Alabama Moon

References to Moon’s possessions form a motif in the story. Not owning a suitcase or bag, he chooses to load the wheelbarrow with his “rifle, bullets, traps, several hides, dried coon meat, extra clothes, Pap’s personal box, some rope, a cooking pot, and a hatchet” (41). Moon struggles to maneuver the wheelbarrow over rough and swampy terrain when he sets out for Alaska; despite his hard work and quick efforts to cross the bridge, Constable Sanders picks him up immediately. Sanders keeps Moon’s things in the trunk of the police car and delivers them to the station, except for the wheelbarrow, which Sanders pitches into the gulley off the side of the road, and Moon’s deerskin cap, which he “slap[s]” from Moon’s head and leaves behind in the road. The loss of the cap in that moment represents a moment of defeat after terrific physical effort, and Moon “[tries] to cry out” (46) despite his weakness and lightheadedness.

Fellow prisoner Obregon tells Moon the police will hold his things for him, but Moon already witnessed the loss of his cap in the road, his wheelbarrow in the gulley, and his clothes in the trash. Because of authorities and rules, Moon loses ownership of what few possessions he had. He must work over the course of his journey to retrieve or replace these items: He asks about them at the jail and in Mr. Gene’s office; he makes a new deerskin cap (and one for Kit); and he fetches the wheelbarrow when Hal drives him over the bridge. With Mr. Wellington’s help, he eventually recovers most of his items. The loss and replacement of his possessions symbolizes a loss of identity for Moon as he struggles to figure out who he is and what kind of a person he will be without Pap, the shelter, and the forest. He reacquires possessions as he learns more about the modern world and his new place in it, and as he begins to come to terms with Pap’s choice to raise him in isolation. In this way, the motif supports the theme of “Different Types of Wisdom, Learning, and Knowledge.”