The anti-father
Because of the anti-father, Louis's life is more painful than it might have been otherwise. His father is the opposite of what a good father should be. Instead of adding structure to Louis's life, he makes Louis's life into a chaotic one. Louis is thrust out of his home into an adventure beyond his comprehension. The anti-father represents fate, because Louis depends on fate in lieu of his father. The story is about whether the universe loves Louis in a better way than the father does.
The unborn child motif
There are several mentions of unborn children in the story. There is the child carried to term and delivered, and there is Pelo and Marcelle's miscarriage. The dual outcome makes a powerful motif. The universe sometimes allows horrible outcomes, and sometimes allows wonderful outcomes, and all the options are contained in the human experience. As Louis travels from innocence to experience, he learns this agony from people he meets along the way.
Life from different points of view
The story makes point of view into a motif, because Louis is confronted with stories that baffle him. He is challenged by empathy. Although his life is full of suffering, he sees that suffering is a deeper well than he imagined. Watching the devastation of miscarriage driving Pelo into the ground with alcoholism, he is confronted with a choice: how will he appreciate other points of view? He answers this by being overwhelmed. This is a sign that he has chosen empathy, thereby accepting the pain of others.
The church rooftop
The rooftop of the church where Louis finds solace is a wonderful symbol in the story. The religious symbol is clear, because it's a church after all, but the symbol is confused by one lovely detail: he doesn't enter the church. He goes straight to the roof. This is a way of saying that Louis's experience of suffering is a much more direct revelation of the religious sublime than the organized religion might have offered. He skips that type of religion and goes straight to God, staring at the stars and asking in his heart why such bad things happen on the earth.
The return to home
After this union with God through agony, his journey is complete. He goes back to his mother as a more enlightened, less passive being. He has been evolved by his journey, and his return home is symbolic. He is ready to be a hero now, ready to sacrifice for his own family, helping to take care of his mother and the newborn, and urgent to help Marcelle and Pelo whom he left behind. He considers them part of his community, so that his role in life is clear: he will support his loved ones.
