Drill
Drill may be considered the central symbol of the story. He is symbolic of every stranger who ever promised something shiny or sweet to a young child who was never seen again. He is the stranger with candy who has sexual assault on his mind every bit as much as he is the dangerous adult filling impressionable older kids with toxic ideologies about white supremacy or radical Islam. Drill is the threat that parents don’t know see or know exist until it is too late.
Yo-Yo
The Yo-Yo with magical disappearing properties is another symbol of that which is overlooked by parents. That both parents can’t really get a handle on what the deal is with the Yo-Yo and that neither decides to pursue the mystery with degree of serious makes the toy no different from today’s smartphone that might as well be magic to some parents (or more likely grandparents stepping into the role of parents). The story is set in the future so the Yo-Yo could just as easily be simply a futuristic toy the parents don’t understand as it some gift from Drill. That it is not explained and remains ambiguous is part of the point.
The Attic
What is an attic in most cases? A place for storing things once deemed important and soon forgotten about. Mr. and Mrs. Morris seek safety and protection in their attic as if, symbolically, they were unconsciously drawn to the place representing the childish imagination they long put away and forgot about. Forgetting that a child’s imagination requires stimulation, Mrs. Morris failed to detect the signs that something very seriously out of the ordinary had been taking place all day. The attic is a symbol of a vain attempt to reclaim that knowledge.
Zero Hour
Zero hour is when the invasion is scheduled to begin. Not coincidentally, zero hour happens to be 5:00 PM. Although the story is set in an indeterminate American future, it also has elements that speak to a very traditional view of society in the past. The 5:00 PM hour is traditionally associated with the end of the workday—the 9 to 5 job—and within the construct of setting that symbolically connotes the arrival back home from work of the father. Which is exactly what happens when Mink’s dad finally shows up in the story. Zero hour is thus symbolic of the unification of the family as the ideal time for it to be shattered through invasion.
Invasion!
The adults unquestionably accept that the young kids are playing this game they call Invasion! And since it is merely a game—imaginative play—it cannot possibly be harmful. That it would never occur to the parents that it isn’t a game at all, but preparations for a real invasion goes without saying. As a symbol, however, the game confers meaning of a much closer and realistic potential. Parents don’t mind their kids paying “war” because it is just imaginary and nobody gets hurt. Tell them their kids were playing “doctor” and suddenly many of those very same parents will be responding quite differently. The lack of attentiveness by parent to imaginative gameplay by their kids is usually nothing to be concerned about, but always carries the potential for genuine harm. Invasion! is symbolic of that.
