Court Place (symbol)
Court Place was a symbol of significance, power, and influence. Though Leo’s parents were ordinary people, their house had an extremely speaking name and that “predisposed” Marcus in Leo’s favor. The boy even suspected that it “also did his mother,” who was extremely happy that Marcus found such a valuable friend. They would be very disappointed to learn that “Court Place” was in fact “quite an ordinary house, set a little back in the village street, behind looped chains.” It was said that “the bishops of Salisbury” once “held their court there,” “hence the name.” The mere name of the house created an air of importance around its owners. Little Leo would learn soon that a high social position meant a lot in that unfair world he had been brought into.
A magician (allegory)
A magician is an allegory of escapism. Leo really wanted to go to school, but his excitement proved to be short-living. The boys were mean and he felt worthless. Magic was his way out of that situation. He managed to improve his status only when he became “a magician.” Of course, poor Leo wasn’t a wizard at all, he was just an ordinary boy, but his confidence helped him to stand up for himself. He was simply afraid that just Leo couldn’t protect himself, but the Magician Leo could do anything he wanted! For instance, he could make “unkind boys hurt themselves” and that served them right for treating him badly.
Saying goodbye to the past (motif)
Leo had a rather traumatic experience during his stay at Marcus’ place. Consequently, that terrible episode from his past haunted him, making him look for a certain way to recover and then get rid of the memories. When he “put down the pen,” he was going to “put away” his memories with it. They had “days, weeks, months to settle, but in the end they didn’t.” During his “breakdown” Leo was “like a train going through series of tunnels; sometimes in the daylight; sometimes in the dark.” Fortunately or unfortunately for him, Leo failed to recover his memory of “what happened at Brand-ham.” Sometimes our past refuses to leave us, poisoning the present.
