Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Al Capone Does My Shirts, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Disability, Dignity, and Shared Humanity
Friendship and Community
Family
Growing Up and Doing the Right Thing
Summary
Analysis
Mom doesn’t seem to react when Dad tells her. She just changes, grabs her purse and gloves, and stands by the door. She says that Dad can’t go with her—he has to be at work later. When Dad argues, Mom shoves him. Dad just quietly asks wide-eyed Moose to accompany Mom.
Almost immediately upon hearing the news, Mom’s mask cracks. Resorting to violence—shoving Dad—illustrates how angry and dysregulated she is, and how huge of a blow it is that Natalie isn’t ready for school.
Themes
On the boat, Moose can only think, “Here we go again.” The Barriman School, the heat treatments, aluminum, and UCLA were all supposed to fix Natalie. Mom was particularly excited about UCLA, even though they shaved Natalie’s hair and “tested her like she was some kind of insect.” Natalie spent weeks rocking in her room, but Mom reminded everyone that UCLA could cure Natalie—if she had what they were studying. Ultimately, they said Natalie was “interesting” and told Mom to donate Natalie’s brain to science when she dies. After this, things got rough at home. Moose thinks that’s when Mom decided Natalie was going to stay 10 forever.
Keep in mind that autism (which Choldenko has said Natalie would be diagnosed with today) didn’t exist as a diagnosis in 1935. Thus, doctors in the novel treat Natalie like a puzzle—and Moose’s tone and word choice suggests they treat her like she’s less than human. This is particularly apparent when he describes her being tested like a bug, and when the UCLA folks suggest donating Natalie’s brain to science. Natalie is nowhere close to dead yet—and she has value as a human being beyond what scientists might be able to glean from her brain after her death.
Themes
Now, Moose and Mom are sitting in Mr. Purdy’s office, and the headmaster tells them they’re only equipped to work with boys with challenges like Natalie’s, not girls. He suggests Deerham—an asylum—and tells Mom not to worry about semantics. Mom, though, compliments the school’s work and asks if there’s some way they can make this work. Mr. Purdy copies a phone number for Mom and hands it over. Mom takes the card but doesn’t get up. Moose is proud of his mom for getting what she can from Mr. Purdy, but he’s also angry. Mom will do whatever the card says—she’s sent away for voodoo dolls and read the Bible to Natalie for two hours per day. She won’t believe that maybe for Natalie, “there never is a happy ending.”
The backstory Moose offers creates a nuanced picture of how he and Mom each see Natalie. Mom wants to “fix” or “cure” Natalie, and she’ll do some truly absurd things to try and make that happen. Moose doesn’t think this is possible, and while his saying that maybe “there never is a happy ending for [Natalie]” is a bit jarring and even cruel, it also suggests that Natalie simply is the way she is—and perhaps it’s up to the Flanagan family to figure out how to work with Natalie. Moose, it should be noted, has done this to some degree; he seems to have a rapport with Natalie that Mom does not.
Themes
Mom asked what happened. Mr. Purdy tries to evade her question, but he says there was “a bit of a skirmish over a box of buttons and some unfortunate behavior.” He asks if Natalie is 10 and if she likes to get up early. Moose says she likes to watch the sunrise. Then, Mr. Purdy says he’s worked hard to form good relationships with the neighbors, so they can’t have a child who’s “overly vocal” here. Natalie, he says, screamed for an hour, and he says this is something he believes Mrs. Kelly, whose contact information is on the card he gave Mom, can help. Moose asks if they took Natalie’s buttons, but Mr. Purdy just says they can’t have a screaming child here. If Mrs. Kelly can help Natalie improve, they’ll consider admitting her in May.
Moose continues to share things about Natalie that humanize her: she likes the sunrise, and she loves her buttons. He also suggests that it's cruel to take her buttons away from her, implying again that the school isn’t the best fit for Natalie, if only because they won’t recognize her individual quirks. Mr. Purdy, meanwhile, alludes to the stigma against disability as he discusses his relationship with the neighbors. A generous read of his choice to expel Natalie is that he’d like to keep helping as many kids as possible, but it also seems likely that he sees Natalie as simply being beyond his help.
Themes
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After shaking Mr. Purdy’s hand, Mom leads Moose out to the waiting room. When Natalie finishes counting stitches on a needlepoint chair, Moose grabs her suitcase and Mom hustles Natalie out. Mom and Moose have had a lot of practice doing this.
Even as they quickly move Natalie out, Mom and Moose show her respect by allowing her to finish counting the stitches.
Themes
