The Cruciform Tree
One of the first major flashing neon-sign style symbols we see in this book is the cruciform (or "cross-shaped") tree that Father Latour stumbles across while he's lost in the New Mexico desert. Ye...
Goats
When Father Latour stays with a nice Mexican family, he can't help but think of how interesting goats are, symbolically. For starters, they're usually considered to be pagan symbols, since the paga...
The Ave Maria Bell
One of the first truly comforting things that Father Latour hears after arriving in New Mexico is the sound of a church bell ringing. Strangely enough, there is something both familiar and unfamili...
The Secret Fire
In the latter half of the book, Father Latour hears a legend about a secret fire that the Native Americans of New Mexico have kept burning for centuries, even though no white man has ever seen it....