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
Moose can only think about telling Mom about 105. She’ll be mad, but then Moose will go back to being a kid without responsibilities. Natalie would be safe and they can move away from Alcatraz. The only thing stopping Moose is that he doesn’t want to disappoint Dad. As much as Moose tries to forget, Natalie won’t let him: she says “105” all the time and reaches for the door. Moose lets her play with her buttons and feeds her lemon cake to keep her inside. Mom seems to know Moose and Natalie are staying inside, and that Moose gave Natalie the buttons (though Moose puts them away before Mom gets home). Dad seems to understand later, when Natalie is too full to eat dinner. Mom doesn’t say anything, but Moose knows she’s blaming him for keeping Natalie in—and he can’t bring himself to tell her the truth.
Moose cannot figure out what the best, most mature course of action is. He recognizes by this point that his desire to return to Santa Monica is somewhat childish, but he wants to be responsible and tell his parents what happened—and also, he knows he will have disappointed Dad by letting Natalie possibly come to harm. What’s right seems totally impossible to figure out, and so Moose turns to doing what he knows he can do: keeping Natalie in and therefore, in his estimation, safe.
Themes
The next day, as soon as Mom leaves, Natalie says, “105,” and Moose offers her buttons. But Moose can’t find the buttons—Mom must’ve taken them. There’s only a tiny bit of lemon cake, so Moose grabs his math books and sits by the door to read them aloud. He can’t let Natalie out. Natalie, though, begins to rock—and then the scream begins. Moose begins to yell too, asking Natalie why she acts like a child and if she understands what she’s doing to Mom and Dad. Can’t she just try? Moose says he hates her. As he yells, Natalie screams and thrashes.
Mom puts Moose in a difficult situation here by taking away all the most effective tools for helping Natalie self-regulate by taking the buttons and not leaving fresh cake. And as Natalie spirals, Moose also loses his temper. His outburst highlights for readers how difficult it is to constantly feel like he must ignore his own desires to care for his sister.
Themes
Outside the door, Bea Trixle, Mrs. Caconi, and Theresa appear. They bang on the door and offer to help. Moose has his arms around Natalie, and he’s trying hard not to shake her. But then, seeing the “trapped” look in her eyes and realizing that she has no control, Moose’s anger disappears. He yells that they’re fine, tries to offer Natalie lemon cake, and then remembers what Mom used to do. Gently, trying to evade her flailing limbs, Moose puts Natalie on the floor and rolls her in the rug until she settles down. He ignores the neighbors—Mrs. Mattaman and Rocky are outside now, too—and talks calmly to Natalie, stroking her hair.
Moose feels a sudden rush of empathy and understanding for Natalie when he realizes she’s trapped, much as the convicts are trapped in Alcatraz. This helps him to understand that Natalie isn’t acting out on purpose: she simply doesn’t have all the coping mechanisms to help her deal with uncomfortable emotions. It's significant that Moose calms her without help from the neighbors, as this suggests that the tantrums, at least, are a family matter, not something the entire community needs to get involved in.
Themes
Natalie says, “Moose, Natalie, outside,” and then says, “Eye.” Moose checks her eyes—there’s nothing in them—and since she’s calm now, he unrolls the rug. Natalie sits up, puts her hands on her chest, and then, with effort, she says, “Eye want to go outside.” She looks like she’s willing Moose to understand and finally, he does. Her relief is obvious, and Moose opens the door.
Moose sees that Mom was correct: Natalie is improving. Her speech is changing as she uses a pronoun, “I,” and then uses a standard sentence construction to ask to go outside. This is so different from how she used to speak, suggesting such immense improvement, that Moose is compelled to give in.
Themes
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