Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Society's Treatment of the Powerless

Swarthout demonstrates our society's tendency to abuse and neglect the powerless by juxtaposing the buffaloes and the Bedwetters. While this novel speaks to the powerlessness of animals and children, specifically, it also refers to a broader trend to abuse power, whether through physical, economic, racial, or sexual advantage.

The government had robbed the buffaloes of the life they naturally lead. Well fed, lazy, and tame, they have never experienced freedom or self-sufficiency, remaining in the preserve for their entire lives, until they become the victims of the annual buffalo shooting. Much in the same way, the disturbed teenage boys that comprise the Bedwetters' cabin have come from affluent families in which they need not worry about material needs but nonetheless suffer from desperate emotional needs. Most of their parents have failed to pay individual attention to their children, and have "warehoused" them at the camp in hopes that they will become tougher in the process. Throughout the book Swarthout draws comparisons between boy and beast, who relate to one another as a result of their shared situation. In this way the mission to rescue the buffalo becomes as well the Bedwetters' personal mission toward self-preservation.

The Definition of a Man

The Box Canyon Boys Camp defines masculinity quite differently from the author's interpretation of the term. According to the camp and its social rules, the Bedwetters do not fit the definition of men because they lack athletic skill and the cruel, cutthroat competitive spirit of many of the other campers. Swarthout, however, defines manhood in more emotional and psychological terms. He values integrity in all thoughts and actions. Believing in the strength of convictions, Swarthout asserts that a real man would place more importance on his personal set of morals than on popular opinion. Therefore, he respects the man who overcomes this sense of isolation and keeps the greater issue in mind. The author demonstrates this value very clearly to the reader through his advocacy of the Bedwetters' mission, which proved successful despite all odds and despite the boys' unpopularity.

In addition, communication skills and a positive attitude, both of which the Bedwetters develop during the course of the novel, assist them in their journey and hint at their growing maturity. Lastly, Swarthout places enormous emphasis on compassion as a desirable masculine trait. In fact, this call for compassion provides one of the main themes of the work. To Swarthout, physical strength, social popularity, and performing well in competitive situations contribute only secondarily to the definition of a man, while these psychological traits occupy the most important part of the definition. Indeed at times boys become overly zealous in these efforts, indulge in cruelty, and become what Swarthout would consider cowardly and the opposite of a man.

Heroism

By the end of the novel, Swarthout has established the Bedwetters as heroes and moral models. He has established the theme of the ordinary hero; he believes in the potential of the individual to determine his own fate and to make his own moral and personal judgments. He also believes in the potential for individual growth; each character in the novel has deeply explored his sense of self as well as his sense of morality. Despite their status as unpopular misfits, Swarthout considers them far more heroic than he does the Apaches at the Box Canyon Boys Camp, for example. This theme of the ordinary hero arose as a direct response to both William Golding's Lord of the Flies and to the prevalent national disillusionment during this period in United States history. As Swarthout wrote, "The idea is, if you isolate boys with the right combination of circumstances, they will do great things. So much is now anti-hero. This is a 'yes' book."