Pan

Pan is a Greek god who symbolizes the misdirection that will occur throughout the novel. He is explained to be a god who confuses people in the woods and from whom the word panic comes from. The characters in the novel purposefully confuse others in the woods at times. Among others, the Van Laars and Hewitts misdirect people by burying Bear without telling anyone what happened to him, making others believe he went missing. Barbara and TJ misdirect others by making it appear that Barbara was killed or kidnapped when really they have taken her away to a remote cabin to live out the rest of her childhood in peace. The author, Moore, as a mystery writer purposefully misdirects readers at times by supplying the reader with multiple suspects with multiple motives. This is typical of the genre. There is frequent panic in the novel, and...