The change of scenery
There is a strong use of symbolism in the move, because the scenery Roy is used to is mountain imagery. Near mountains, the horizon is painted with the faded image of the hills and mountains, and when he moves to the flatlands of Florida, he finds that he misses those mountains in the distance. This is a symbol. When he is in the mountains, he can see into the future, but once he moves, his security is shaken, and he can't see what is in the distance. He is limited by his need to adapt, and he doesn't know who he will become.
The bully
Roy has a difficult time adjusting to life in Florida at least in part because he becomes fresh meat for the bully to target. He doesn't stand for it though and he fights the bully. This is a symbol for his individuality and independence, because he doesn't fall in line. He makes the bully regret targeting him, which is not to say that violence is the right answer in the situations, but rather the event symbolizes his strength and pride.
The dog bite
One might think of Mullet as a spokesperson for nature, but interestingly, Mullet suffers a serious injury by an animal when a dog bites him. This shows his care, because he doesn't hate animals because of their vicious nature, but rather, he accepts his role in nature. He sees himself as an advocate for animals, and he understands that in the battle against nature, nature is not unarmed. The dog bite symbolizes the threat that nature poses.
The owl crisis
The crisis with the owl symbolizes the way society creeps outward into nature. As long as there is money to be made, people put the environment second, it seems. Although the first half of the book is about Roy and Roy's move and his popularity, the second half of the book is about the owls. The owls are threatened by human activity, so the owl crisis is a symbol for man's standing conflict against nature because of industrialization and urbanization.
Mullet as l'enfant sauvage
Mullet is a symbolic character for two reasons, among others. Firstly, Roy has a nearly mythic encounter with him that sends him running into the wilderness. Before he knows anything about the boy, he just knows that he wants to understand him, and as the boy is free, so too Roy longs to be free. Mullet has no shoes either, so that his freedom and his shoeless-ness can be seen as symbolic references to the wild child, l'enfant sauvage (as it's called). This archetype is fulfilled when Mullet is shown to be a protector of nature, always at odds with the destructive effects of society.
