Owen’s sailboat, the Frog, is an essential symbol of David’s adventure and of his growth throughout the novel. The Frog’s role in David’s development is so vital that becomes a character itself, serving as both David’s protector and the object that David works hard to keep safe. At the outset, the Frog becomes a stand-in for David’s uncle, Owen, for it represents Owen’s life even as it memorializes his loss. When David opens the hatch to the boat’s cabin for the first time since Owen’s death, he notices the smell and realizes, “It was the smell of Owen. No. More than that. It was Owen himself. The ghost of Owen. […] David could not tell in his mind where the boat ended and Owen began” (8). Thus, at the beginning of the narrative, the Frog symbolizes David’s experience of Navigating Grief and Loss.

As the novel progresses, however, the Frog comes to symbolize David’s success at Developing Self-Reliance and Survival Skills, for David grows into young adulthood during his time at sea, and the Frog becomes an integral part of his life and new identity. The more time he spends out at sea with the Frog, the deeper the connection that David develops with the boat and with the ocean itself.