What does Jack's raven represent in the novel, The Wishing Game?

Jack’s raven represents wishes in the novel. Jack specifically alludes to this when he says that wishes must be a thing with black feathers. Thurl, the raven, lives on Clock Island, a place intimately connected to the importance of wishes. Throughout the novel, this correlation between Thurl and wishes are further developed such as when Hugo originally arrives at Jack’s island taking himself very seriously and wanting to become a serious artist, but he learns to paint with Thurl on his easel demonstrating how he is learning to infuse wish and fantasy and hope into his life.

The raven further symbolizes healing. This is because the raven was not well when he came to Jack, but Jack nursed him back to health. This is similar to the ways many of the characters including Lucy, Jack, and Hugo all find healing on the island.