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.