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Chapter 9
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
A few days later, no word has arrived from the south yet. Terry holds an emergency meeting for council members and a few essential staff, which Evan attends. Terry thinks that another town meeting with no news will make people panic, so he decides to distribute another flyer asking people to be patient. Evan notices how tired and stressed the council members look. Nine people in the community (including Joanne’s son Kevin) were away when the outage happened, and none of them have returned.
The longer the blackout continues, the more strain it causes on the community, suggesting that many people are overly dependent on technology. Despite the strain on the reserve’s leaders, they prioritize keeping the community calm, believing that the well-being of the whole reserve is more important than their personal struggles.
Themes
Joanne prints off a flyer that says that emergency power generation is still in effect; that people should conserve energy; that a food delivery is expected next week; and that people should ration their food in the meantime. Terry wonders if they should mention a delivery, since he’s not sure one will actually come. Walter tells Terry to relax, but Terry only grows more frustrated and starts swearing. Terry thinks something serious is going on, and he’s concerned about chaos on the reserve. Walter, who’s much calmer, decides that they should proceed with the flyers. Terry apologizes for getting mad, and Joanne prints off more flyers, trying not to cry.
The strain of the crisis is beginning to wear on people like Terry and Joanne, who are struggling emotionally. However, other council members like Walter step in to provide emotional support and share the burden of leadership, which helps them all feel better and enables them push on with their work. This suggests that banding together—instead of falling apart—will help the Anishinaabe as they continue to manage the fallout from the ongoing blackout.
Themes
