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Chapter 2: Errand Boy
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Al Capone Does My Shirts, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Disability, Dignity, and Shared Humanity
Friendship and Community
Family
Growing Up and Doing the Right Thing
Summary
Analysis
Moose follows Theresa to the stairs, unable to ignore the looming guard tower. Natalie follows behind, dragging her toe along the edge of each step. Theresa says they’re going to the morgue; Piper said that “looking for dead guys” is Theresa’s job. She explains that they’re not supposed to talk to the living criminals and that Piper is Warden Williams’s “bossy” daughter. Then, Theresa hands Moose a card and explains that Annie, who’s 12, “did the words.” Moose puts it in his pocket, but Theresa demands the card back and reads it aloud. It’s facts about Alcatraz prisoner Al Capone, including that his favorite jewelry is a $50,000 pinkie ring, that he was sent to jail for tax evasion, and that he opened the first soup kitchen in Chicago. Theresa then adds that they also have Machine Gun Kelly and Roy Gardner. They don’t have Bonnie and Clyde because they’re dead.
Moose can’t ignore that he’s on an island that houses a notorious high security prison—not that Theresa would let him. Theresa seems to see prisoners, especially the notorious gangster Al Capone, as one-dimensional celebrities that should be treated as such. Giving Moose the card about Capone reduces Capone to fun facts and figures—but notably, the card includes things that humanize Capone, such as the fact that he opened a soup kitchen in Chicago. (It’s true that Capone was known for his generosity—when it came to people or causes he liked.)
Themes
The kids move out of the road when a truck horn beeps behind them. Moose looks behind him at Natalie, whose hands are down—they’re usually up high. The guard in the truck, whom Theresa calls Mr. Trixle, asks if Moose and Natalie are Cam Flanagan’s kids. He then tells Theresa to hurry to their destination, which Theresa says is Piper’s house. By now, the cell house looms over Moose, Theresa, and Natalie. Chatting about Al Capone, Theresa leads Moose and Natalie to a cottage that would be cute, except it has a sign denoting it as the morgue. It’s locked.
Outside with Moose and Theresa, Natalie seems to carry herself in a more socially acceptable way, suggesting that being outside is perhaps helpful for her. Mr. Trixle’s appearance also gives the impression that the kids on Alcatraz are watched almost as closely as the prisoners; it is, perhaps, difficult to get away with much on the island.
Themes
Just as Moose asks if they should hurry to Piper’s house (he’s “curse[d]” with being responsible), a beautiful girl comes around the morgue and asks if Natalie is “retarded” or “stupid.” Angrily, Moose says Natalie is neither, and Theresa says this is Piper. Piper continues to ask questions, but Moose hisses that they can’t do this in front of Natalie. Finally, Piper asks Moose to prove Natalie isn’t stupid and says more rude things. Moose shouts at her to be quiet, but leads her back to Natalie. He asks Piper’s birthday and year, and then asks Natalie what day of the week Piper was born. Without looking up, Natalie says it was a Tuesday. Piper asks what else Natalie can do, and Moose snaps that she’s not “a trick monkey.” But unprompted, Natalie says that 487 times 6,421 is 3,127,027.
Here, Moose shares one of his defining characteristics: he’s responsible and honest to a fault. He also demonstrates immense loyalty to Natalie, defending his sister when Piper uses cruel, dehumanizing language to speak about her. Moose, this shows, sees Natalie as a person deserving of respect and dignity, while Piper doesn’t necessarily seem to share this view.
Themes
Piper is impressed, but she says that “something is wrong with [Natalie].” Moose shouts at her again, but Theresa whispers that according to Mr. Flanagan, Natalie lives in her own world, and sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad. Piper says that Natalie just sounds “crazy,” and the warden won’t like it—he always says the criminals who are mentally unwell are the scariest ones since they’re unpredictable. Moose is worried—why did Dad tell anyone here about Natalie? He says that Natalie is leaving for boarding school soon, but Piper says it’s her duty to tell her dad stuff like this. She tells Theresa, Moose, and Natalie to follow her; they can meet her dad themselves. But Moose says he and Natalie have to get back home.
Immediately, Piper presents herself as a threat. It’s unclear at this point how much power she actually has—she could be inflating her influence on her father to look cool to the other kids—but it nevertheless has the desired effect of making Moose nervous. Natalie, Moose understands, is in some ways a liability on Alcatraz due to her unpredictable and sometimes socially inappropriate behavior.
Themes
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Natalie, though, doesn’t move or look up, so Moose sits down and wonders what to do. Just then, Mom calls for Moose and comes into view, running up the hill. Panting, she says she was afraid something happened, but Moose says everything is fine and reminds her that he left a note. Mom nods and pokes at her eyes.
Mom is extremely invested in Natalie and in making sure her daughter is safe. She doesn’t appear to trust Moose with Natalie outside of their apartment, suggesting that Natalie has lived a pretty constrained life prior to the move to Alcatraz.
Themes
