In the following essay, De Vinne discusses the metaphorical significance of children and childhood in A Burnt-Out Case. According to De Vinne, "childhood corresponds with falsehood while adulthood symbolizes truth" in the novel.

[Graham Greene] has often been praised for the quality of his observation, but this lies in the creation of an atmosphere appropriate to period, place and characters rather than in what things actually look like. There are few detailed descriptions of people in the novels: lips, noses, figures are rarely made explicit, and the description of Father Thomas's nose in A Burnt-Out Case has the shock of rarity. Places give off an exotic feeling that is almost invariable, whether it is the river down which...

This famous novel by Graham Greene deals with the topic of identity search.