Describe symbolism in The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski

Norman Lavers, in his article on Kosinski, argues that the boy's comet, a can filled with slow burning materials that provide a constant heat source, becomes a symbol of his developing strength and independence. Lavers writes that the comet is:

a manifestation of the inner spark. It is the outward
glow of the boy's determination to survive. But it is
still more, it is his apartness itself, his individuality,
that which is essential to survival 'without human
help.' It is his essential aloneness, which is his independence
and freedom. . . . With the comet to fend
off the dark, the animals, the other humans, he 'felt
perfectly safe.'