44 pages • 1-hour read
The Incredible Journey
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Symbols & Motifs
The Lynx
Towards the end of the journey, the normally unflappable Tao encounters a lynx that pursues him and intends to catch, kill, and eat him. Burnford portrays the lynx as one-dimensionally and incurably evil—as well as strong, smart, and cunning. At first, Tao successfully evades the wild animal, and then becomes cornered in a burrow. Just as things look as dire as possible, a child hunter shows up and is able to shoot the lynx dead. Through these interactions, Burnford crafts the lynx into a symbol of the wild and violent nature of the wilderness itself—which can ultimately be brought to heel through humans wielding tools. It is the human being, wielding the tool of the gun, who ultimately saves Tao and himself from the indifferent violence of the wild.
The Timber Wolves
At various points in their journey, the howls of nearby timber wolves are heard. Luath can sense a timber wolf, probably interested in Tao as prey, stalking them. In this moment, the narrator muses that the wolf stirs a primordial instinct within Luath due to the ancestry that he shares with it. There is never an outright confrontation with a wolf in the narrative. Through this plotting, Burnford is able to use the suggestion and quiet threat of the wolf to symbolize the currents of wildness that the animals share with the forest surrounding them. Just as wild DNA pulses in their veins, quietly yet surely, so the timber wolf subtly yet undeniably announces itself.
The Red Leather Collar
During her visit to England, Elizabeth purchases a new red leather collar for her beloved pet Tao. Upon her return, she cannot wait to affix it to the cat’s neck and assure herself that he has not forgotten her. The red leather collar is therefore a concrete symbol of the inimitable bond of love that she shares with her domestic pet.
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