Flight
Daniel has a deep desire to fly. This is a metaphor for a dream within him to expand, and to do more with his life than merely get by. He is meant for great things and he will accomplish them.
Star
Alice describes what creates the brightness of a star: actual or absolute brightness, and its distance from the earth. This is a metaphor for Alice's relationship with Richard and Daniel, as Daniel is in love with her but has chosen to fly far away.
Lights Out
Mrs. Rice asks Richard to turn off the lights in the classroom after telling him that Daniel will become someone different when he's older and he will be better. This turning of the lights is a metaphor for how many teachers kill the dreams of kids. Not only that, they cause the children to turn off the light of their own dreams.
Stalky Peters
Daniel returns and Mrs. Rice thinks he is Stalky Peters, a young student who believes he is shrinking. This is a metaphor for Mrs. Rice demanding that kids must let go of believing something because it isn't truthful in the realm of her own experiences.
Daedalus
Daedalus is a mythological figure that Daniel describes to Mrs. Rice. He is a metaphor for Daniel's life of flight and how such a life has become more than just a story: it is a reality .
