Symbol - Iron Pills
The Doctor provides Iron pills to Boone so he will regain strength. The knowledge of elemental health is part of Little Bear's heritage, and he witnesses this treatment first as friend.
Symbol - Store
The boys take the figurines to a toy store in order to find another. The cashier does not believe Omri until he sees the stiff figures. The postures of the figures are different from those of the figures in the bins he sells. This is symbolic of a school system in which only certain characteristics are recognized.
Motif - Being Overcome by Emotion
Banks places each character in situations which cause them to show true vulnerability. Omri describes the feeling of being about to cry, and we see how Boone and Little Bear face separation. Omri and Patrick experience heightened interactions when Patrick wants to feel on equal footing with Omri; once they become so, the two boys are overwhelmed by friendship.
Allegory - Quilt as Country
Right after Boone comes to life, he rides his horse across Omri's quilt. The description of this quilt mimics that of idealized descriptions of the American countryside, and the difficulty maintained in riding on top of it is not heroic, although it is endearing
Motif - Food
Omri must obtain food for the figurines every day, and the oversized presence of food in the mind of the pre-adolescent shows how different life is when it must be self-sustained. Banks shows how a Native American might use small quantities of familiar goods to construct feasts specifically within their tribe's tradition.
