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Chapter 36: Waiting
Themes
and Colors
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 goes to bed later, thinking mean things about Mr. Purdy and the Esther P. Marinoff. He thinks of Natalie back in Santa Monica. She lived in the family’s back room and on Gram’s porch, while Moose got to go out and play. Moose will get to graduate, marry, and have children, while Natalie won’t. He thinks of all the treatments Mom has tried, none of which have worked—except, he realizes, Mrs. Kelly. Natalie has a life on Alcatraz for the first time ever.
Natalie’s rejection forces Moose to change how he thinks about the move to Alcatraz. He continues to develop empathy for Natalie and the difficult spot she’s in as a disabled young adult. But he also recognizes that Mrs. Kelly has actually helped—she gave Natalie a life and purpose.
Active
Themes
So the next morning, Moose calls Mrs. Kelly and thanks her. He asks if she truly believes the Esther P. Marinoff will help Natalie, and Mrs. Kelly says she does—and she believed Natalie would be accepted. She does suspect Natalie’s age had something to do with the rejection, but she promises to keep trying to help. Then, Mrs. Kelly tells Moose that Natalie adores him—when Natalie starts to drift away, Mrs. Kelly can often bring her back by asking about Moose. Once Moose hangs up, he knows he has to do something. He realizes that loving someone means doing things that don’t make sense to other people. Is this how Mom feels?
Moose swallows his pride as he thanks Mrs. Kelly for her help—recall that earlier, he wasn’t sold on her because she’d insinuated that perhaps Moose was “affected” as well. She also helps Moose understand even better how important his relationship with Natalie is: it’s important enough to Natalie, at least, to help her regain her composure when it wavers. And this in turn helps Moose develop empathy for Mom, as he now understands why she’s worked so hard to help Natalie over the years.
Active
Themes
Later, Moose seeks the warden out at the cell house. The warden leads Moose to a bench, and Moose asks if the warden can pull any strings to get Natalie into the Esther P. Marinoff. The warden says he can’t, but Moose asks if perhaps Al Capone could help. The warden seems exasperated and explains that he can’t allow that because Al Capone is just another prisoner here—he was sent here in the first place because the prison in Atlanta let him bring in furniture and silk underwear. Moose argues that the warden himself said to think hard about breaking rules—and he has, and he thinks this is an appropriate time. The warden disagrees. Enraged, Moose says the warden doesn’t want kids to think, but the warden threatens to fire Dad for that. He adds that, “[t]he world isn’t going to kiss your boots because you learned to think.”
