A cap (symbol)
Rufus is obsessed with an idea of having a cap. He asks his father to allow him to have one, but his mother doesn’t approve. When Rufus notices “a little boy”, who is “obviously sissy”, but all the same wears a cap, which is not like “a hat like a baby”, he becomes jealous. The importance of a cap for a little boy could hardly be overestimated, because it is a symbol of adulthood for him. When Rufus gets his first cap, he is eager to show it to his father, as if trying to say that he is not so little anymore.
Darkness (allegory)
Darkness is a symbol of fear, loneliness, uncertainty and absence of hope. Yet darkness is also a symbol of intimacy. It seems that darkness even intensifies negative emotions, since darkness is usually described as “cold, sad, intimate, hollow”, but there are several cases, when it is defined as “gentle” and “dear”. The most terrible and worrying events happen to the characters during the evening or at night. Darkness is depicted as a living being, which is able to communicate.
In expectation of death (motif)
The characters of the novel are trying to cope with the thought of a coming death of Jay’s father. It is obvious that the possible death of aforementioned man affects them in different ways. But death wouldn’t be what it is, if one would be able to predict when it can happen. A strong feeling of loss isn’t easy to accept; that’s why Mary tries to get rid of an idea of Jay’s death. She clings to the thought of a happy end till the very end, until the moment when she has to accept the inevitable.
