Metaphor for protection
At the beginning of the novel, the narrator mentions that before moving to Coconut Cove, Roy used to live in a little city in Montana surrounded by mountains. Every time Roy thinks about his time spent in Montana, he is overwhelmed by a sense of happiness. Because of this, we can claim that the little town in Montana is used here as a metaphor to represent safety.
The barefoot boy
One day, while on the school bus, Roy sees a young boy running barefoot through the streets. The image of the boy intrigues Roy who can’t understand why someone would walk around naked. The fact that the boy is running barefoot is also used here as a metaphor and in this context it represents freedom.
The camp under the bridge
In an attempt to find the barefoot boy, Roy builds a camp under a bridge. The camp is an important element here and is used here as a metaphor which stands for Roy’s curiosity and his innocence.
The guard dogs
Towards the middle of the novel, Mullet is bitten by the guard dogs protecting a construction site. Mullet is in need of help and Roy offers to do that for him. The guard dogs are also an important element here because they are used as a metaphor to represent the dangerous nature of adulthood.
The burrowing owls
When Mullet reveals to Roy that his true intentions are pure and that he only wants to protect a nest of burrowing owls, the other characters change their perception about the young boy immediately. As such, the burrowing owls become used here as a metaphor and they represent the fragility of nature which must be protected.
