Gemmy as L'Enfant Sauvage
The central question of the novel seems to be whether Gemmy's naturalistic view of humans and nature is more accurate than the commonly accepted, Euro-centric view. This novel features a fictional view of something that has actually happened before in real life, most famously in the story of L'Enfant Sauvage. Basically, the idea is the same as it appears in the novel: What would a person be like who was born into European life, but raised outside of European society? The inclusion of this "Child Savage" image raises the question of whether the European idea of conquering land is actually evil.
The symbol of the bee sting
As a symbol, Janet's bee sting represents experience, as opposed to innocence. Innocence is what comes before, when life hasn't had the chance to demonstrate its full potential to a person, but for Janet, since she knew Gemmy and understood his way of thinking about the world, a simple bee sting was enough pain to send her into full blown religious ecstasy. In other words, she transcended her aversion to pain and unlocked a desire to serve people as the agent of a higher power. The pain of the sting awakened a deeper awareness of life, which is the function of experience. She has evolved.
The motif of xenophobia
One of the main thematic features of the novel is its compelling depiction of xenophobia. Xenophobia is when someone is assumed to be evil, just because they don't fit in. The novel shows this in Gemmy's story and in the story of the German ex-pat, as well as in Mr. Frazer's attempt to influence the governor. In all cases mentioned, xenophobia is what prevents the society from dealing with strangers in a healthy, respectful way. They literally beat a child nearly to death.
The motif of paranoia
Throughout the novel there are consistent depictions of paranoia. For instance, the fear of the German at the end of the novel is not just the fear of a foreigner, it's the fear of conspiracy and espionage. To feel like people are secretly trying to harm you is called paranoia, and in a way, it makes sense considering the dangerous reality of colonial life. What was life like in the early colonies? Apparently, it was terrifying, because no one knew who they could really trust in the new society, so people tended to be harsh and to overreact to threats.
Sir George as a symbolic character for Europe
In a way, Sir George, governor of Brisbane, represents the whole of Western society, because his answer to the naturalistic question raised by Gemmy is the same as the dominant answer in the West. Mr. Frazer hopes that perhaps Gemmy's influence might extend to the majority, but unfortunately, as Sir George demonstrates so clearly, the European idea that land can be subdued and possessed is simply too essential to the European view of the world.
