Jared’s mom’s actions illustrate how unnecessary and ineffective it was for Jared to avoid his problems, as she easily makes the ape men disappear and sets out to protect him from the river otters. This suggests that if Jared had been more willing to accept magic and the danger that he was in, he might have been able to handle it earlier and avoid some of the problems that he is now encountering. Again, this reinforces the importance of facing one’s problems in order to regain control of one’s life.