the earth in terms of an existential covenant—his first and only priority is to serve the earth. The irony of his heroism returns the reader's attention to his point of view. Why shouldn't people feel the way Mullet feels? The irony is actually that people would not care about the earth in which they live.
The victory
The book takes a sweet turn when the children manage to change the culture. Instead of making a novel about how hopeless life is, or how impossible it is to make the world better, the story is ironically simple and effective. By sharing genuine sympathy with nature, these children manage to convince business owners and important people in the community that it is worth defending nature from the advances of money-grabbing businesses.
