What are the motifs in Missing May by Cynthia Rylant?

The third theme of the novel is that of fear. All of the characters in "Missing May" are crippled by some unseen fear - for Summer, the fear is of losing Ob, for Ob, the fear is of being alone, and for Cletus, the fear is of always being lonely. In a way, all three characters fear the same thing, losing the ones they care about, which is the central theme to "Missing May", as all characters are simultaneously dealing with the loss of May, and their own fears of death and loneliness. The fear of death isn't directly discussed in the novel, but it is ever present, from Summer's uncomfortable response to Cletus' eerie photo of the floating baby, to her irrational fear of bats: "I had no reason to fear bats, and as I grew and discovered how many people are deathly afraid of them, it made me wonder about fear. Whether it all just starts with the people who raised us" (Page 58).