Love
One of the main themes in the short story is the idea of love. The main character in the first part of the story, the young man named Cullen, was deeply affected by his brother’s disappearance. The connection between the two brothers is one hard to explain since it is almost unusual. Even the main character admitted that it was unusual for children their age to agree to sleep in the same room and share their things without complaining. The love Cullen had for Gabriel made him want to protect his little brother almost excessively. In his fantasies, Cullen would always somehow be his brother’s savior and his protector even though it is hinted that he may not needed the protection Cullen wanted to offer. Another type of love is paternal love and it is exhibited by Gabriel and Cullen’s father. The father was deeply affected by his son’s disappearance and he was willing to sacrifice everything he had just to get him back. His love made him reluctant to accept the idea that his son was dead and chose instead to focus on what he was able to do to get his son back. Another type of love, a destructive one in this case, is the one between Cabot and Alma. While Alma was unable to love Cabot, he developed an obsession for her and he was willing to kill just to get her back. This shows just how much the feelings the characters had influenced their actions and how some became destructive because of the love they had for those near them.
Acceptance and disappointment
One of the main characters in the novel is Benton and the main theme in the second part of the story is the idea of acceptance and disappointment. Benton is a man obsessed with receiving his father’s acceptance and thus he is willing to do everything to get it. When it becomes clear that he will never be able to do that and that he will always disappoint his father, Benton becomes desperate to the point where he no longer thinks that there is a purpose in his life. Thus, he decides to kill himself rather than have to face his father’s disappointment.
Coming of age
The main characters in the novel are all young men, adolescents who try to find their place in the world. Gabriel, Cullen and Benton all try to figure out what they want from their lives but are unable to. Instead, they drift form one place to another without a real purpose. For Benton, this proves to be fatal as he becomes unable to cope with the loss of his identity he decides to kill himself. The other two boys however remain stuck in a limbo and their future remains uncertain as it is not true whether the boys will be able to find their way in life.
Fanaticism
People are weak creatures because they cant resist the temptation, and it doesn’t matter what kind of temptation it is: glory, love, money, religion, people want it and become obsessed with it. Benton Sage was a religious fanatic, but he couldn’t reach the goal of his life- to be praised by his father, so he lost his faith. Cabot Searcy was also a religious fanatic, he believed that all event of his life are just a kind of test, because he is a chosen one, so he kidnaped Gabriel and was sure that he is an angel sent by God to reward him. John Barling was proud of himself because he thought he made a photo of extremely rare bird, which was regarded extinct. He became a fanatic of his own idea and people believed him. But, when it turned out that the bird wasn’t a Lazarus woodpecker, he couldn’t believe it because he has been living in his own world for so long that the severe reality shook him. Fanaticism breaks people, it gives us hope that we are unique and better that other human creatures, but as it happens, it is just our illusion, escape from reality.
False Hopes
Lazarus woodpecker is the symbol of false hopes in the story. it comes to people when they are unprotected to resist it. In fact, it is nothing but self-delusion and there is nothing good in it. Or is there? It is up to us to decide. The bird said Cullen that it will help him to find Gabriel, and, although it didn’t, it give him hope that one day things come back. And they did. Lost hopes are essential for people, they are part of our life and we should acknowledge that they may be useful sometimes: “We can be comforted in the fact that life will always be a struggle. There will always be false hopes. Lazarus woodpeckers. There will be John Barlings to lead us astray and Oslo Foukes to remind us that maybe we are doing things right after all”.
Friendship
“So, you’re my friend just because you’re my friend?”, asks Cullen, and Lucas answers “That’s right. I just am. It’s the simplest thing in the world”. The theme of friendship is the central one in the story. From the quote above we can conclude that friendship is not something extra ordinal or philosophical for boys. It is a part of their mundane life but an essential one. They understand each other like no one else, and they need each other. When Gabriel was kidnapped, Lucas slept in Cullen’s room on the floor, he went with him to work, on a date, he even was beaten in name of their friendship. They both appreciated their friendship because they both knew that they would be miserable and lost without it
