Peck uses symbols to develop his themes. Duke is a title of nobility. Although the travelers use the name Dukes for their business because it means prize fighting with bare fists, Peck employs the title as a symbol which transcends social standing and measures the dignity of human worth.

Another obvious symbol is the "Home Sweet Home" sign that Lucky purchased years before the story begins. She hides her dream of a permanent home under her cot in the wagon, just as Nose hides the coffee can that holds the money and the means to Lucky's dream under his cot.

Pulling the Dukes' wagon are Christmas, a white mule, and Easter, a black mule. Together they symbolize the Christian moral that all mankind, regardless of color, should work and live together in peace. In reality, the story has a white man, Nose, exploiting a black man...