What do pigeons represent in the novel, One Came Home?

Pigeons, especially wild pigeons, are frequently seen in the novel as symbols of freedom and flight. Agatha looks with envy upon the arrival and departure of pigeons as they move freely from one place to the next. She longs to have that kind of freedom, to go somewhere else. When she leaves town, she hops in with some pigeoners who are following the trail of the pigeons. In essence, Agatha symbolically becomes a part of the flock, and flies to freedom.