Georgie was playing with his boat in his yellow slicker after a storm has passed, is a picture of childhood innocence and joy. His love for his brother overwhelms him, and he imagines the paper boat as a warship as he scampers along the street. This image of Georgie in the final moments of his short life encapsulates everything good about being a kid.
Pennywise the Dancing Clown, standing in the muck of a drainpipe, luring Georgie with carnival smells and gifts, represents a perversion of the wholesome innocence of childhood. Georgie's life is not completely carefree; like everyone he has fears, and he often frets about a monster snatching him in the cellar of his own home. The yellow eyes and musty smell he first notices in the storm drain hint at the possibility that It is in the cellar when Georgie goes to get the paraffin, waiting for a better moment and location to attack him, one more easily dismissed by authorities with a logical explanation. The eyes and odor in the storm drain also indicate the creature understands Georgie's fear of whatever he imagines living in his cellar. It adopts the clown guise the moment Georgie considers running away, to keep him at the mouth of the drain and draw his tiny arm forward. The 45-second gap between the scream and Dave Gardener finding the body indicates how quickly the creature moves on its prey and how fragile life is.
After Georgie is killed, it seems nothing will be innocent or carefree for Georgie's family or the children of Derry ever again. Bill is physically separated from his parents in the hours after Georgie is killed. He remains in his bed. The boys' mother is so distraught she needs sedation, and Bill's father does not come to Bill's room to talk to him or offer comfort. The wound is fresh, but it's possible father and son could console each other. Bill finds his father's tears frightening as he hears them from another room. This isolation from one another will mark the Denbrough family's relationships for the rest of Bill's childhood. This isolation will only magnify Bill's guilt about Georgie's death. Bill made the paper boat. He encouraged Georgie to go out to play. He couldn't possibly suspect what was lurking in the storm drain, but he feels responsible all the same. Bill's isolation from his parents makes him feel the guilt more intensely; they must blame him too.