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, Piper, and Natalie stay out for a long time. Moose and Piper help Natalie find shells and rocks and do exactly as she says. They get back to Moose’s apartment after dark. Mom is already there, with a cake and streamers, and she invites Piper to come to the party later. Moose is surprised—this isn’t normal—and he doesn’t want Piper here. Piper suggests inviting other kids, but Mom declines. Moose hides in his room as much as he can until the party starts and Piper comes to tell him to join the party. Natalie starts saying, “Theresa” as Piper notices the “10” frosted on Natalie’s cake. When Natalie says, “Theresa here,” Mom sends Moose to invite Theresa.
Moose’s unwillingness to have Piper at the party may have to do with his crush on her. But as Natalie accepts Piper’s presence and then asks for Theresa, Natalie herself shows that she’s ready to expand her social circle beyond her family. She has friends now, and it’s perfectly normal to want those friends at your birthday party. However, not all is totally normal here, which the narrative implies when Piper notices that they’re celebrating Natalie’s 10th birthday.
Themes
Theresa answers the door in her pajamas, says that she and Natalie are friends so obviously Natalie wants her, and shouts for Jimmy. Once they’re back at Moose’s, Theresa says they forgot Annie. She promptly runs to fetch Annie, and everyone sings “Happy Birthday” to Natalie. Mom begins opening Natalie’s presents (Natalie doesn’t understand wrapping; she doesn’t unwrap things herself). Theresa insists that unwrapping presents is her job, which makes Mom and Dad smile. Natalie gets a math workbook from Moose, buttons from Piper, and a book on birds with a huge index from Dad. From Mom, Natalie gets a bookbag embroidered with her name and “The Esther P. Marinoff School.”
Thanks to Theresa’s insistence, all of Natalie and Moose’s friends attend the party—and perhaps to Mom’s surprise, the party goes off without a hitch. The gifts that Natalie receives make it clear that her friends and family care about her interests, as unusual as they might be. Mom’s gift, however, suggests that she’s totally focused on Natalie’s future, not necessarily on who her daughter actually is.
Themes
A short while later, Dad tells Moose to walk his “harem” home. They drop Theresa and Jimmy off first, and then Annie. Moose and Piper continue up the hill to Piper’s house. It’s a beautiful night, though they can hear an inmate clanking a cup on a bar and shouting for help. When they reach Piper’s house, she asks how old Natalie really is. Moose says she’s 16, and Piper says “we” thought so.
Piper makes the case that she and the other kids on Alcatraz knew Natalie wasn’t 10, but that they weren’t going to say anything. This is a revelation for Moose, who of course knows Natalie’s real age, but who also hasn’t made a huge show yet of trying to push to acknowledge Natalie’s real age.
Themes
