What do dreams represent?

Dreams are symbolic of an imaginary world. Dad, Crow, and the boys all experience dreams throughout the novella. The boys find themselves older and wake up to get their dad, Crow has bad dreams about the loss of his wife, and Dad thinks of losing his wife as a bad dream. The dreams help the characters to find their place and process emotions. Dad insists it must be a bad dream while the boys are able to wake up from a bad dream to seek comfort in their father. Crow exists in between in that he is able to understand a bad dream as a way to remain empathetic.