Flock

The Ravenhood society is symbolic of justice. The society systematically takes money from “[l]arge corporations and banks that siphon funds from unsuspecting shareholders and employees” and redistributes the money to local businesses in need (296). Because these corporations and banks are never investigated for their crimes “by the powers that be, the powers that govern and regulate” (296), the Ravenhood takes matters into its own hands. The society members thus perform illegal activities in an attempt to redistribute wealth and to right the imbalance of power between corporations and citizens. Their work in the novel is a play on the myth of the heroic outlaw Robin Hood, famed for stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

The Ravenhood society’s tattoos are symbolic of brotherhood. Every male member in the group has the same raven tattoo. When Cecelia Horner first asks Sean Roberts about what the tattoos mean, he says to think of them “as a promise” (50). The tattoos are a way for the Ravenhood to outwardly claim its members and to show their connection and loyalty to each other. The tattoos are thus a sign of their fraternity and a symbolic oath to the society itself.