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Chapter 20
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
Evan wakes to Isaiah pounding on his door, saying that there’s an emergency: Jenna and her friend Tara froze to death in a ditch last night. Evan’s stomach drops as he explains that he saw them at a party last night, and that Scott was there. When Evan and Isaiah arrive at the scene of the accident, Jenna’s mother, Amanda, is grief stricken—she doesn’t know why Jenna was outside. Evan explains about the party, and Walter swears and pulls out blankets to cover the bodies. Isaiah pulls out a pouch, and they pray for a moment before lifting the bodies into Walter’s truck.
Scott’s physical aggression at the party prevented Evan from distancing Jenna and Tara from Scott, which might have saved their lives if they had left with Evan instead of staying at the party. Rice also implies that Jenna and Tara didn’t realize it was too cold to be outside at night, suggesting that they were unable to adequately assess frigid the weather without technology—which ended up being a fatal mistake.
Themes
Terry approaches, and Evan is about to tell him about the party when Scott walks in, wearing his snowmobiling gear. Calmly, Scott explains that they have some visitors who are headed for the hydro line. The group jumps into their trucks and head that way. Several people on snowmobiles are gathered at the hydro line, and one of them raises his hands in a peaceful gesture. He explains that they’ve traveled north for days, and they’re starving. Walter is skeptical, wondering how they made it this far. The man introduces himself as Mark Phillips, and he and the rest of the group beg for help. Terry asks them to be patient, but a desperate Phillips charges at Terry.
While the community is grappling with how to handle the disruption that Scott is causing, more outsiders arrive on the scene. The arrival of even more desperate people seeking refuge on the reserve represents the mass migration of countless Europeans to the Americas in the early days of colonialism. Phillips’s desperation shows that many of those early settlers were vulnerable themselves, and they sought better lives because they were desperate to escape dire circumstances in their own homelands.
Themes
Suddenly, a shot rings out, and Phillips falls to the floor. Scott, whose pistol is raised, tells the group to stand back and listen to the chief. Terry, shocked, asks Scott what he’s doing. Scott says that more people will arrive and they need to take a stand. Terry looks at his boots. Suddenly, Evan realizes that Terry has lost control. Walter and Evan stare at each other in disbelief as Phillips bleeds out onto the snow.
Scott asserts his authority in the situation with an aggressive show of violence, murdering Phillips without a second thought. He thinks that his aggression will protect the community and himself—so he undermines more experienced leaders, asserts his authority with physical aggression, and scares others (like Terry) into submission.
Themes
