Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Moon of the Crusted Snow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Technology, Society, and Survival
Colonialism, Oppression, and Trauma
Selfishness vs. Selflessness
Gender, Power, and Wisdom
Summary
Analysis
Mesmerized by the dancing flames, Evan stokes a fire in a traditional tipi tent that he’s built in the forest. He’s been building a secret refuge in the woods in case conditions worsen on the reservation. Today, Evan brought out two boxes of canned food and blankets. He wants to bury the cans, but the ground is still too frozen to dig. The fire has warmed the inside of the tent through. Evan lays out some blankets and looks into the fire. Feeling soothed, he slowly drifts to sleep.
Following Aileen’s advice to trust in traditional customs that have stood the test of time, Evan prepares a traditional refuge, believing it will better sustain the winter’s survivors in the future; he’s amazed by how warm and comfortable his simple structure is with just a few basic resources. This shows that living simply on the land may—as Aileen believes—be the key to the community’s long-term survival.
Themes
In Evan’s dream, a fierce blizzard howls as he opens the garage door. The sun is red and flashing in sync with his heartbeat, like an ambulance. He steps inside, unable to see anything and his hands tremble. Evan fumbles with a flashlight, struggling to breathe, and the beam reveals tattered blankets—all the bodies have disappeared. He hears a feral growl and smells a rotting odor as a tall silhouette approaches, blotting out the sun. The creature is a savage, disfigured beast with Scott’s face. It snarls and lunges forward.
Given that characters’ dreams are predictors of the future, Evan’s dream suggests that something is going to happen to the bodies, and that Evan will soon face off against Scott in a violent confrontation. The stolen bodies also recall Dan’s story about the stolen geese, implying that Scott’s fate will be similar to Nanabush’s. And, once again, Rice depicts Scott as a physically terrifying, aggressive being who relies on his brute strength to achieve his goals.
Themes
