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
The sun breaks through the clouds as Tyler and Isaiah trudge in the snow, past the crumbling, abandoned store. The road to the south lies dormant, buried deep in the snow. They lug Scott’s body behind them, feeling a mixture of hatred, pity, and relief. They shove the body over a ridge, and it rolls down, resting next to Mark Phillips’s frozen corpse. When spring comes, the bodies will thaw, and the wolves will eat them.
Evan is notably absent, and Rice is ambiguous on whether or not Evan survives the shootout. Tyler and Isaiah’s mixed emotions embody the confusing feelings of many First Nations people as they grapple with colonialism’s legacy on their culture and their lives.
Themes
