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Chapter 23
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
Tyler fumbles with some keys. It’s rations day; home deliveries ended two months ago, but Tyler knows that hungry people will line up soon. The line grows longer each week—about a 100 people came last week. Evan and Tyler line up 800 cans of ham and peas, ready to pass them out. Tyler jokes about how he can’t wait for things to go back to normal, but Evan says nothing. He thinks that Tyler is in denial. Cam’s partner, Sydney, approaches, saying that a lot of people moved in with relatives to get away from Scott at the bungalow complex.
Evan’s faction of the community continues to honor their communal values and distribute rations, despite the fact that they’re hungry themselves. Their solidarity brings them closer together and helps them push through these tough times as a team. Sydney, meanwhile, reveals that Scott’s followers are dwindling by the minute, suggesting that his selfish food-hoarding is backfiring and weakening his hold on the community.
Themes
Evan asks how Cam is doing. Sydney, looking uncomfortable, says that Evan should probably find Cam and talk with him. Sydney chuckles weakly, and Evan feels worried. He hasn’t seen Cam much since the disastrous party. Isaiah says that Cam looked pale and thin he last time he saw him. Apparently, Scott tried to take Cam to his secret food stash, but Cam got creeped out.
Cam has grown demoralized without modern amenities in his life, which leaves him vulnerable to Scott’s influence. All this has a negative impact on Cam’s well-being: he looks dangerously malnourished and feels increasingly uncomfortable around Scott, which prompts Cam to distance himself from Scott. This, again, shows how Scott’s selfishness and domineering personality are undermining his authority.
Themes
