Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens are the royal gardens and parks in London. They are real, but in this story, they are a symbolic setting for the drama of the book. The Gardens symbolize royalty, life, and the balance of order and chaos, because gardens are balances of order (plant growth is naturally chaotic, but the garden's organization is order imposed on the plants). In other words, the Gardens represent the hope for peace and Edenic paradise. This is where the narrator experiences his soul's longing for family.
The jewelry pawning
The pawning of jewelry is a symbol that at home, David's life is not as nice as it seems. This represents that something important is being lost in the home, something valuable like the jewelry is valuable. The mother's sacrifice is a suggestion that perhaps the home is not balanced in some way, because they have possessions, but can't pay their bills. The narrator sends them funds.
The Biblical allusion
David and Solomon are Biblical names, and the allusion is consistent because David was Solomon's father in the Bible, and both names are used in this book to symbolize the epic nature of the story. This also underscores the theme of royalty that is suggested by the Gardens. David and Solomon are the people that the narrator meets in the royal Gardens, which suggests that he is part of an important story. To him, David's life is of the utmost value.
Flying as a symbol
Flying is a symbol for the power of one's self and one's potential. When David loses his ability to fly, he also realizes that he is unable to survive and thrive without the help of others. Instead of his mother, who will face new burdens raising a newborn, he turns to the narrator, and also to the animals in nature. This shows that he is learning how to be part of a group, and it symbolizes David's participation in nature. The animals are a community to him.
The allegory of alternative family
The ending of the story shows that family is a flexible idea, and of course that doesn't mean that David can perfectly remove himself from his mother's influence, nor does he want to. Yet, his need for family extends past what his mother is willing or able to offer. The allegorical union of two random people to form a family is a symbol for community support, which is available through friendships with others.
