Alabama Moon

Pap is Moon’s father who dies just before the story begins and serves as the static mentor character archetype. Mr. Abroscotto, Mr. Mitchell, and Uncle Mike all suggest that Pap’s experience fighting in the Vietnam War strongly influenced his decision to move with his wife and son into the remote Alabama woods. His observations while in the war generated a mistrust of government, rule of law, and authority, and left him with a strong paranoia of a future unexplained “war” he expected in America. His assumptions about a coming war are strongly suggested regarding “the box” (a small hidden extension of their shelter) where he and Moon will try to survive when the enemy arrives.

Pap allows nature to take its course without regard to the trauma and conflict it causes his son. Instead of advising his son to seek help or the family Pap never mentioned, he tells Moon to get to Alaska where he will not be harassed by anyone. Uncle Mike tells Moon late in the novel that Oliver was a kind young man who treated Mike well and that he was Uncle Mike’s best friend.

The Constable, Davy Sanders, is a static shadow archetype throughout the story. His father is a Sumter County judge, so Sanders feels a special authority that is not earned or deserved. He frequently breaks the law he is supposed to protect. He tosses Moon’s wheelbarrow into the gulley, uses a dog collar to restrain Moon, and lies about Moon’s actions while on TV and under oath. His antagonism and threats toward Moon begin in his first scene and continue unabated until his arrest. Moon trumps Sanders on several occasions, but these physical victories only serve to intensify the vengeance Sanders feels toward Moon. Sanders, through his corruption and sense of entitlement, represents the type of government that Pap, Moon’s father, so strongly opposed.

Kit is a 10-year-old boy at Pinson. His parents are deceased, and he is a ward of the state. He is the first to befriend Moon, explaining to Moon how to pray, when to shower, and other routine details. Kit is thin and has sparse whitish hair. He loves the thought of running off to Alaska as soon as Moon brings it up, and he never wavers in his desire to get there. Kit is instrumental in Moon’s escape plan from Pinson, as he is the one light enough to shimmy across the sheet metal and over the fence. He trusts Moon inherently and soaks up every skill and fact Moon teaches him about survival in the forest. Kit has a progressive recurring illness that is never named; it requires lengthy intermittent hospital stays and chemotherapy or other drugs that thinned his hair. Kit’s symptoms from his illness return in the forest camp, and Moon cannot help him recover with natural remedies. Moon saves Kit by getting him to a road where an older couple takes him to a hospital. Late in the story Kit goes to the intensive care unit where he passes away.

Hal is the oldest and largest boy at Pinson. He is 13 and tries to establish his authority by harassing Moon as soon as Moon arrives. Moon defeats Hal on two occasions but needs Hal’s help in escaping Pinson, because Hal can drive. Moon assumes Hal will be content living in the woods and learning how to survive on the trek to Alaska, but Hal decides to find his way to his father, Mr. Mitchell, whom he misses. Hal and Mr. Mitchell provide a safe place for Moon to shelter, and Hal shows Moon new, fun pastimes like “muddin’” in the claypit. Hal is a dynamic character who transcends from an antagonistic shadow at Pinson to a strong ally for Moon who insists on helping to prove Sanders a liar in front of the judge.

Like Hal, Mr. Wellington is initially a shadow who works against Moon but later defends him and helps him as an ally. He is a middle-aged lawyer who builds a hunting lodge near Moon’s shelter. After Pap dies, Mr. Wellington sets off the downward spiral of events that befall moon and takes responsibility for Moon by representing him in court when he is finally arrested. Mr. Wellington serves as the middle ground of justice for Moon and Sanders. Moon has been chased by Sanders for the majority of the novel, and Wellington’s actions bring equity to them both as Sanders is arrested and Moon’s story comes to light. Mr. Wellington communicates with the judge and Moon’s uncle on behalf of moon, effectively rescuing him from the very motions he set in action while entrusting him to Moon’s loved ones as he feels he should have done in the beginning.

Mr. Abroscotto is the only person besides Pap Moon knows before Pap dies. He attempts to serve as an ally by explaining that Pap did not have a realistic set of expectations for Moon and the challenges Moon might face. Mr. Abroscotto demonstrates the fallibility of the people Pap constantly warned Moon against, as he believes what he sees on TV about Moon, before talking with the boy himself to come to an understanding. True to his upbringing, Moon’s first interaction with Mr. Abroscotto is one sourced from fear that he will be turned over to the legal system by the store owner. The storeowner maintains the expectations set up for him by Pap, and though Moon considers him a friend at first, the relationship is founded on transaction alone. Moon’s realization of where their relationship stands helps him to understand who his true friends are in the midst of his struggles.