67 pages • 2 hours read
Kate AlbusA Place to Hang the Moon
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
“Hang the Moon”
Variations on the phrase “hang the moon” are a recurring textual motif that informs how the Pearce children think about The Meaning of Family. This colloquial phrase means that you consider someone to be exceedingly good and wonderful. One of the only things that William remembers about their parents is that their mother thought this of her children.
The Pearce children search for new family by searching for someone who thinks they hung the moon. The children begin to believe that Mrs. Müller is destined to be their family and consider approaching her with the truth about their guardianship situation, but this is a risky decision to make, as they could lose their temporary shelter if Mrs. Müller refuses to take them in. William thinks that he will know that she is the mother they need if he gets evidence that she thinks they hung the moon. Shortly after this, the Pearce children overhear Mrs. Müller talking to Miss Carr, and they hear her say, “If [the children] wanted to, I’m certain they could hang the moon” (296). For the children, the utterance of this motif is confirmation that Mrs. Müller is their family.
Books
Books are a recurring motif that emphasize The Importance of Stories in Difficult Times. While the three siblings are very different, their love of books and stories is one of the things that bonds them. Each child’s character shows through the book they choose to pack when they are evacuated. William packs the Encyclopedia Britannica: He is grown beyond his years, responsible, and analytical. Edmund packs The Tale of Monte Cristo: He is adventurous, bold, and headstrong. Anna packs A Little Princess: She is compassionate and family oriented. The children each choose a book that best represents them.
The books they read as the novel progresses continue to both represent their characters and emphasize what type of escapism they need at a given moment. At one point, when Mrs. Müller recommends Anne of Green Gables, Anna laments that so many books are about orphans. She does not want to read a book that too closely parallels her experience, because it does not provide the escapism she is looking for. On the other hand, Edmund relishes Mrs. Müller’s assignment for him to be the “first reader” of Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood, because it takes the story of three children moving from city to country and stylizes it in adventurous and fantastical ways.
“Vackies”
The word “vackies” is a spoken motif that is entwined with Tiers of Social Prejudice. It is used literally as a derogatory term, but it is also symbolic of the ostracization from the community that real-life evacuees experienced.
While the Pearce children are introduced to this word through the twins Jack and Simon Forrester, it is a real historical term that was used to derogatorily refer to people who were evacuated from the cities to the English countryside in WWII. The word is short for “evacuees.” When the Forrester twins begin using this word in conjunction with other false rumors about the evacuees, Mr. Forrester mildly says, “Now, son, don’t say vackies […] Anna and Edmund and William are our guests” (79). He does not admonish them for the offensive word itself, but for doing so in front of the people he is using it against.
The twins continue to use the phrase “filthy vackies” to ostracize the evacuees. They eventually graffiti “VACKIES” in capital letters on the school and frame Edmund, though Edmund points out that “evacuees don’t call themselves vackies” (109). In addition to speaking the word to symbolically ostracize the siblings, the twins thus use it to literally ostracize them, as this act of vandalism results in their removal from the Forresters’ home.
Eventually, Edmund reclaims this word. Sometimes, marginalized communities will reclaim a word that was formerly directed against them as a slur, instead embracing it as a term that empowers them and brings their community together. When the twins come to taunt Edmund at his victory garden and threaten to uproot his plants, Edmund is covered in garden dirt. However, because of the success of the garden in bringing the evacuees and village people together, the “filth” of the garden dirt is a badge of honor. Edmund proudly says, “I think you two were right all along. I am a filthy vackie!” (295). He embraces what was formerly a slur, thereby robbing it of its power.
