What does Gold represent?

Gold is a symbol of greed. Gold is a frequent symbol of greed in fairy tales, like "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "King Midas and the Golden Touch." This story is no exception. Charlie feels the pull of greed when he considers the gold in Bowditch’s safe. He sees evidence of “gold-greed” (99) in Heinrich’s eyes and fears he may do something to harm Bowditch to get the gold. Polley has a similar gold greed, demonstrated when he breaks into Bowditch’s house during his funeral to steal the gold. Charlie overcomes the pull of gold while he is in Empis because he realizes his life and the lives of others are worth more than gold. This is why he chooses to take Radar and leave after he has turned back her age on the sundial instead of looking for the storehouse where Bowditch stole his bucket of gold.