What is an example of motif in the novel, Ain’t Burned All the Bright?

A common theme throughout the novel is air and the lack of air and the inability to breathe. Air comes to symbolize freedom and the power of living life on one’s own terms. In so many instances, the boy finds himself constrained by a lack of air or the perception of a lack of air. Practically, his father is struggling to breathe from coronavirus, but the entire family is metaphorically struggling to breathe under the weight of the stress and worry pressing in on them.