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"I made my family disappear!"
As Kevin wakes to find his family gone, he is initially concerned but quickly becomes exuberant. In one of the movie’s more memorable laugh lines, he says incredulously “I made my family disappear!” (21:57).
Kevin is joyful at his newfound independence and living alone. It’s as if he were an adult out on his own for the first time.
Kevin, like many adults before him, explores the boundaries of his freedom, experiencing the first thrills of independence/adulthood. It begins with Kevin jumping up and down on his parents’ bed while eating popcorn. This almost immediately leads to a life of gluttony.
Note here the introduction of adult material (Playboy magazine; 22:31), symbolizing Kevin’s maturation. Kevin ends up sitting in front of the TV, eating a plate full of ice cream. “Guys, I’m eating junk and watching rubbish!” he proclaims proudly. “You better come out and stop me.” (24:16).
The movie Kevin is watching, titled Angels with Filthy Souls (it is a fictional movie), is alternately a reference to pornography, carnal love, and Kevin being an angel, but also one with a ‘filthy soul’ in need of salvation.
Note that there are Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen videos atop the VCR, with rock n’ roll symbolizing the devil’s music. Together these scenes represent Kevin’s rejection of family, God, and heavenly love and his embracement of gluttony and wantonness in his young adulthood.
“Mom!”
This same scene, however, is also a turning point. Kevin sees the violence in the movie, the one his family would not let him watch. One of the characters is mercilessly shot while the gunman laughs with glee. Kevin is horrified.
“Mom!” Kevin exclaims (25:05). This is a cry for Mother Mary and also marks the beginning of Kevin’s spiritual journey.
Note that as we immediately switch to Kevin’s parents in the airplane, his father, Peter McCallister (John Heard), is reading a book titled Nobody’s Angel by Thomas McGuane. This is another reference to Kevin’s need for salvation. Kevin will not arrive at that salvation easily though.
Shortly thereafter, we are introduced to the two characters who represent the devil, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) (27:23). They are two in a long line of comedic duos, from Tahei and Matashichi in Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress – the template for many movies – to C3PO and R2-D2 in Star Wars and beyond. Harry and Marv are looting houses in the community.
Harry previously appeared in the opening scene of the movie pretending to be a police officer. In fact, we now find out that he was casing houses. Harry caught Kevin’s attention due to his gold tooth. Harry and Marv robbing houses represents the physical destruction of community and the human focus on possessions, greed, and wealth rather than family, community, and spiritual love.
“Man of the house”
That night, Harry and Marv arrive at the McCallister house to rob it. They descend the stairs to enter through the basement.
Throughout the movie, hell is represented by the basement. The furnace and its eerie sounds and voices symbolize eternal damnation. Note that there are ‘people’ in hell, represented by the mannequins. They are often shown as torsos or body parts.
Kevin turns on the lights to scare Harry and Marv away (29:58). Here, as elsewhere in the movie, light represents religion and the possibility of salvation and eternal life with God.
After scaring the burglars away, Kevin initially hides under the bed. He subsequently decides that he “can’t be afraid” because he’s the “man of the house” (31:20). This is another reference to Kevin’s newfound ‘adulthood.’ Kevin then walks out of his house pronouncing, “I’m not afraid anymore!"
However, he immediately sees Old Man Marley, again representing God and, here, Kevin’s own mortality. At the site of Him, Kevin runs back into the house screaming and hides under the covers (31:50). He doesn’t do much better when his parents send the police to the house to check on him. Kevin continues to hide.