 Primarily a Bildungsroman and adventure novel , the novel depicts the emotional tribulations and maturing of an 11 @-@ year @-@ old boy . Some themes of the novel are ethics , consequentialism , religion and morality , and animal – human relationships . Marty learns that morality is confounding and must choose between two unpalatable choices : rescuing the abused Shiloh through stealing and lying and allowing Judd to keep abusing Shiloh . 
