Pax, Journey Home

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Author Sara Pennypacker uses wood to symbolize grief in this book. The first time Peter appears in the story, he is dutifully planing wood for his new cabin when he suddenly hits a knot with the plane, causing him to cut his hand. As he looks back at the wood, he thinks, “That’s how knots were: sneaky, hiding under the surface” (5). The other things that repeatedly sneak up on Peter are the grief he has not yet processed and the memories associated with his loss.

To emphasize Peter’s determination to fight the memories off, Pennypacker utilizes tree imagery in his words and thoughts. Peter has a ritual in which he attempts to rewrite painful memories in his mind, replacing actual events with what he feels he should have done. Each time, he feels he must “run the penance right away, or the memory [will] grow roots” (10). Like a tree sinking into the earth as it grows, Peter fears that his past will sink its roots into him, permanent and strong.

However, the sight of a dead log that is now home to a community of ants foreshadows that Peter will have life and love in his heart again.