The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

The boy is the dynamic protagonist of this work. The narrative arc follows his journey of understanding and self-acceptance. When the book begins, he is looking for “home,” and it becomes clear that he conceives of home as a physical place rather than a feeling. By the end of the story, however, he realizes that home does not have to be a physical location but, rather, can be a feeling created by the love and support one shares with friends. Initially, and throughout much of the narrative, the boy struggles with self-acceptance and developing an accurate perception of his own value. However, by the end, he recognizes that he is “enough” just the way he is. His friends help him to reach this conclusion by affirming his importance, commiserating with and reassuring him when he doubts himself, and supporting him when he symbolically “falls”—literally and figuratively. The boy’s life and circumstances are never explained, nor are his parents or family mentioned in the book. This contributes to the book’s dreamlike quality and the sense that it is outside time or an identifiable