The Boy from the Woods

A set of symbols that contrast with Crash’s ring are Naomi’s stuffed animals and Wilde’s Ecocapsule, which function as symbols of safety and comfort for each of them. While Naomi has a difficult home life, she feels relatively safer at home than at school, where she is bullied. This is evidenced by the enormous number of stuffed animals on her bed and in the basement where she hides for the challenge game. Wilde notes that it is enough to bury her, bringing to mind sensory deprivation tanks, which help alleviate stress and anxiety, as well as the psychological reflex to surround oneself with comfort in stressful environments. The narrative also describes how Naomi attended a party at Maynard Manor with a stuffed animal, a sign that she was uncomfortable in that environment and was using the stuffed animal for emotional support. Crash’s cronies’ theft and destruction of this toy is a very visual metaphor for her emotional state and the effects of their bullying—they further destroyed her sense of safety and comfort with every “prank” they enacted.

Wilde also craves safety and comfort, but he finds it in the woods—despite his multiple relationships with women, he can never spend a full night in a house, always leaving early when he sleeps with Laila. The night he spends at the hotel is full of nightmares and stress, and he often goes into the woods to calm down or clear his head, such as when he learns the truth about Raymond Stark. His Ecocapsule is thus the epitome of comfort and safety for him—deep in the woods and with an elaborate security system, it is portable and off the grid, painted to blend into the surrounding forest. When Wilde is inside, it makes him a literal piece of the forest; its small size also forces him outside among the trees, where he is most at ease. Even Matthew thinks it’s cool and likes to do his homework there.

Gavin’s invasion of Wilde’s privacy, then, and his insistence on looking inside during his search for Crash has a similar effect as when Crash destroyed Naomi’s stuffed animal—an invasion of privacy and a destruction of Wilde’s sense of safety. This further reinforces Gavin’s role as Wilde’s foil and antagonist and foreshadows his character as someone willing to do drastic and uncomfortable things to achieve his goals. In this way, Coben’s depiction of comfort and safety for specific characters also highlights and foreshadows the negative traits in others.