The Shadows

The Shadows, or the woods surrounding Gritten, represents the pain within Gritten caused by the twenty-five-year-old murder. The dark nature of the woods adds to the decrepit setting as it always casts some level of darkness on the homes. The Shadows also help establish Paul’s fears as he struggles to overcome the past and avoids the Shadows as often as he can. At the end of the novel, Paul’s escape from the Shadows is a representation of him overcoming his fear, grief, and guilt and moving on.

Paul Adams

Paul represents guilt. All throughout the novel, he regrets everything that he was a part of in Gritten. He hates that he left his mother to suffer alone. He blames himself for Jenny’s death because he was the reason that James left the playground. He even regrets coming to Gritten in the first...