What does Dad explain to Jeannette and Brian after the fire in “the Woods”? What do you think this concept symbolize? 


Rex's explanation was as follows;

I thought Dad would be furious, but he wasn't. He was sort of quiet. We stood on the street watching the flames devour the shack. Dad had an arm around each of us. He said it was an incredible coincidence that he happened to be walking by. Then he pointed to the top of the fire, where the snapping yellow flames dissolved into an invisible shimmery heat that made the desert beyond seem to waver, like a mirage. Dad told us that zone was known in physics as the boundary between turbulence and order. "It's a place where no rules apply, or at least they haven't figured 'em out yet," he said. "You­all got a little too close to it today."

The concept Rex talks about symbolizes boundaries.... the kind of boundaries that once crossed can lead to dire consequences.