What are the motifs in Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane?

The recurring idea of fire emerges at many points in the novel and might be interpreted as symbolic of the powerful and destructive forces that steadily destroy the boy's family.

Fire has a particularly significant role in the history of Northern Ireland. Bonfires are used in traditional celebrations of both the Protestant and the Catholic communities, in which they remember significant events in the history of their conflict and their rebellion against the British.